Visual Anthropology, 18: 19-45,2005 Copyright ;( Tayinr &: Francis, Inc.

ISSN: 0894-9468 print/1545-59211 online DOI:L(l,1l)80/l>894946l)59()90(K)34

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2 '^ D fl ^ | J KOUtleOgG Taylor . Francis Croup

Visualizing Emptiness
Dimitri Morteltvans
How can one create more by showing less? That is the central question in this article. Through a visual approach, we will look at emptiness as a generator of standing, exclusiveness, luxury sign value. One of the guiding cultural mechanisms of creating exclusiveness is the use of horror vacui, the fear of the empty. Using bt)th psychological tiieory and civilization theory, the article connects the concept of emptiness and horror vacui to the creation of exclusiveness, of luxury. This theoretical argumentation is then confronted with a visual research on the use of emptiness in show windows. It shows that luxury boutiques or shops selling predominantly luxury products use emptiness in their shop windows in order to create a luxurious and exclusive atmosphere. INTRODUCTION

How can one create more by showing less? That is the central question in this article. Through a visual approach, we will look at emptiness as a generator of standing, exclusiveness, luxury sign value. Central in the answer to this question is the principle of horror vacui, the fear of the empty. First, we will discuss the concept of horror vacui on a theoretical basis. Where does the principle come from and why is it connected to luxury and exclusiveness? Next, we will present the results of research that tries to find the use of the principle in shop windows. This research included a combined quantitative and qualitative study on clothing shops in Antwerp and Brussels. With this research, we will try to classify shops on a scale of prestige while trying to link this scale to visual research data.
EMPTINESS AS A FORM OF DISTINCTION Background from Philosophy and Arts

The link between the luxury signified and the use of emptiness is not evident. We need to dig deeper into the possible explanation that couples emptiness to luxury. The origin of the link can be found in both psychology and sociology. The basic principle behind the connection of emptiness and luxury is called horror vacui, the fear of emptiness [Gombrich 1970: 80].
MoRTELMANs IS (7 sociologist at Antwerp University, Belgium. He wrote his Ph.D. on the visualization of luxury based on a sociosemiotic analysis of print advertisements. His eurrent research focuses on gift-<^iving, shopping behavior and youth, and work-life balance strategies in young families. He teaches qualitative and Ljuantitative research methods. E-mail: dimitri. inortelmans@ua.ac.be

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D. Mortelmans

The concept of horror vacui is derived from art theory. It is the urge to fill all empty space with all kinds of details. However, the term itself is much older than modern art theory. Originally, the fear of the void was described by Aristotle who categorically denied the possibility of a vacuum. He argued that a vacuum could not exist because nature always tries to resist its creation. Nature has an inherent horror vacui. The principle of filling up the void comes from his cosmology. Tlie Aristotelian cosmos is enclosed, finite, and full. The assumption of fullness leads to the claim that all empty spaces refill automatically IBerryman 1997; Anonymous 1991]. Philosophy has followed this line of argument for ages. Nevertheless, the principle was heavily debated.' The debate was silenced after the experiment of the Magdeburg hemispheres (1654). This experiment proved that a vacuum could be created in two hemispheres. In the twentieth century, the void was picked up again by artists and art critics in writing on the emerging of abstract art movements. Wassily Kandinsky, for example, has written on emptiness and its aesthetic power IKandinsky 1955; 19821. Others have theorized the aesthetics of abstract and minimal art IDomecq 19951 or criticized its self-claimed transcendentalism [Hauschildt 1994; Hughes 1997; Kuspit 1998].

