Givenchy & Abundance of References

Abstract It is debated whether or not the “luxury” of a luxury object is contained within the object or exists beyond it. This text examines one object – a Neoprene little black dress by Givenchy – in the context of its references backwards and forwards. Using Webb Keane’s semiotic-temporal alignment, the dress’s past is analyzed as iconic and nostalgic through Walter Benjamin, and its future as symbolic and ironic through Donna Haraway. Theories of object agency are considered through W.J.T. Mitchell and as between life and death. Luxury, finally, as abundance or indulgence is taken on as a method of inquiry.