Crisis Communication and the Fashion Industry : Image Repairing in Racially Charged Crises

Abstract: This thesis brings the study of crisis communication on social media into the studies of the creative industries and the fashion industry. The aim of this study is to investigate the crisis communication of the two Italian high fashion brands Prada and Gucci to see if there are any differences in the way they communicated during two racially charged crises. By using Benoit’s typology of image repair I conducted an analysis of the rhetoric of 12 crisis response messages posted on the companies’ official Twitter profiles. The analysis implies that the two companies follow the recommendations from previous research regarding the use of corrective action as the preferred crisis response strategy. However, the results also indicate a common use of mixed strategies. Limitations in theory suggest that future research is needed. Studies covering racial issues are always up to date and the topic is often debated on social media where the fashion industry plays an influential role. Social media is constantly changing due to the rapid development in communications technology and user behavior. Further research is therefore encouraged to get a better understanding of the effects of certain crisis communication strategies and the complexity of these topics.