Fashion Translation from an Eastern Perspective: An Analysis of Chanel’s Female Ambassadors in China and the Cultural Implications

As a representative brand of French fashion, Chanel not only facilitates the transformation between objects and signs in the production of fashion value, but also contributes to the construction of fashion consensus by offering rich interpretations and representations. In this process, female brand ambassadors play a pivotal role, serving as a crucial bridge between the brand and its consumers, while also functioning as key agents in the external communication of brand culture. This study takes Chanel’s female brand ambassadors in the Chinese market as a case, employing a semiotic analytical approach to examine how these ambassadors contribute to the construction of contemporary femininity marked by diversity and uniqueness. It further analyzes the Western brand’s imagined representations of Eastern women within a cross-cultural context, uncovering how Chanel utilizes Chinese female brand ambassadors to convey distinctive images of femininity, and explores the communicative pathways through which emotional resonance is established with Chinese consumers. This paper offers a new perspective on understanding the significance of women in the fashion industry and their cultural implications, while also providing theoretical support for the construction of female representations by brands across diverse cultural markets.