Scene, Symbol, Status: A Multi-Theoretical Onto-Semiotic Analysis of Luxury Consumption

Öz

This study offers an onto-semiotic analysis of Gucci’s 2021 Aria campaign, arguing that luxury fashion imagery operates not only as representation but also as an ontological stage where identity, belonging, and status are aesthetically produced as modes of being. Integrating four theoretical axes Benjamin’s aura, Baudrillard’s simulation, Bourdieu’s cultural capital, and Butler’s gender performativity the study builds a multi-layered analytical framework anchored in Barthes’ semiotic model (signifier-signified-myth). While prior research on fashion campaigns often relies on single-theory readings, this article advances a methodological contribution by extending conventional semiotic analysis toward an onto-semiotic perspective, incorporating an ontological layer that conceptualizes signification not merely as meaning-making but also as the production of existential positioning within consumer culture. Based on purposive sampling, four scenes from the official campaign film were selected according to symbolic density, thematic diversity, and narrative function, and systematically analyzed across levels of signification. Findings indicate that the campaign reconstructs the lost aura of the digital age through ritual aesthetics and theatrical staging; transforms status from lived reality into represented performance through simulation; visually reconfigures cultural-capital codes via architectural, iconographic, and corporeal markers; and performs gender fluidity through androgynous figures. Overall, the study demonstrates that luxury fashion visuals function beyond aesthetic display, serving as a symbolic and ontological apparatus through which class positioning and identity performances are staged. Although limited to a single campaign and lacking audience reception data, the proposed onto-semiotic framework provides a transferable conceptual basis for future multi-campaign and platform-based studies, while offering practical insights for luxury brand strategists regarding auratic experience design, staging practices, cultural-code management, and gender-fluid representational aesthetics.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Communication studies
• sociology of communication
• luxury consumption
• aura simulation
• visual semiotics

Sahne, Simge, Statü: Lüks Tüketimde Çoklu-Kuramsal, Onto-Göstergebilimsel Analiz

Öz

Bu çalışma, Gucci’nin 2021 Aria kampanyasını onto-göstergebilimsel bir perspektifle çözümleyerek lüks tüketim görsellerinin yalnızca temsil düzeyinde değil, kimlik, aidiyet ve statünün “olma hâli” olarak kurulduğu ontolojik bir sahne şeklinde işleyişini tartışmaktadır. Çalışma, Benjamin’in aura, Baudrillard’ın simülasyon, Bourdieu’nün kültürel sermaye ve Butler’ın toplumsal cinsiyet performativitesi kuramsal eksenlerini, Barthes’ın göstergebilimsel üçlemesi (gösteren-gösterilen-mit/üst-anlam) ile çok katmanlı analitik düzlemde birleştirmektedir. Literatürde moda kampanyalarının çoğunlukla tekil kuramsal çerçevelerle incelenmesine karşılık bu araştırma, klasik göstergebilimsel çözümlemeyi genişleterek ontolojik katmanı analize dâhil eden ve böylece gösterge üretimini “anlamlandırma” ile sınırlamayıp varoluşsal konumlanış üretimi olarak da ele alan yöntemsel bir yenilik önermektedir. Barthesçı çözümleme doğrultusunda, resmî kampanya filminden amaçlı örnekleme ile seçilen dört sahne; sembolik yoğunluk, tematik çeşitlilik ve anlatısal işlev ölçütleri temelinde, gösteren-gösterilen-anlam düzlemlerinde sistematik biçimde analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular, kampanyanın dijital çağda kaybolan aurayı ritüel estetik ve teatral sahneleme yoluyla yeniden ürettiğini; simülasyonun statüyü deneyimlenen bir gerçeklikten çok temsil edilen bir performansa dönüştürdüğünü; kültürel sermaye kodlarının mimari, ikonografik ve bedensel işaretlerle görsel düzeyde yeniden kurulduğunu; toplumsal cinsiyetin ise androjen figürler aracılığıyla akışkan biçimde performe edildiğini göstermektedir. Sonuç olarak çalışma, lüks moda görsellerinin estetik sunumun ötesinde, sınıfsal konumlanışın, kimlik performanslarının ve aidiyet biçimlerinin sembolik ve ontolojik üretim alanı olarak işlediğini ortaya koymakta; ayrıca marka yöneticileri ve yaratıcı ekipler için auratik deneyim tasarımı, sahneleme stratejileri, kültürel kod yönetimi ve cinsiyet-akışkan temsil estetiğine ilişkin çıkarımlar sunmaktadır. Tek kampanyaya odaklanma ve tüketici alımlaması verisi içermeme sınırlılık olmakla birlikte, önerilen onto-göstergebilimsel çerçeve gelecekteki çoklu kampanya çalışmalarına aktarılabilir güçlü bir kavramsal temel sağlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İletişim çalışmaları
• İletişim sosyolojisi
• Lüks tüketim
• Aura simülasyonu
• Görsel göstergebilim

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