Horror Vacui as a Social and Psychological Phenomenon The principle of horror vacui touches more domains than art theory or philosophy. In psychology, the principle is related to the human instinct to decorate. One of the differences between man and animal is our capacity to decorate things: "When we see primitives decorate themselves, it occurs to us that they do it mainly to resemble animals, whether they use feathers, colorful paints, or masks. But, no matter how their behavior may resemble that of animals, the distinction is vast and crucial because it involves the meaning of the word 'ornamentation'; viz., an intentional emphasis is given to an object, whether it be a man or an inert thing, by enriching addition" [Prinzhorn 1995: 20]. One feels an inner urge to cultivate one's surroundings. Some say this urge is more prominent in primitive groups or in periods of great decadence. Even in our time, where instinct to decorate is largely suppressed, we find some traces of the instinct in the habit of writing on walls in public toilets or scribbling on writing pads [Read 1964: 22-23]. Psychology gives the principle of horror vacni a rather artistic color. This meaning of the term has survived in art theory: the urge to complete a certain decoration with increasing detail. However, it does not give a satisfying explanation of the link between this horror vacni principle and the luxury signified in our sample. Therefore, we need a more sociological explanation. To connect emptiness to luxury, we need to relate liorror vacui to a social phenomenon. In order to do so, we will use the civilization theory of Norbert Elias 119821. According to this theory, the increasing differentiation of societal functions leads to the formation of more stable political organs acquiring the monopoly of force." Connected to this process of state formation is a psychological evolution creating diverse mechanisms of self-control:

Visualizing Emptiness 21

Through the interdependence of larger groups ot people and the exclusion of physical violence from them, a social apparatus is established in which the constraints between people are lastingly transformed into self-constraints. These self-constraints, a function of the perceptual hindsight and foresight instilled in the individual from childhood in accordance with his integration in extensive chains of action, have partly the form of conscious selfcontrol and partly that of automatic habit. [Elias 1982: 242-2431 Elias describes several domaii\s in which the civilizational process changes human behavior, all being some restraints on the human instincts or lusts: eating (with knife and fork), sleeping (not naked), spitting, personal hygiene [Elias 1978]. One of the most striking results from his study was the stratified division of selfcontrol. New forms of self-control originate first in higher classes and descend slowly into the lower classes. Self-constraints are instrunients with which the higher class confirms its superiority [Elias 1982]. Although quantity remains a sign of power and wealth, austerity penetrated on several domains as a sign of distinction. Letting oneself go is no longer tolerated. Slowly this evolution permeates society. We all use a knife and fork when we eat, we all wash overselves and we are all dressed in public. Nevertheless, the principle of constraining one's human instincts remains a distinctive sign. Tlie power to control oneself remains a sign of excellence.^ According to psychological theory, horror vacni is also a human instinct. We show an instinctive reaction towards voicis by decorating them, by filling up the gaps. If we follow Elias' theory, it must be so that the natural urge to fill in empty spaces is controlled by the civilizing process. If this is true, the higher classes will develop some sort of amor vacui. The "empty" becomes a sign of cultivation and good taste. The amor vacui in higher classes shows that Elias' civilization theory goes further than taking note of etiquette. Restraining oneself both physically and mentally makes the principle of amor vacui into a mark of distinction. Tliose who have the power to overcome their own horror vacui instinct can distinguish themselves. In earlier research, we have found the use of emptiness to be an important element in the construction of a luxury sign value in advertisements [e.g., Mortelmans 1998a; 1998b]. In advertisements, the principle of horror vacni is used by presentation of empty space. Eigure 1 gives an example. The Parker fountainpen is promoted with an absolute minimum of elements. No models are used, no special backgrounds or spectacular catchwords. Only a black rectangle on a white background. Except for the fountain pen itself, the page is nearly empty. The result is not only an enlarged focus on the product but an additional distinctive atmosphere that is created around the fountain pen.
The Void in Shop Windows

The research presented in this article deals with the use of emptiness in shops and more particularly in shop windows. There are two main reasons why we decided to study the shop windows. Eirst, we started from our research results in advertising. If emptiness is used to create a luxury sign value in advertisements, it could be an isolated phenomenon. As we argued earlier, the theory of both Norbert Elias and Pierre Bourdieu indicates that the principle of horror vacui is more widespread than a mere promotional technique in advertising. Controlling one's fear of the void is

