Manipulating surface and producing ‘effortless’ elegance – analysing the social organization of glamour

This article explores the social organization of glamour in a specific affective economy. Glamour, a phenomenon often viewed as frivolous and feminine, has been relatively under-explored within organization studies, and, although there have been some relative theoretical engagements, there are few empirical studies on how glamour is produced ‘in the field’. Here, I draw upon ethnographic material to analyse three ways in which glamour is produced within the particular setting of a fashion show – through the clothing collection, throughout the frontstage and backstage spaces stimulating glamour, and finally, through individuals embodying glamour. This article develops glamour as an organizational phenomenon. Specifically, the social organization of glamour, always in flux, is contingent on situated improvisation, manipulative acts and interactions among multiple agents. Finally, the overlooked subject of glamour is of interest in regards to the sociology of organizations more generally, since much of contemporary capitalism relies on its production.