How China, Japan and Korea are perceived byVogue USAin the last 10 years

This study analyses how China, Japan and Korea are perceived by the American fashion magazine, Vogue USA, to explore the relationship between country image and the fashion business. We analysed the quantity and contents of 164 articles published about these countries between July 1997 and June 2008. Seventy-eight articles discussed China, 54 were about Japan and 32 discussed Korea. We identified the salient aspects of country image for each and compared the similarities and differences. We identified two significant themes in texts and visual data on China: its fast-growing fashion industry and both its modern and traditional clothing item, the cheongsam. Significant topics on Japan included Japanese fashion designers, the unique street fashions and pop culture of Japanese youth, and the traditional aesthetics of the geisha. Vogue USA showed the least interest in Korea; no prominent image of Korean fashion emerged in the publication. Implications for further research are also provided.