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D. Mortelmans

hunk atin lui ,^'t7;(A win ii if ii lucriiici.' wrMiiii

Parker klasse
Figure 7 Tlie use of horror vitciii in advertisements. The caption of this advertisement reads: "Parker Top-class".

rooted more deeply in our culture. Therefore, we wanted to look at ways in which luxury companies use emptiness in places other than advertisement campaigns. Several possible subjects of research are evident. First, we could repeat the sociosemiotic content analysis we did on advertisements, on a sample of luxury catalogs and brochures. If emptiness is a visual technique in print advertisements, it could be hypothesized that the same results will apply to the catalog from a luxury company. Although this first line of research was interesting, we decided to focus on a second alternative. If emptiness is a sign of luxury, it does not only appear in similar sources of information, hke catalog. It could also be applied on the different selling points of luxury products. According to Jean-Louis Dumas-Hermes, manager of Hermes, the luxury boutique needs to be part of the package of a luxury item: "The smell itself of the shop one enters is already a package of the product" [Dumas-Hermes 1991: 311. Just as an advertisement or a catalog can communicate a sign of distinction, the design of a shop is an integral part of the construction of a luxury signified. The whole interior design must fit the brand: "the black, the white.

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the beige, the added gold for Chanel; the natural wood for Louis Vuitton; the 'grey Dior' and the Louis XTV style for the brand-institution" ICharrueau 1991: 138, author's translationl. If emptiness is indeed used to construct a luxury sign value, it should be visible both in the interior design of a boutique and in the shop window. The interior design of shops is important to create an atmosphere in which the consumer is invited to buy. The shop window is the exterior face of the boutique. It is the connection between the private sphere inside the boutique and the public sphere outside: the shop window links both worlds. It needs to persuade the consumer to enter the private world of luxury. Therefore, it is hypothesized that shop windows are an important generator of luxury sign value. Of course, the dressing of a window is not the only element in the creation of the standing of a specific shop. It might even be of lesser importance than the neighborhood or the brand names that are solidly in the shop. Nevertheless, shop windows are an exterior-directed form of communication that cannot be neglected. The second reason for studying shop windows and their relation to the use of emptiness is a derived one. Both in sociology and in cultural studies, there is a growing literature on consumer culttire and shopping behavior [e.g.. Brown and Turley 1997; Featherstone 1991]. Although the research interests are diverse, there is a substantial interest in "spheres of consumption in general" [Hetherington 1992] and in the shopping mall in particular [e.g.. Miller ct ni 1998]. The mall is seen as one of the central spaces of consumption [Hetherington 1992] of our late modern consumer society: "the shopping mall is symbolic of the global dissemination of late capitalist economies, [,..] the mall endows consumerism with almost religious-like qualities" [Miles 1998: 59]. Although the shopping mall receives much attention in both the theoretical and the empirical domains, little attention goes to design aspects of the different shops within these malls. Mark Gottdiener, for example, discusses the design of the mall as a well-structured whole. The central point in his analysis concerns the functionality of the mall: The purpose of a mall is to sell consumer goods. The function of mall design, therefore is to disguise the instrumental exchange relation between producer and consumer, which is always more to the former's benefit in capitalist society, and to present cognitively an integrated facade which facilitates consumption acts by the stimulation of consumer fantasies. Thus, the mall, taken as a whole, is a sign in itself, since it connotates something other than its principal instrumental function. [Gottdiener 1995: 86] His analysis then concentrates on the different constructions in the mall that serve this essential functionality. Shop windows and the different techniques of window dressing are only marginally mentioned. Although this article will concentrate on shopping streets rather than malls, we think that shop windows deserve more attention than they have received until now. If malls are presented as well-constructed environments to promote shopping, the sanie analysis applies to window dressing. More importantly, shop windows are thresholds of consumption. They are the capitalist sirens, seducing potential consumers to enter the inner sanctum. Even though we concentrate here on the principle of horror vacui, our analysis will, at the same time, give a more detailed insight into the construction of the seductiveness of shop windows.

