contextual analysis

Fashion Analytics Contextual Analysis Emily Frances Hart

Choose a photographic image and analyse it using Barthesian Theory. Analyse the visual semiotics of your image with reference to ‘The Photographic Message’ and ‘The Rhetoric of the Message’, both chapters in Image, Music, Text by Roland Barthes. Introduction

I have chosen to analyse a fashion photograph, taken by Steven Meisel. The

photograph is Madonna for Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2009 collection,

taken in 2008. I chose to analyse this image as I find Steven Meisel’s

photography fascinating and I love that Madonna is the chosen model for

the shoot. Meisel and Madonna have a good friendship and have worked

together in the past, for example in 1992, for Madonna’s photo book, ‘Sex,’

and this image displays a few similar mannerisms between this and ‘Sex’

which I find interesting.


I am going to break down the visual semiotics of the photograph to its

entirety and discuss what is being proposed to the public eye when

looking at the image.

To analyse the photograph I have taken in to account the Barthesian

Theory, including the methods and codes Barthes uses to analyse the

visual semiotics of any image, which will help substantiate my own ideas.

Denotations

Before trying to ‘skim off the different messages it contains’, as said in

‘Image, Music, Text’, (Barthes, 1977, p33) I shall look at the photographs’

literal meaning.

The image is set in a Parisian themed café, which continues the style of

Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2009 Vuitton collection, as there were strong

influences of traditional French tailoring. The photograph is one of five

other photographs which are being advertised by Madonna as Louis

Vuitton’s new Spring/Summer 2009 look. With deep wine glasses, yellow

lighting, and smoky mirrors reflecting the blue exterior of the outside, a

feeling of lust and attraction brings the viewer in closer to the photograph.

The photograph looks dated and as if from a different era. The furniture is

of a deep oak and the dated, tiled floor is brought out by the colours of the

large handbag sat on the table in front of Madonna. With no other models


or significant props, Madonna and her handbag are the focus of this

photograph.

Madonna’s stance is sexy and powerful, with her legs open and her head

slightly tilted back she holds a strong gaze upon the person viewing the

photograph. There is ‘…a complex of concurrent messages with the

photograph’ (Barthes, 1977, p15) behind Madonna’s expression and the

way she is posing, as said in Barthes chapter, ‘The photographic Message’,

although I shall discuss this later. Madonna wears a tailored brown jacket,

many colourful bracelets surrounding her wrists and towering heels with

her right foot foot tilted in an informal manner and the left, firmly on the

ground. She has a very short-‐feathered skirt on and her fishnet tights are

ripped at her right heel, though Madonna still manages to portray a feeling

of class in the photograph. Her make-‐up is pale with fierce red lips and her

hair softly curled covering one eye.

It was the night after seeing Madonna in concert, when Vuitton’s creative

director, Marc Jacobs said, “I think we should do Madonna,” (Socha, 2008)

and so they did. Madonna is an iconic figure to many and this may be the

reason for using her in his shoot, however this has to fit in to the context

and purpose of the photograph. ‘For whom is this image iconic and for

whom is it not?’ (Sturken and Cartwright, 2001, p39) Madonna is known

worldwide for her singing, song-‐writing, dancing and acting and so placing

her in a fashion photography shoot wearing some of the most sought after


designer clothes has a positive affect on the Louis Vuitton’s

Spring/Summer 2009 collection. It could also be argued that they are

doing Madonna a favour as they are keeping her relevant within the

fashion industry.

Connotations

‘We never encounter (at least in advertising) a literal image in pure state.’

(Barthes, 1977, p33) As Barthes may agree, the photograph I have chosen,

like every other photograph, holds a message. It could be argued that the

source of emission in this fashion photograph may be Steven Meisel

himself as he is the photographer creating the advertising image, and the

magazine and layout of the whole photographic shoot may be the channel

of transmission as this is how it is being shown to the public. Finally the

point of reception is the public who views the photograph, which is the

shoot itself.

All parts of the image, from Madonna, to her handbag, to the furniture are

significant to the advertisement of the designer label. These components

hereby hold a ‘supplementary message’ (Barthes, 1977, p17) as Steven

Meisel is purposely using them as a way of advertising, which Sturken and

Cartwright may agree. ‘Most if not all images have a meaning that is

preferred by their producers.’ (Sturken and Cartwright, 2001, p45)


Madonna is the main signifier of the photograph in that she appears to be

an erogenous, powerful lady with clothes and a personality that may could

be desired by the public.

The photograph is the signifier and the signified is the gorgeous clothing

and lifestyle modelled by the famous Madonna that the public might aspire

to have.

