Abstract
This study investigates the implicit ideologies which result in the Pakistani middle class society’s increasing obsession with clothing brands. Consumerism, neoliberalism and the theory of Commodity Fetishism are used as theoretical framework to interpret the data. The study uses a qualitative method being interpretivist in nature, but also has some embedded quantitative data for further verification. The data is collected through interviews, questionnaires, observations from two markets in the capital city of Pakistan. Along with collected data, some advertisements of the selected brands are also analyzed. The theories of neoliberalism, consumerism and commodity fetishism are used to interpret the data. The findings showed that a) people preferred buying branded clothes despite finding them expensive, b) strategies used by marketers is fueling the consumers’ obsession with brands. c) People are creating perception ofself and others based on brand choices. The qualitative reasoning behind the statistics obtained yields an insight into the hegemonic control of the marketers on consumers which makes consumers perceive others as well as themselves based on brand choices. This creates a consumer culture where brands become a symbol of prestige.
Keyword(s)
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