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METHODOLOGY As outlined before, our study aims to look at the connection between the use of the void and the prestige of a certain shop. To do so, we have used a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods.'' Quantitative Research Method On the one hand, we want to classify all shops on a scale of prestige. In order to relate window dressing styles to the luxurious character of the shop, we need some criterion to classify the shops as luxurious. Concerning luxury, consumer price is an often used but highly debated criterion. When defining luxury, there is some consensus that expensiveness is an important factor. However, the question is whether or not the price is an inherent quality of a luxury product. In a French study on industrial and financial strategies in the luxury industry, the authors state that "luxury is no longer a product that costs six times more than a comparable product" [transl. from Corsani and Giuseppe 1992: 13]. A mere massconsumption object with a high price is not considered luxury. Several definitions of luxury have been developed, many of which excluded the expensive characteristics. Properties that are considered more crucial include scarcity, additional value or high quality standards IMortelmans 1997]. All these characteristics might give an accurate description of the exclusiveness of a product, but, empirically, they are hard to test. If we take quality as an example this becomes more apparent. Our research is Umited to clothing shops (see further). Consequently, we need to assess the quality of the clothes presented in the shop windows. It is obvious that this is a nonsensical option: this is why we once more end up with the easiest indicator, of luxury pricing. Although prices are imperfect indicators of the luxurious character of consumer goods, they are not completely unrelated to the phenomenon. If we ]ook at the different characteristics that are presented as luxury essentials, we can see that they all lead to a higher price. If a luxury product has a higher quality, it is produced with superior raw materials. These commodities are more expensive or need more sophisticated treatment (e.g., silk versus cotton). The increase in manufacturing costs leads to a higher consumer price. The same goes for other characteristics like exclusive distribution channels or special designs. Although price setting is much more complicated than summing up production costs ILebas et al. 1990: 48], we can state that luxury products usually are more expensive than other, comparable products. We decided to base the classification of the shops in our sample on the prices of the different articles that were presented in the shop window. We used a predefined coding scheme for obtaining our quantitative data. First, we determined which part of the shop window was inventoried. We did not inventory all shop windows completely. One of the significant elements in our research was the comparison of the total number of clothing items presented in a shop window to the type of shop. If a luxury shop uses emptiness as a technique, it could be hypothesized that only a few objects would be shown. If this is the case, we need to compare the number of items shown in all shop windows, assuming that we actually can compare tbem. Therefore we have worked with a limiting

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rule. We estimated that the average shop window^ takes up a length of five to ten meters, i.e., one or two big windows. However, several big chains store take up much more than that. In those cases, we limited the inventory to two or three windows. The decision about the number of windows was left to the encoder but the total space inventoried could not surpass ten meters."" Second, all objects in the shop window were inventoried. A distinction v^'as made between decorative elements in the window and the actual products. Decorative elements were merely listed. They do not play an important role in the quantitative analysis. The listed elements are only supportive elements for the qualitative analysis (see further). Three characteristics of the actual products were written down: price, type of clothing and place in the shop window. The price was measured in Belgian Francs, even if some shops already presented the price in Euros" next to the Belgian Francs. All clothes were categorized into 30 raw categories. The encoders categorized the clothes in the shop windows in one of these categories. They were instructed to use the 30 predefined codes but when they obser\'ed clothes that did not perfectly fit the coding scheme they could deviate from it. All deviations could be recoded afterwards to the original code book. The last quantitative information that was retrieved from the shop window was the place of the clothes in the window. Three different places were distinguished. Clothes could be worn by window dummies. He on the ground or hang on coathooks. This information enabled a more detailed analysis of the number of clothes in different parts of a shop window.