The photographic message here is a method of advertising and it provides

the onlooker to wish and to want to be like Madonna and as said by Sarah

Mower, a fashion journalist, the collection ‘had something to seduce

everyone.’ (Mower, 2008)

The historical and cultural connotations of the image are somewhere

around the 1940’s in war time Paris. With the lack of care in Madonna’s

expression, she portrays a woman who is powerful and fears nothing. She

wears red lipstick and one eye is covered which I feel gives off seductive

connotations. Barthes may view Madonna’s character within the image as

a communicative function, which then makes the photograph more

appealing to the public eye. If we place her in the real life context of this

era, she would be someone that other women may look up to. She is

getting on with her carefree life and wearing beautiful clothes.


The photograph is ‘an object endowed with a structural anatomy.’

(Barthes, 1977, p34) In this sense of describing the image, Barthes is

trying to explain how the photograph has been taken in a particular way,

to give out a specific message. The foundation of the photograph is Steven

Meisel wanting to portray a contrived photograph that will advertise Louis

Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2009 collection in the correct way. The set up is

constructed to echo the forties era which also reflects the Spring/Summer

2009 collection well. The photograph is in colour, which helps the brand

advertise the clothes and accessories, but it also aids the image in giving it

a slightly older feel, with yellows and browns being the main colours.

As Mower feels, ‘It was a suggestion rather than a theme.’ (Mower, 2008)

This may be argued that the fashion shoot gives the public the option to be

influenced upon there own way of dressing by Madonna in her beautiful

Louis Vuitton clothes. I feel that Meisel had the aim of making the photo

shoot look as if it is an attractive selection of portraits of Madonna

however we cannot forget that the main aim is always to advertise and

gain money from consumers through buying Louis Vuitton products.

The two main objects that the eye is drawn to is the handbag on the table

and Madonna. They both mirror each other, which is a method of

advertising, shot by Meisel. As Barthes says, ‘there is no necessity to set up

a relay, between the object and its image.’ (Barthes, 1977, p17) By this

Barthes is referring to how the image ‘is not the reality but at least it is its


perfect analogon’ (IBID p17) which gives reason for the photograph not

needing a code as the image is defined on its own. It is the publics’ view of

the photograph, which may be positive or negative. The image may be

interpreted as Madonna flaunting the Parisian-‐chic; forties inspired look

designed by Louis Vuitton in a fabulous way. This is due to the context of

the image being seen amongst many other photographs within a shoot,

which will be seen within fashion magazines and on fashion blogs. The

target demographic for this particular image; females around the age of

twenty to forty who are already interested in fashion and will most likely

have a good knowledge of Madonna may have already made up their mind

about the image with positive thought. As it is a collection designed by the

famous Louis Vuitton, it may be seen to many as a selection of beautiful

photographs, which are only to be viewed as a delusional dream.

Conclusion

To analyse the visual semiotics of any image, we must have the prior

knowledge that we have shared meanings. The public who view this image

may realize that this photograph is an advertisement and a fashion

photograph, which has the aim of selling expensive garments and

accessories due to the prior knowledge that Louis Vuitton is a well-‐known,

high-‐end fashion designer. I feel that the image does what it intends to do,

with the help of Madonna, an influential icon known throughout the world.


The setting reflects the collection well and the whole idea flows from Louis

Vuitton’s last collection to a slightly more tailored look very smoothly.


Bibliography

Barthes, R. Image, Music, Text, London, Fontana Press, 1977.

Rose, G. Visual Methodologies, London, Sage, 2007.

Sturken, M and Cartwright, L. Practices of looking Sturken and Cartwright,

New York, Oxford University Press, 2001. Photography

2010, http://www.flickr.com/photos/wtfjapan/3093156278/ Accessed on 25/10/12 Websites COMM 3210: Human Communication Theory, 2001, http://www.colorado.edu/communication/meta-‐discourses/Papers/App_Papers/Lockwood.htm. Accessed on 04/11/12. Madonna Said To Return for Louis Vuitton Fall 2009, 2009, http://www.fashionologie.com/Madonna-‐Said-‐Return-‐Louis-‐Vuitton-‐Fall-‐2009-‐3034937. Accessed on 01/11/12. Mower, S, Louis Vuitton, 2008, http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2009RTW-‐LVUITTON Accessed on 03/11/12. Socha,M, Memo Pad: Madonna and Marc Jacobs MSLO Exit, 2008 , http://www.wwd.com/media-‐news/fashion-‐memopad/madonna-‐and-‐marc-‐mslo-‐exit-‐1877806?full=true. Accessed on 01/11/12.

contextual analysis

Documents