ILLU5060 - Critical Essay

Essay PDF

---

Semiotics Of Fashion
Elliot Matthew Watson
14/05/2021
ILLU5060

Introduction

---

This article will discuss the validity of the statement “An item of clothing is not a neutral sign, it is a ‘designed’ artifact - a conveyor of symbolism, cultural meaning, value, status and myth; ultimately dependent on the viewer (or audience) to decode.” using a specific article of clothing, chosen from the author’s wardrobe, as a case-study.

To evaluate the validity of the statement, and how it may apply to the specific article of clothing, the statement will be separated into its key points, and then contrasted against separate aspects of the article of clothing before the item of clothing as a whole is evaluated.

As a means of establishing a contextual understanding of semiotics, academic texts will be used to provide a perspective from which to define & explore aspects of semiotic study, and how they might apply to the subject of this work, throughout this article’s content.

Semiotics is the study of messages, meanings, and associations extrapolated from one explicit source: it is the subtext of our perception. For one description of semiotics Chandler (2007) writes;
“Semiotics involves the study not only of what we refer to as ‘signs’ in everyday speech, but of anything which ‘stands for’ something else.”

"Signs" are aspects of an article that have their understanding dependant on a, linked, association, derived from an "Object" present within the article. The conveyance of this association is dependent on the viewer's knowledge, this is described as “interpretant". Atkin (2013). Signs are individual markers present within a piece of media that contain meaning & context to viewers with the correct knowledge or understanding to interpret those signs, there may be culturally unique symbols or objects that’s history would only be known to those who belong to that culture or have studied it prior. Semiotics may be used to understand a deeper meaning, or multiple meanings, of a piece of media.
​
This text will address specific aspects of a chosen item of clothing and evaluate its design, the potential symbolic currency it holds, and then address how dependent on a viewer’s prior knowledge an understanding of any symbolic currency is. Thus, establishing points to assess the validity of the initial statement.

Addressing & Establishing The Chosen Article Of Clothing

---

Within the world of fashion, signs are present in almost all forms of attire, culturally unique dress (the Kilt of Scotland, the Japanese Kimono, the south-Asian Sari etc.), ceremonial clothing, and military uniforms are all types of clothing that may have overt symbols & design elements that tie them to their historical & cultural contexts, meaning that they cannot be viewed without being associated with the wider context in which they exist, provided that the viewer has a degree of the knowledge required to perceive their connections.
​

The specific article of clothing to be examined in this body of work (Figure 1) is a production of the JF Fencing Jacket, named for its creator Jessica Finley, produced by SPES, a historical fencing gear manufacturer based in Poland. Its purpose is as protective sports clothing, for Historical European Martial Arts (H.E.M.A.).  Histfenc (2021). The jacket (Figure 1) has 10 large (2mm diameter) polished metal buttons up its center which folds across from right to left, for protective reasons within its design for sparring with weapons, which is contrary to the pervasive convention of other buttoned articles of clothing intended for male wearers, as they fold across from left to right as a means to make buttoning them up easier for right-handed individuals.

Figure 1

Assessing Individual Elements Of The Jacket’s Design

---

​There are two overt tags/ patches sewn onto the outside facing portion of the jacket (Figure 1). The first of which is present on the front (Figure 2) denotes the manufacturing company & logo. The second patch is located on the back (Figure 3), which describes the year of the design’s creation, the company, the location of production, the polish flag, the polish coat of arms, and the newton rating of the jacket which is a technical specification relevant to its qualifications as a fencing jacket. Within these patches, there are many symbols & associations that’s meaning would be heavily dependent of the viewer’s pre-existing knowledge.
​
The patches are filled with signs of various designed purposes, to intentionally trigger associations with historical & cultural elements, or to provide uniquely relevant information. For example; “350 N” is a shallow sign (few possible interpretations/ meanings), one that requires a knowledge of either academic physics, to make the connection that “N” is a unit of force, “Newtons”, or an understanding of the wider context of fencing jackets. Without prior knowledge of either of these two things, “350 N”’s intended message would be indecipherable; therefore, this sign must be correctly decoded by the viewer to have any value within the design.

Figure 2

Figure 3

The jacket (Figure 1) possesses more complex signs which have a greater number of potential connotations such as the Polish flag, which represents an entire country in one singular design. An entire country, its culture, and its history could be interpreted by scores of viewers with a vast array of possible associations, positive or negative, some more prevalent than others, but all those interpretations are dependent on how the viewer translates a sign through their own perception & experiences. The polish coat of arms similarly represents an entire country, but it has a more military-focused bias due to its historical context, and the historical use of other coats of arms. If a viewer was ignorant of such historical significance, they would see nothing more than a stylised icon, the interpretation is dependent on the viewer. Since the design of this article of clothing is rooted in the world of H.E.M.A. (Histfenc 2021), its design intentionally contains signs that evoke grand martial history as a means to appeal to its target demographics likely interests.