Qualitative Research Method

The quantitative information we collected was primarily aimed at classifying the different shops using their consumer prices on a prestige scale. Other quantitative indicators, like the number of clothes in a shop window, could give an indication of the use of eniptiness in shops, but tltis is a rather raw indicator. It does not tell anything about the general style of the shop window in which the emptiness might be used. In order to get a more vahd impression of the use of emptiness, we simultaneously gathered qualitative, visual data. Each shop that was inventoried quantitatively was also photographed. In this way, we could analyze the exterior image a shop is presenting, in more detail. The analysis of the visual data was done with a grounded theory approach [Glaser and Strauss 1967; Strauss and Corbin 1994, 1998]. Suchar described a detailed data collection method for visual sociologists based on the principles of grounded theory ISuchar 1997]. Since our quantitative data collecting method was bound to shops, we did not completely follow his collecting principles. As we have said, we took only one photograph of each shop. Next, we used the software program Atlas-ti to code and analyze the data. Atlas-ti is written for both textual and visual data analysis based on grounded theory IMuhr 1991]. During the categorization process, we ran through the photographs while coding al] elements in the shop windows that appeared as possible aspects of importance. This process of open coding"^ was finished by regrouping the codes*^ [Strauss and Corbin 1990]. Then codes were brought together in a coherent codebook, and we coded the

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D. Mortelmans

whole sample again with these codes. The subsequent analysis tried to identify groups of shop windows, using the codes as a guideline.

Sample Since comparability was a central research requisite, a restricted sample was necessary. We wanted only one product category in our sample, If we want to compare luxury shop windows with nonluxury windows, we need to compare the same category; otherwise, the kind of merchandise might influence the dressing of the shop window. Dressing a window of a toy store can be done quite differently from dressing the window of a shoe shop. We decided to reduce the scope of the research to clothes shops. The main reason for choosing clothes as our research focus was the wide availability of clothes shops both in the lower and the higher market segment. They range from exclusive boutiques to bulk sales. Another reason for choosing clothes is the way of selling. If we had chosen watches as our focus, we would have had enormous problems to find shop windows displaying watches. The bulk sale watches are found mostly in supermarkets while luxurious watches are sold at a jeweler's. In either case, comparing shop windows for these products would be impossible. We tried to include the widest possible range of clothes shops in our sample; therefore the sample was drawn in different shopping streets. We preferred researching shopping streets instead of malls for legal reasons. In Belgium, one is allowed to take photographs on the street. Inside shops and buildings however, the owner needs to give permission. It is unclear whether or not shopping malls are considered a public space. In order to avoid some prohibitions to photographing, shopping streets were selected as our research area. We selected five different shopping streets. The first three are known as exclusive shopping streets: Waterloo Avenue and Louisa Avenue in Brussels and Schuttershofstraat in Antwerp. This resulted in 64 shops (50 in Brussels and 14 in Antwerp). The fourth shopping street (the Meir) is also located in Antwerp and is the main shopping street of that city. It is a typical middle-class street with big chain stores and few or no small boutiques. A total of 36 shops was inventoried in this street. The last street (Abdijstraat) in the sample is located in one of Antwerp's poorer districts. It is a dilapidated street with several so-called one-dollar-shops and a lot of empty shop-premises. If chain stores are present, they specialize in cheap mass bulk sales. We analyzed 25 shops in this street. In total, our sample consists of 125 shops in five different shopping streets in Antwerp and Brussels. Their shop windows contained a total of 2845 clothing items.'^

RESULTS

We divided our results into two different sections. First, we will give the results of our quantitative analysis. This analysis will present the classification of all the shops on a continuum of prestige. Second, we will do a qualitative visual analysis of the photographs of all shops. The aim of this research is two-fold. On the one

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hand, we tried to construct a typology of shop windows. On the other hand, we tried to link the use of emptiness in these shop windows to the exclusiveness of the shop.

