Nordic Minimalism Meets Mediterranean Expressiveness: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Fashion Branding Communication on Instagram

This thesis aims to examine how the culturally specific aesthetic values of Nordic minimalism and Mediterranean expressiveness manifest in the digital communication of fashion brands on Instagram. The research focuses on the relationship between culture, visual communication and branding strategies through a comparative analysis of Nordic and Mediterranean fashion brand posts. The theoretical framework of the work is based on Hall's theory of high-context and low-context communication, Hofstede's cultural dimensions, Barthes' semiotic approach, as well as Kress and van Leeuwen's grammar of visual design. The research combines quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze the visual and textual elements of Instagram posts. The quantitative part of the research includes sentiment analysis of the textual descriptions (captions) of the posts using the VADER model, in order to examine the differences in emotional tone between the two regional groups of brands. The qualitative part is based on semiotic and visual analysis of posts, using Barthes' concepts of denotation and connotation, as well as Kress and van Leeuwen's categories related to interpersonal and compositional meanings, such as color, social distance, gaze, framing and visual salience. The research results show consistent differences between the Nordic and Mediterranean styles of fashion communication. Nordic brands more often use minimalist compositions, neutral palettes, emotionally restrained expressions and visually controlled spaces, building an identity through subtlety, clarity and implicit luxury. In contrast, Mediterranean brands more often rely on expressive aesthetics, intense colors, dynamic poses and culturally recognizable symbols, creating richer narrative and sensory atmospheres. The sentiment analysis results additionally show that Mediterranean brands have a higher level of positive emotional expressiveness in textual descriptions compared to Nordic brands. The thesis demonstrates that the communication of fashion brands on Instagram is not only a promotional tool, but also a space for the reproduction of wider cultural values and communication patterns through visual and textual strategies. At the same time, the research indicates that these differences should not be seen as absolute oppositions, since the global visual conventions of contemporary digital fashion culture simultaneously shape both groups of brands. The thesis offers a better understanding of the intercultural communication of brands and shows the relevance of semiotic and intercultural theories for the analysis of contemporary digital media.