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The Construction of Fashion Culture and Urban Narratives : A Semiotic Comparative Analysis of Textile Museum Exhibitions in Lyon and Manchester

  • Cross-Cultural Studies
  • 2026, 78(), pp.77~115
  • DOI : 10.21049/ccs.2026.78..77
  • Publisher : Center for Cross Culture Studies
  • Research Area : Humanities > Literature
  • Received : May 4, 2026
  • Accepted : June 5, 2026
  • Published : June 30, 2026

Jeon, hyeong-Yeon 1

1국립목포대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study offers a comparative, semiotic analysis of how textile culture is reconstructed within the urban cultural meaning and identity of Lyon, France, and Manchester, UK, through museum exhibitions. Rather than viewing exhibitions merely as representations of industrial history, this research understands them as meaning-generating dispositifs that organize a city's historical memory and cultural significance. The analysis focuses on the actantial structures, narrative organization, and spatial configurations through which textile heritage is signified. The findings reveal that despite their shared textile-industrial histories, both cities construct markedly different systems of meaning. In Lyon, textile culture is presented as a cultural heritage embodying artisanal tradition and urban identity, primarily through the figure of the Canut weaver, weaving techniques, and workshop-dwelling spaces. Notably, the Soierie Vivante exhibition configures textiles as a heritage that is performed and transmitted through operating looms, participatory programs, and movement between dispersed workshops. Conversely, Manchester narrates textiles through the lens of workers, machines, cotton, and global trade networks, portraying them as the driving force of industrialization and urban growth. Simultaneously, the city reinterprets this heritage critically, acknowledging its entanglement with colonialism and labor exploitation. While Lyon emphasizes lived spaces, Manchester interprets textiles through reconstructed exhibition spaces that represent industrial systems. This study argues that the meaning of textile heritage is shaped not solely by historical content, but structurally through the arrangement of actors, narratives, spatial forms, material conditions, and agents of transmission. It further demonstrates that the same industrial heritage can be remembered and represented differently, reflecting each city's unique historical experience and cultural value system.

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