Classifying Shops As indicated before, the consumer prices of the articles presented in the shop windows are used as indicators for luxury. This simple starting point generates several derived problems. First, some shops do not use any price tags in their shop windows. These shops are presenting their clothes without any reference to prices. Strictly speaking, we should not include these shops in our classification. Since we will elaborate this classification, on the basis of prices, we have no data to use in placing these shops. Of course, the omission of prices is a sign of exclusiveness in itself. The technique has a deterrent function. A shop window with no price tags communicates an implicit invitation to enter the shop without any monetary limits. It is an invitation to judge the presented clothes for their aesthetic value. If one likes the clothes, one can enter and buy them without knowing the prices beforehand. Of course, such a strategy is useful only if the prices of the presented articles are high. Without referring to the principle of horror vacui, we see a new example of the power of self-constraint. A shop gains in prestige because those who enter there have the power^ to suppress their curiosity about the price of a commodity. For this reason, we decided to place all the shops that have no price tags in their shop windows at the right-hand side of our continuum (i.e., the most exclusive shops). In total, 17 shops (13.6%) were in this group IFigure 2], Among these shops, there are Belgian haute couture boutiques like Lieve Van Gorp or brands hke Chanel or Boss. Even though the connection between the absence of price tags and the exclusiveness of a certain shop is a theoretical one, it seems to give reliable results in our research.^^ The second problem we encountered by taking prices as indicators of exclusiveness was the nonncomparability within shop windows. A naive method of classifying shops could take the mean of all consumer prices in a certain shop window. This method neglects the inherent qualities of the clothes within the shop windows. A three-piece suit is more expensive than a shirt, no matter where you buy it. However, if a certain shop window has several shirts and only one suit, it could have a lower mean than a shop with several suits; even if this second shop sells its suits cheap. Therefore, we standardized the prices for each product category by calculating z-scores. With a mean of zero, positive z-score prices indicate n:\ore expensive pieces of a certain clothing category. Negative z-scores are given to the cheaper clothes. In such manner, each price is standardized within a certain clothing category. In order to classify all shops on the basis of their prices, we averaged the z-scores of all the products in the shop window. This results in the intended purpose. If a shop is expensive compared to others, its shop window may be supposed to contain clothes that have higher prices for each of the product categories. If that is the case, the average of the z-scores will be high. On the contrary, if a shop has a low average of standardized consumer prices, it means that the standardized clothing prices were low compared to

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other shops. Figure 2 gives an overview of the mean z-scores of all the shops in our sample. The figure shows a gradual increase in consumer prices from fhe left-hand side of the curve. This indicates a rather marginal difference between these shops.' " ^ On the other hand, the right-hand side shows an exponential-like shape. Prices on tliis side increase rapid]y. Several luxury houses are located in this segment: Giorgio Armani, Francis Ferent, and Gianni Versace, for examp]e. Figure 2 shows that we have created a continuous prestige-scale, based on the consumer prices of the clothes presented in the shop windows. We wil] come back to this sca]e later.

Classification of Shop Windows The central research hypothesis of this article was to look at whether or not shops use emptiness in their shop windows to create an image of exclusiveness. The use of emptiness, however, is not an isolated sign, A showroom is a composite whole of both the shop window and the general shop design. The visual research material allowed us to classify shops according to their shop windows and the design techniques used in them. The qualitative analysis of the visual data revealed five main types of shops and shop windows. As we were analyzing our data, it became clear that shop
rrwan zscoros

Figure 2 Mean z-scores of all clothing categories for each shop. The x-axis contains all 107 shops in our sample Ihat showed price tags in their shop window. In the graph, they were arranged in the order of their mean z-score. On the x-axis oniy a few shop names appear due to the limited space available in the graph. Since these names give an indication of the classification of the shops, we decided to keep them in the graph.