The center-line of the jacket (Figure 1) is adorned with 10 large polished metal buttons, these buttons are a clear disadvantage in terms of its practicality as a fencing jacket, they’re large & likely to snag on weapons and their placement down the center rather than to one side means that they’re more likely to interact with weapons. These buttons are a unique design element for a fencing jacket, as they clearly sacrifice practicality for another feature the buttons have; the buttons must have value in what they communicate in their associations & aesthetics. A center-line of large buttons is a feature that is traditionally found on westernised military forces’ uniforms. This feature has been a common sight on westernised military forces since the advent of the Age of Sail/ Industrial era (~1700+) Basset-Powell (2021).The design of the buttons on the jacket (Figure 1) clearly intend to evoke connotations towards such martial and historical lineages present throughout a wide range of cultures, especially in Europe.
​
This jacket (Figure 1) is red, but has several other colour options Histfenc (2021). In the writings of Almalech (2017), red is described as a colour that is communicates extremes in its interpretations, emotional extremes (love, hate, passion), physical extremes (fire, heat, blood). Red is a bold colour with historically martial connotations, it is associated with soldiers of grand empires (Roman legionnaires, British Redcoats), the association with historic soldiers would add to the appeal of this item of clothing within a community of historic martial artists – its intended demographic. The connotations of red as a colour of extremes would enhance its desirability in an equally extreme competitive sport setting such as fencing.

Considering The Jacket As A Whole

---

The design of this jacket (Figure 1) is both practical and aesthetically focused to fulfil its role as protective equipment & as a pleasing fashion item. The design takes into consideration the practical realities of its use, but also takes into account the aesthetic sensibilities of those who are likely to see it.

Within the design of this jacket (Figure 1) there are many elements which can be interpreted as having martial and/ or historical connotations, given the wider context of this item & its intended use, and therefore audience, this is an unsurprising direction for its design to take. The design of this object takes advantage of the assumed audience’s likely knowledge-base & exploits their predicted interpretations & capacity to decode signs to induce a greater value & meaning to the object by linking it to a grand historical & cultural narrative.
​

Figure 1

With a shallow level of understanding, some of the more nuanced signifying design elements, and therefore the overall value as cultural-capital, of this jacket (Figure 1) may go unnoticed or unappreciated. These signs are often minor details that are not immediately apparent on a casual viewing & so the surface-level impact of the item is not greatly affected. The more immediately visible aspects of the design, however have a more accessible or generalist set of connotations which will be decodable by a wider audience. Contrarily, with a deeper level of understanding, a viewer would be able to pick up on the more obscure connotations present in the object’s design & would understand the rich significance that the object holds, adding to its value as a designed artifact.
​
The degree to which any viewer of the jacket (Figure 1) may recognise the signifier’s conveyance relies upon the viewer’s cultural awareness, historical & contemporary knowledge, and an understanding of widespread interpretations of common signifiers. Failure to decode the design’s signifiers reduces the perceived value of the jacket (Figure 1) as an item of significance.

Conclusion

---

Throughout this investigation into the validity of the statement, “An item of clothing is not a neutral sign, it is a ‘designed’ artifact - a conveyor of symbolism, cultural meaning, value, status and myth; ultimately dependent on the viewer (or audience) to decode.”, by using a specific item of clothing (Figure 1) as a case study to test this statement there have been several examples of designed elements within the article of clothing that would suggest that this statement is entirely valid. Specific cultural meanings, & symbolic associations present within the intended design depend on the viewer to have an already established awareness to successfully decode, yet they are chosen with this in mind by the designer.

This investigation has used the framework of semiotics to explore and understand how design elements may possess underlying meanings. Semiotics states that elements of design may have deep-rooted associations & connotations beyond what is immediately apparent.

Any possible “neutral” signs present upon the item of clothing can be interpreted by the viewer, meaning that those signs are not, in-fact, neutral: they are merely more ambiguous than others present. The challenge comes in proving whether such signs are designed to convey whatever it is they convey, every aspect of an item of clothing’s design has connotations to it, but is the designer explicitly aware of these connotations? In the example chosen for this article, it’s hard to challenge the deliberate & targeted nature of the design features, as they can all be justified contextually.

Different cultures may interpret the same signifiers differently so any one item cannot be reliably & universally read and so it would be challenging to intentionally design around such an unreliable foundation within a globalist context, however, this does reinforce the validity of the statement as the decoding of a sign is ultimately dependent on the viewer.
​
Ultimately, all items of clothing have degrees of deeper meaning present within their design, whether intentionally considered & placed, or otherwise. The decoding of that deeper meaning is the viewer’s responsibility.

Bibliography

---

• Atkin, A. (2013) Peirce’s Theory Of Signs. Available at: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/peirce-semiotics/ (Accessed: 11th May 2021).
• Basset-Powell, B. (2021) The Imperial Japanese Army 1900. Available at: http://www.uniformology.com/RUHL-16.html (Accessed: 13th May 2021)
• Chandler, D. (2007) Semiotics: The Basics. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis e-Library.
• Histfenc. (2021) JF Fencing Jacket 350N - Torso protectors - SPES Historical Fencing Gear. Available at: http://histfenc.com/productcart/jf-fencing-jacket (Accessed 8th May 2021).
  
• Almalech, M. (2017) "Semiotics Of Colour", Proceedings of the 12th World Congress of IASS, pp. 747 – 757.

Image List

---

• ​Fig. 1 Elliot Watson (12th May 2021) JF 350 Jacket [Photograph]
• Fig. 2 Elliot Watson (12th May 2021) JF SPES Front Patch [Photograph]
• Fig. 3 Elliot Watson (9th May 2021) JF SPES Rear Patch [Photograph]