Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)

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Study of the Transformation of Female Identity and Body-Language Symbols in Chanel Handbag Advertisements

Authors
Junxi Gu1, Xin Luo2, *
1Olive Tree International Academy, NO.136 Xincheng Road, Nanyuan Street, Linping District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
2Zhejiang University, 866 Yuhangtang Rd, Hangzhou, 310058, P.R. China
*Corresponding author. Email: 39913954@qq.com
Corresponding Author
Xin Luo
Available Online 25 March 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_44How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Body language; Semiotics; feminism; Chanel; Ad analysis
Abstract

In societies where people are mostly strangers to one another, individuals often rely on outward signs to judge another person’s social status and identity. Luxury brands act as symbols of identity and class, and their clothes and accessories carry social capital. Handbags, as a popular luxury item, not only show wealth and taste but also reveal how women’s identities and social roles are built. Using the Chanel handbag ads from 1955 to 2024 as the material, and focusing on semiotics and feminist theory, this paper analyzes how visual signs in the ads—such as women’s body posture, facial expression, hand gestures, and ways of holding the bag—have changed. By studying ad text and images, we trace changes in slogans, ad style, and visual composition. Early studies show Chanel embedded the bag’s “freedom of women’s hands” feature in its ad stories, turning women into objects of gaze. As gender structures and feminist movements developed, ads began to highlight women’s autonomy and agency. The women shown in Chanel handbag ads changed from dependent, static “objects of gaze” to confident, active “visual subjects.” Luxury brands like Chanel use body language and small symbolic details to reflect and push changes in gender ideas, giving women more visual control and ways to express identity in ads.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
25 March 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-553-9
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_44How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Junxi Gu
AU  - Xin Luo
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/25
TI  - Study of the Transformation of Female Identity and Body-Language Symbols in Chanel Handbag Advertisements
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 380
EP  - 393
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_44
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_44
ID  - Gu2026
ER  -