Scholarly Commons

A Semiotic Analysis of Advertising Media Produced at Saint Laurent Paris during Hedi Slimane’s Tenure (2012-2016)

At the center of every high fashion brand is its identity. As different creative directors take the helm of major fashion labels, their vision for the brand’s direction emerges from this overarching identity. In addition to collections, shows, retail locations, and other promotional outlets, a large part of a brand’s identity is reinforced by its advertising content. That being said, in advertising, the signification of an image is undoubtedly intentional. This study analyzes the strategic signification of Paris based fashion house Saint Laurent Paris advertisements during Hedi Slimane’s tenure as creative director from 2012-2016. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify and explore visual signifiers in specific advertising campaigns to understand how images are coded to reinforce Saint Laurent Paris’ brand identity and subsequently drive sales.