Envisioning the Bubble - Creating and Consuming Lifestyles through Magazines in the Culture of the Japanese Bubble Economy (1986-1991)

Aug 20, 2026

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This thesis examines consumer culture in Japan’s Bubble Economy (1986-1991) by analyzing how lifestyle magazines articulated, organized, and celebrated newly liberated modes of consumption. Using Mono, AXIS, Hanako, and Brutus as key case studies, it applies critical frameworks from Baudrillard and Bourdieu to trace social and cultural consequences beyond economic expansion. It argues that magazines mapped changing tastes, shifted emphasis from work to lifestyle, and exposed cracks in Japan’s social relations, including gender bias and tightly networked corporate and local ties.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages280

Reading Time11 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Fieldwork, Sources, Research Methodology, Literature

Use of Theory

Design History Methodology

A Note on Interview Subjects

Envisioning the Bubble: Creating and Consuming Lifestyles through Magazines in the Culture of the Japanese Bubble Economy (1986-1991) Hui-Ying Kerr History of Design Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) The Royal College of Art and Design in collaboration with The Victoria and Albert Museum 28th March 2017 Copyright Statement This text represents the submission for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Royal College of Art. This copy has been supplied for the purpose of research for private study, on the understanding that it is copyright material, and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgment. Abstract ‘Envisioning the Bubble: Creating and Consuming Lifestyles through Magazines in the Culture of the Japanese Bubble Economy (1986-1991)’ Keywords: Japanese Bubble Economy; Internationalisation; Postmodernism; Consumption; Lifestyle; Gender; Work; Leisure This thesis explores the consumer culture of the Japanese Bubble Economy (1986-1991) . Using the four key magazines of Mono, AXIS, Hanako and Brutus as vehicles, it shows how the culture of 1980s-Bubble Japan was expressed and celebrated through its consumption. Using the critical theories of Baudrillard and Bourdieu, it explores the various consequences of this newly liberated consumption, showing how the effects of the Bubble were not just economic, but also social and cultural. Spanning a period of about 4-5 years, the Bubble Economy was a time of ballooning prosperity in Japan. Following an upward revaluation of the yen and financial liberalisation instigated by the signing of the 1985 Plaza Accord, the late 1980s saw Japan entering a period of market frenzy, as a credit-fuelled boom caused assets to rocket and land speculation become rife. Consumption too boomed, along with a shifting focus from work to lifestyle, and magazines surged as guides to this new glittering life of prosperity and ease. As lifestyle magazines, the four chosen deal with different areas of the market that reflect the changes happening in and because of the Bubble. Mono describes new, faster patterns of consumer behaviour predicated on the increasingly fast and superficial tastes of its readers. AXIS places itself firmly in the international sphere of design culture, and in doing so reflects the subtle nationalist agendas of industry. Hanako, catering to the new consumer market of young women, uses travel and consumption to distract and compensate for inequalities in their working lives, while Brutus demonstrates a secret dissatisfaction of its male readers at their own restrictions of privilege. Using critical theory to interrogate the deeper implications of the Bubble, the thesis shows how rather than symbolising the apex of Japanese development and success of its unique system of working and social relations, it merely disguised the cracks that were beginning to form. Moreover, by encouraging the rampant consumer behaviour that was to characterise the Bubble, the government was inadvertently changing attitudes and expectations that would hasten dissatisfaction with the restrictions of a system that included considerable gender bias and heavily internetworked localised social and corporate relationships. In the final chapter to the thesis, the more strange and unusual aspects of the Bubble are explored, showing how even as it papered over faults and invited dissatisfaction, it also provided opportunities and space for transformation and self-expression. While many aspects of presentday Japanese culture, such as the trend for kawaii (cute), or hyper-energetic characters, are attributed to the 1990s, this thesis shows how these trends relied on the possibilities inherent in the Bubble Economy to flourish, before gaining enough impetus to travel abroad as mature cultures. Finally, in the field of Japanese studies, the Bubble period is notable for its relative absence in its social and cultural aspects. This is not to say that it was an i

FAQs

What is the central focus of the thesis?

The thesis focuses on how consumer culture during Japan’s Bubble Economy (1986-1991) was created, communicated, and consumed through lifestyle magazines.

Which magazines are analyzed as the main sources?

It analyzes four magazines: Mono, AXIS, Hanako, and Brutus, each linked to different aspects of market change during the Bubble period.

How do critical theories support the thesis arguments?

The thesis uses critical theory from Baudrillard and Bourdieu to interpret the deeper implications of Bubble-era consumption, including its social and cultural effects.

Aug 20, 2026

Upload by Maeve