Garvey, Pauline (2013) 'lkea sofas are like H&M trousers': the potential of sensuous signs. Journal of Business Anthropology , 2 (1). ISSN 2245-4217

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Abstract

What makes Ikea sofas similar to H&M trousers? Clothing and furniture retail are increasingly aligned, as both follow fashion trends and seasonal change. Because of the transience that shifting trends imply, clothing is often read as a signifier of superficial or frivolous expression, masking more important realities that lie elsewhere. In this article, I follow Webb Keane in asserting that when treating clothing as a sign of surface adornment, as a mere communicator of meaning, one not only dematerialises the sign but foregrounds meaning over action. In focusing on the sensuous qualities of signs (qualisigns), I view Ikea goods as sites of potential and compare how adorned surfaces are more than semiotic vehicles, but also material things that have effects.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Ikea; H&M; qualisigns; material culture; furniture; fashion;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Anthropology
Item ID:	4547
Depositing User:	Dr Pauline Garvey
Date Deposited:	03 Oct 2013 16:04
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Business Anthropology
Publisher:	Journal of Business Anthropology
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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