METAPHORS OF THE YVES SAINT LAURENT BRAND AS A MECHANISM OF INFLUENCE ON THE MYTHOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE CONSUMER: AN APPROACH OF THE THEORY OF CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATION

Abstract

The article explores the role of metaphor in the brand discourse of Yves Saint Laurent, interpreting it as a cognitive mechanism for shaping the brand’s myth and influencing the mythological consciousness of the target audience. The study is grounded in the framework of Conceptual Integration Theory, which enables a nuanced analysis of how metaphorical blends generate emergent meanings that support the construction of identity and authenticity through affiliation with the brand. The main aim of the study is to analyze metaphorical models found in the statements of the brand’s founder, Yves Saint Laurent, and to determine their role in producing a stable and emotionally charged branding myth. This myth positions the brand as a symbolic mediator between the client’s motivational needs– such as self-expression, self-confidence, individuality–and their realization in the symbolic space of fashion. The research demonstrates how conceptual blending, through compression and emergence, creates mental spaces in which the brand’s products function not merely as material goods but as a means of transformation and self-actualization. Thanks to metaphors, YSL brand products are positioned as a metaphorical tool, a ritual object that gives women confidence – the “key” to inner beauty; as a sign of deep individuality, an authentic “I”; a sensual self-disclosure that surpasses language and writing; as a communication tool through which the consumer can be heard and tell the world about himself. The high fashion brand acquires the symbolic power to speak on behalf of the individual.By activating culturally relevant frames and shared background knowledge, metaphors in YSL discourse contribute to the generation of a semiotically rich and ideologically loaded narrative that resonates with the mythological structures of modern consumer culture.The findings of the study are intended to expand current understandings of metaphor’s role in branding and strategic communication, and to provide a theoretical basis for further interdisciplinary research on symbolic modeling in fashion discourse.