The primary aim of this research is to understand the meanings conveyed in four graphic t-shirts – created by South African fashion brands Butan and Magents – as representations of the discourses that exist in post-apartheid South Africa. This aim is informed by the social constructionist paradigm aim to understand meanings and discourses that exist in society (Guba and Lincon, 1999). Constructionist paradigms employ methodological strategies that are concerned with understanding meanings, making them qualitative in nature (Terre Blanche et al., 2006). The primary objective of uncovering the meanings presented through graphic t-shirts called for a descriptive objective. A descriptive objective such as this can be a goal of both qualitative and quantitative research, however, this research utilises non-numerical information (the aesthetics of graphic t-shirts), making it qualitative in nature (du Plooy, 2009; Struwig and Stead, 2013). The discussion presented below, outlines the paradigm, research approach, and study design adopted for the analysis of the graphic t-shirt as representation of the lived reality of the Butan and Magents target markets.
Constructionist Paradigm
A research paradigm refers to a basic belief system based on ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions that serve as guiding frameworks for the analysis of any phenomenon (Guba and Lincon, 1999; du Plooy, 2009). This research draws from a constructionist paradigm. Constructivism and constructionism are often used interchangeably, however, they do not lead to the same modes of enquiry (Gergen, 1985; Hruby, 2001).
Constructivism refers to a series of theories regarding the manner in which individuals construct knowledge (Hruby, 2001). Social constructivism “enquires after the social
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conventionalizations, perception and knowledge in everyday life” (Flick, 2004: 87). Social constructionism, or constructionism, refers to the construction of meaning through social interaction and interpretation (Kim, 2001). This research is concerned with the manner in which designers use graphic t-shirts to convey knowledge about their target market’s reality through interacting with their consumers’ zeitgeist.
Ontologically, constructions assume that reality is not given, but socially constructed through language and sign systems (Chandler, 2007). The fashion forecasting process identifies signifiers of emerging and current trends within society and utilises it as knowledge about their target market’s zeitgeist (Jackson, 2007). The findings from the literature review (See Chapter 2) revealed that designers convey their personal interpretation of their target market’s zeitgeist through their seasonal clothing designs (Au et al., 2001; Gick and Gick, 2007). Studies pertaining to South Africa revealed that; representations of a designer’s target market’s reality are used by consumers as part of their construction and articulation of collection belonging (Vincent, 2007; de Greef, 2009; Musangi, 2009; Farber, 2013). The meanings conveyed in clothing (as a form of material culture) serve as a part of a discourse about society used by collective identities to construct their identity (Hall, 1996); this informs the assumption that understanding the meaning of clothing informs knowledge about the lived reality of specific collective identities that exist in South Africa. This assumption serves as the rationale for adopting a constructionist paradigm which is concerned with understanding how social meanings is encoded in language (Terre Blanche et al., 2006). A constructionist paradigm is utilised to understand how Butan and Magents draw from the lived reality of their target market in encoding meanings in their graphic t-shirt designs.
Qualitative Approach
Qualitative research is framed by inductive reasoning, where the researcher formulates assumptions and attempts to confirm them through a description of their findings (du Plooy, 2009). The literature surveyed in Chapter 2 informed the assumption that the analysis of the aesthetics of the graphic t-shirt reveals knowledge regarding aspects of the zeitgeist of a designer’s target market (Manning and Cullum-Swan, 1994; Musangi, 2009). In adopting a qualitative approach, this research seeks to prove such assumptions by analysing the t-shirts designed by Butan Wear and Magents Lifestyle Apparel using a semiotic analytical scheme as part of the qualitative content analysis. Semiotics refers to a “method of textual analysis, but
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involves both the theory and analysis of signs, codes and signifying practices” (Chandler, 2007:
259); it is the study of how meaning occurs in all forms of communication and expression (Tomaselli, 1999). As part of the qualitative content analysis, semiotic theory assists the interpretation of the meaning of each designer’s t-shirt.
The third chapter of this dissertation outlined the manner in which the Circuit of Culture serves as a framework for describing the graphic t-shirt according to moments of representation, production, consumption and identity (du Gay et al., 1997; Scherer and Jackson, 2008; Champ and Brooks, 2010; Leve, 2012). In understanding each moment as text, construction, reading and lived reality, respectively (Leve, 2012), the Circuit of Culture model served as a framework for describing the construction of the t-shirt as text that can be read as a narrative of its intended consumer’s lived reality.
Adopting a qualitative approach enables a researcher to analyse the manner in which meaning patterns contribute to the understanding of social reality (Flick et al., 2004). The t-shirts under analysis serve as a visual narrative of South African life constructed by the designer. These narratives reflect multiple discourses about the various collectible identities in existence in present day South Africa. Understanding collective identity allows for the understanding that similarities and differences enable those in society to define and place themselves within a society, cementing their cultural belonging (Gilroy, 1996). Fashioning Meaning, does not attempt to describe South Africa’s collective identity as a whole, but rather aspects of a collective identity represented by two South African Fashion brands, Butan and Magents.
Descriptive Study Design
Positivist paradigm designs are exploratory in nature while the constructivist favour designs that allow for rich descriptions (Durrheim, 2006). The previous discussion outlined the aim of this research is to use the graphic t-shirt in order to describe the lived reality of the collective identities represented by two South African fashion designers. A research design refers to the plan that details the: i) research questions; ii) unit of analysis; iii) sampling parameters; iv) analysis methods; and v) interpretation of findings data (Yin, 2003; du Plooy, 2009).
The research question seeks to describe the meaning of the graphic t-shirts, and as such the designers of t-shirts served as the sample. The primary research question of this study asks:
what do the meanings of the graphic t-shirts convey about the lived reality of South Africa’s
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collective identities? The nature of the question requires a descriptive design, as it gives rise to research questions that seek to ask “who/what is to be described” (du Plooy, 2009: 95).
Methodologically a constructionist paradigm seeks to uncover the manner in which social reality is constructed, preferring texts and interviews for their methods of analysis (Terre Blanche et al., 2006). The primary objective of this research is to decode the meanings of the graphics t-shirts as representations of social reality. The unit of analysis is therefore the text – the contents – of the t-shirts while a qualitative content analysis is used as both a data collection and analysis method (du Plooy, 2009). As an analytical tool, a qualitative content analysis – which utilises semiotics as an interpretive tool – is used to uncover the apparent and latent meanings of the contents of the t-shirt (Elo and Kyngäs, 2008). As a data collection method, the content analysis converts the contents of the t-shirt – as a text – into analysable data (du Plooy, 2009); this forms part of the first step of semiotics analysis process (see Chandler, 1994;
Fourie, 2009) that informs the analytical scheme utilised as part of the qualitative content analysis. The latter part of this chapter – which details the data collection process as lengths – elaborates on how the qualitative content analysis makes use of semiotics.
The second chapter, Threading Literature, detailed the manner in which the garment is a medium with the design elements operating as a creative linguist form that conveys meaning (Clemente, 2008; Mackinney-Valentin, 2012). Fashion is a form of communication between designer and consumer (Sproles, 1981b; Bugg, 2009) and as such, the source of the data for this research therefore refers to the fashion designer, while the aesthetics of each t-shirt serve as the data. Sampling refers to the sources from which data is collected (Newing, 2011), therefore the