Semiotic Analysis of Silence in Fashion Design Based on Peirce’s Triadic Reading of Visual Signs

Abstract

This study, aiming to conduct a semiotic analysis of silence in contemporary Iranian women’s fashion design, seeks to examine silence at the level of visual signs through Peirce’s triadic framework of icon, index, and symbol. The theoretical section of the research, drawing on case-based approaches (such as those of Shirin Gild, Araz Fazaili, and Mehrnoush Shah Hosseini) and philosophical perspectives (including the views of Wittgenstein, Derrida, and Barthes), conceptualizes silence and subsequently redefines it within the Peircean semiotic system. The research method is qualitative, employing a visual semiotic analysis approach. The study sample comprises a collection of conceptual and contemporary clothing designs by Iranian designers from the 2010s, which are evaluated in terms of form, color, texture, and spatial structure. Data were collected and interpreted through a combination of visual observation, comparative analysis, and decoding of visual constructs. In the applied analysis section, the works of three prominent contemporary Iranian designers—Shirin Gild, Araz Fazaili, and Mehrnoush Shah Hosseini—were examined semiotically. The findings indicate that these designers, through the use of simple forms, neutral colors, and the elimination of superfluous ornamentation, employ the visual language of silence as a cultural, aesthetic, and even political strategy. In Shirin Gild’s works, minimalism—drawing inspiration from traditional Iranian attire and removing seductive signs—transforms into a language of silence, dignity, and critical engagement. Fazaili’s designs, by reinterpreting rural elements and removing visual extravagance, present silence as cultural resistance and a reflection of feminine identity. Likewise, Mehrnoush Shah Hosseini’s works, by integrating the language of traditional architecture with fashion design, recreate silence not only through elimination but also through geometry, material, and space. This analysis provides a more nuanced understanding of the role of clothing in representing Iranian women’s identity, the social meaning-making systems, and the relationship between design, the body, and culture.