Roland Barthes

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THE FASHION SYSTEM

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Translated by Matthew Ward and Richard Howard

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

BERKELEY
LOS ANGELES

LONDON

Contents
Foreword
INTRODUCTION: METHOD
1.

ix

Written Clothing
I. H. IH. IV. The Three Garments Shifters The Terminological Rule Description 3 5 7
12

2.

The Relation of Meaning

I. Fields with Concomitant Variations or Commutative Classes H. The Signifying Relation 19 23 27 33 39 42 44 45 51 52 55

3. Between Things and Words

I. Simultaneous Systems; Principles and Examples The Systems of Written Clothing HI. Autonomy of the Systems

n.

4. The Endless Garment

I. Transformations and Divisions Transformation 1; From the Rhetorical to the Terminological HI. Transformation 2; From the Terminological to the Vestimentary Code IV. The Levels of Analysis V. First Division; The Utterance of the Signification VI. Second Division; SubSidiary Utterances

n.

I.

THE
1.

VESTIMENTARY CODE

Structure of the Signifier

59 60

5. The Signifying Unit

I. The Search for the Signifying Unit H. The Signifying Matrix

vii

Contents
Ill. The Object, the Support, and the Variant IV. Relations between Elements of the Matrix V. Substances and Forms

64 67 69 71 72 74
77

6. Confusions and Extensions I. Transformations of the Matrix II. Inversion of Elements Ill. Confusion of Elements IV. Multiplication of Elements V. Architecture of the Matrices VI. Routines 7 The Assertion of Species I. The Species 1I. The Variation of Species III. The Class of Species: The Genus IV. Relation between Species and Genera V. Function of the Assertion of Species

80 84 87 89 92 94 97 100 103 105

III

8. Inventory of Genera
I. Mode of Composition of Genera n. Classification of Genera III. Inventory of Genera

g. Variants of Existence I. The Inventory of Variants II. Variants of Identity Ill. Variants of Configuration IV. Variants of Substance V. Variants of Measurement VI. Variants of Continuity

115 119 123 129 136 144 147 151 158 161 162 168

la. Variants of Relation

I. Variants of Position Variants of Distribution Ill. Variants of Connection IV. The Variant of Variants

n.

11.

The System
I. Meaning, Supervised Freedom The Systematic Yield III. The Neutralization of the Signifier

n.

Contents
IV. The Systematic Reduction of the Species: Toward Real Clothing

Ivii

170 175 180 184 187

12. TheSyntagm I. The Fashion Feature lI. The Syntagmatic Yield Ill. The Permanent Inventory of Fashion IV. Conclusion
2.

Structure of the Signified

191 192 197 200 204

13 The l. Il. Ill.

Semantic Units
Worldly Signified and Fashion Signified The Semantic Units Structure of the Semantic Unit

14 Combinations and N eutralizations l. The Combination of Signifieds Il. The Neutralization of the Signified

3. Structure of the Sign

15 The Vestimentary Sign

l. Definition Il. The Arbitrariness of the Sign III. The Motivation of the Sign

21 3 21 5 216

11.
16. The l. lI. III.

THE RHETORICAL SYSTEM

Analysis of the Rhetorical System

Points of AnalysiS of the Rhetorical System The Rhetorical Signifier: Fashion Writing The Rhetorical Signified: The Ideology of Fashion

225 227 230 235 239 244 246 249

17 Rhetoric of the Signifier: The Poetics of Clothing l. Poetics II. The Rhetorical Signified of Clothing: The Models III. Rhetoric and Society 18. Rhetoric of the Signified: The World of Fashion l. The Representation of the World II. Functions and Situations

"iii/

Contents

m.

Essences and Models IV. The Woman of Fashion

253 260 263 264 268 272

19 Rhetoric of the Sign: The Reason of Fashion 1. The Rhetorical Transformation of the Fashion Sign H. A Ensembles: The Function-Sign

m.

B Ensembles: The Law of Fashion IV. Rhetoric and Tense

CONCLUSION

20.

Economy of the System 1. Originality of the Fashion System H. A Ensembles: Alienation and Utopia m. B Ensembles: The Disappointment of Meaning IV. The Double System of Fashion V. The Analyst Confronts the System
ApPENDIXES
1.
2.

277 281 286 290 292

History and Diachrony of Fashion Fashion Photography

295 300