Guccis Jackieväska - från diskret elegans till performativ lyx: En semiotisk analys av smakens omförhandling
(2026) MODK63 20261Division of Fashion Studies
- Abstract
- This thesis explores the production, transformation, and legitimation of the concept of “good taste” within the field of luxury fashion. Using the Gucci Jackie handbag as an analytical object, the study examines how a single fashion item can maintain its cultural legitimacy and symbolic value despite significant shifts in its visual expression and cultural context. Through three historically situated representations of the bag, the discreet elegance associated with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1970, the performative sensuality of Tom Ford’s Gucci in 1999, and the maximalist, brand-driven aesthetic of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci in 2021 - the thesis analyses how ideals of taste are visually renegotiated over time.
The theoretical... (More) - This thesis explores the production, transformation, and legitimation of the concept of “good taste” within the field of luxury fashion. Using the Gucci Jackie handbag as an analytical object, the study examines how a single fashion item can maintain its cultural legitimacy and symbolic value despite significant shifts in its visual expression and cultural context. Through three historically situated representations of the bag, the discreet elegance associated with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1970, the performative sensuality of Tom Ford’s Gucci in 1999, and the maximalist, brand-driven aesthetic of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci in 2021 - the thesis analyses how ideals of taste are visually renegotiated over time.
The theoretical framework combines Roland Barthes' semiotic theories of denotation, connotation, myth, and fashion as a sign system with Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological concepts of cultural capital, social distinction, symbolic value, and legitimacy. Through a qualitative visual analysis, the study investigates how meaning is produced through visual representation and how certain aesthetic expressions become recognised as legitimate within different historical and cultural contexts.
The results indicate that “good taste” is not a stable or universal quality, but rather a socially and culturally constructed ideal that is continuously renegotiated. The analysis demonstrates a shift from understated luxury and discretion toward visibility, performativity, and explicit brand aesthetics. Despite these visual and ideological transformations, the Gucci Jackie handbag continues to function as a legitimate symbol of exclusivity and status by adapting to changing systems of distinction within luxury fashion. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9246191
- author
- Klintbo, Agnes LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MODK63 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Gucci Jackie-bag, good taste, luxury fashion, semiotics, Pierre Bourdieu, Roland Barthes, cultural capital, social distinction, visual analysis
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9246191
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-17 13:59:21
- date last changed
- 2026-08-17 13:59:21
@misc{9246191,
abstract = {{This thesis explores the production, transformation, and legitimation of the concept of “good taste” within the field of luxury fashion. Using the Gucci Jackie handbag as an analytical object, the study examines how a single fashion item can maintain its cultural legitimacy and symbolic value despite significant shifts in its visual expression and cultural context. Through three historically situated representations of the bag, the discreet elegance associated with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1970, the performative sensuality of Tom Ford’s Gucci in 1999, and the maximalist, brand-driven aesthetic of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci in 2021 - the thesis analyses how ideals of taste are visually renegotiated over time.
The theoretical framework combines Roland Barthes' semiotic theories of denotation, connotation, myth, and fashion as a sign system with Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological concepts of cultural capital, social distinction, symbolic value, and legitimacy. Through a qualitative visual analysis, the study investigates how meaning is produced through visual representation and how certain aesthetic expressions become recognised as legitimate within different historical and cultural contexts.
The results indicate that “good taste” is not a stable or universal quality, but rather a socially and culturally constructed ideal that is continuously renegotiated. The analysis demonstrates a shift from understated luxury and discretion toward visibility, performativity, and explicit brand aesthetics. Despite these visual and ideological transformations, the Gucci Jackie handbag continues to function as a legitimate symbol of exclusivity and status by adapting to changing systems of distinction within luxury fashion.}},
author = {{Klintbo, Agnes}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Guccis Jackieväska - från diskret elegans till performativ lyx: En semiotisk analys av smakens omförhandling}},
year = {{2026}},
}