INDONESIAN KEBAYA AS A WEDDING DRESS IN KEBAYA IN STYLE MAGAZINE
: A SEMIOTIC STUDY
A THESIS
By:
Reza Aditya Putra 121112123
THE MEANING OF WHITE GOWN, REPRESENTED THROUGH INDONESIAN KEBAYA AS A WEDDING DRESS IN KEBAYA IN
STYLE MAGAZINE
: A SEMIOTIC STUDY
A THESIS
Submitted as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For Sarjana Degree of English Department
Faculty of Humanities Universitas Airlangga
Surabaya
BY:
REZA ADITYA PUTRA Student Number: 121112123
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA
DECLARATION
This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the
award of any other degree or diploma in any university. And to the best of
this candidate’s knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously
published or written by other person except where due reference is made
in the text of the thesis.
Surabaya, 17 June 2015
Approved to be examined On 17th of June 2015
Thesis Advisor
Dewi Meyrasyawati, S.S., M.A., M. Hum NIP. 197205152005012001
Head of English Department
Dra.Lilla Musyahda, M.Pd NIP. 196612102007012001
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA
This Thesis has been approved and accepted by the Board of Examiners, English Department, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Airlangga
On 8thof July 2015 The Examiners are:
1. Drs. Sumitro, M.M NIP. 195611191985031002
2. Dewi Meyrasyawati, S.S., M.A., M. Hum NIP. 197205152005012001
Keep Chasing Your
Dream, Until
Those Mocking
Sounds Turn Into
Claps
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdulillah. Foremost, I praise and thank to Allah SWT for the kindness, bless in everything in my life. My gratitude for the knowledge, chance related to the fact that I could finish this thesis.
I would to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis advisor Mom. Dewi Meyrasyawati, S.S., M.A., M.Hum for the enlightenment, time, the prayers, the supports, love that makes me stronger to face anything in my life and also thanks for always support me related to my study. Because of them, I always have a courage and passion for have a better future and become a better person.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inside Cover Page ... i
Inside Title Page ... ii
Declaration Page ... iii
Thesis Advisor’s Approval Page ... iv
Board of Examiners... v
1.2 Statement of the Problem ... 7
1.3 Objective of the Study ... 7
1.4 Significance of the Study ... 8
1.5 Definition of Key Terms ... 9
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2. Theoretical Framework ... 10
2.1 Semiotics ... 10
2.1.1 Roland Barthes ... 12
2.1.1.1 Denotation ... 13
2.1.1.2 Connotation ... 14
2.1.1.3 Myth ... 15
2.2 General Concepts of the Study ... 17
2.2.1 The Concept of White Gown ... 17
2.2.2 The Concept of Contemporary Culture ... 21
2.2.3 The Concept of Globalization ... 22
2.3 Review of Related Studies ... 24
CHAPTER III METHOD OF THE STUDY 3.1 Research Approach ... 26
3.2 Data Source ... 26
3.2.1 Primary Data Source ... 27
4.2 Data Analysis ... 30
4.3 Interpretation of the Data ... 47
4.3.1 The Fashion Kebaya before, know and then ... 47
4.3.2 Kebaya as The Representation of Contemporary Urban Clothing... 53
4.3.3 The Meaning of White Gown Concept of Wedding Dress ... 55
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION ... 58
LIST OF FIGURE
Figure4.1 The First Picture From Kebaya In StyleVol I, p.24 ... 31
Figure4.2 The Second Picture From Kebaya In StyleVol I, p.55 ... 34
Figure4.3 The Third Picture From Kebaya In StyleVol I, p.60 ... 37
Figure4.4 The Fourth Picture From Kebaya In StyleVol IV, p.41 ... 40
Figure4.5 The Fifth Picture From Kebaya In StyleVol IV, p.51 ... 42
ABSTRACT
Kebaya is one of Indonesian traditional dresses. Kebaya has
undergone much development throughout its history in Indonesian fashion trend. The story of the evolution of the emergence kebaya from traditional to contemporary kebaya designs is interesting to study since nowadays
kebaya is also developed as a white gown wedding dress. One of the
magazines that displays much about white kebaya as a wedding dress is
Kebaya In Style, published by PT. Gaya Cipta Indonesia, Jakarta. Among
4 volumes of these magazines, there are two volumes (volume 1 (2010) and 4 (2013)) that explore the best work and creation of kebaya that are influenced by particular design of white gown. Using Semiotic theory suggested by Roland Barthes, this study is an attempt to reveal how Indonesian kebaya as a wedding dress is represented the meaning of white gown. Furthermore, the new meaning of white gown represented through Indonesian kebaya in Kebaya In Style magazine is finally uncovered. This study finds out that Kebaya as a wedding dress has been influenced by European white gown design including the choice of the color, which is white. This result of the study shows a contradictory of common preferences for Indonesian wedding dress. In Indonesia, white kebaya for a wedding dress is usually used for akad nikah (marriage covenant); while for the wedding party the magazine suggest the colorful one. Interestingly, this trend is no longer followed. Recently, the bride prefers to wear white
kebaya for both akad nikah and wedding party. Thus, this study finds that
there is a shifting of the meaning of white gown represented through Indonesian kebaya as a wedding dress. The meaning of white gown is not only purity and holy but it is a sign of following global trend. It shows that the white kebaya becomes a significant sign of contemporary global clothing following global trend of a wedding dress. This study hopefully makes a contribution to the field of cultural studies in general and the relation between fashion and culture in particular. From a broader perspective, the result of the study may reveal that fashion can be reflected or challenged through media such as a magazine.
Keywords: Contemporary Culture, Kebaya, Kebaya In Style, Globalization,