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windows are tightly connected to the type of clothes shop. Table 1 gives an overview of the five main types of shop window we found in our sample. The first category consists of bulk sales shops. Clothes are sold in large quantities, at knock-down prices. Next, we have a group of middle-class clothing shops. In our sample, this group consisted mainly of large chains store with a very typical way of window dressing. If we go to higher middle-class shops and top-class luxury shops, we enter the world of smaller boutiques. The variation in window dressing is much greater here. Consequently, we distinguished between three different types.
Bulk Sales

The first type of shops is termed "bulk sales." The key characteristics of this type are abundance and price-oriented design. Everything is oriented towards the communication of cheapness. Because several shops are competing in the same shopping street, the passer-by needs to be convinced that this is the cheapest shop of all. The most often seen technique to achieve this is the hand-written price tag. All clothes have large price tags that are readable from the streets. Figure 3 is a large bulk sales shop where price tags are predominant in the shop window. All price tags were made in a fluorescent yellow color. A second characteristic that reappears in the bulk sales is the crowdedness of the shops; as if bulk sale shops fight the horror vacui by all means. Emptiness is banned to the extreme by filling the shop window completely, with dummies and clothes IFigure 31. There is no room for a special design. Additionally, the threshold of the shop window is bridged by breaking down the classic borders of the shop design. The shop interior is brought to the outside. The window itself loses its communicationat function. The consumer is invited to touch and feel the goods. In this respect, the bulk sales shops resemble a (Third World) marketplace, where everything is brought close to the consumer; vegetables can be tasted, the smell of fresh bread is everywhere. The consumer walks and consuines in a private sphere as soon as he enters the market. Westem shopping patterns have unlinked this privateness with shops and shop windows. Although we will see further that some shop windows try to hnk both spheres again, there exists a separation between the public and the private sphere. The shops in Figures 4 and 5 break this separation by putting their clothes back on the streets as in marketplaces. With the entrance of the merchandise right onto the street, the impression of abimdance becomes even more apparent. The impression one tries to give is not only a picture of cheap goods but also of a multitude of goods. In Figure 4, more than a hundered jeans are piled up. The Boxer shop in Figure 5 surpasses this number several times. The horror vacui is suppressed maximally: all emptiness is banned.
Chjin Stores

The second group of shops with a similar design of shop windows are chain stores. By chain stores we mean clothing shops belonging to a larger chain of stores. The same clothes are distributed widely in similar shops. It is difficult to determine whether or not a certain shop belongs to a larger group of shops and

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Figure 4

Bulk sales shop (Antwerp, Abdijstraat).

when this group is large enough to be called a real chain. Since this discussion is a rather restricted one, it is not quite to the point here. What we call a chain store in our typology does not necessarily correspond to the technical definition of chain stores. Chain stores in this typology are defined as shops giving an impression of mass production, based on a rather uniform pattem of window design. The impression of working on a large scale is totally different from bulk sales shops. The impression of cheapness and abundance is suppressed. Large chain shops do not overcrowd their shop windows. On the other hand, they also avoid the use of too much emptiness (see further). The impression of middle-class pricing is created in the shop design itself. The brand name is predominantly present in front of the shop. Contrary to bulk sales shops where sometimes shops don't even have a name [Figure 4], the brand name is prominent here. Further, these shops are big. The biggest chain stores have two or three floors connected with escalators. On the outside, large windows enhance the department store-like feeling of the shop (Figure 6).

Figure 5

Boxer (A)itwcrp, Abdijstraat).

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D. Mortelmans

All shop windows of chain stores are very alike, not only within chains but also between different chains. At a certain moment in our data collection, we saw the dressing of a shop window of a particular chain store (Etam in Antwerp). The store personnel had emptied the window and were working on a new design, based on a predesigned scheme. One of the employees had a briefing on paper, and she was instructing her colleagues on how the window needed to be dressed. By accident, we came across the same company in Brussels a few days later and the shop window was designed almost identically. The main reason, however, we have included the chain store as a separate category of window dressing styles is that our data showed a large subgroup of stores with a similar design. The emphasis on the brand name and the large windows were only two characteristics of these shops. When we look at the shop window itself, it is striking that several aspects recur. One of the recurring elements is the use of large posters. As we have said, large chain stores do not overload their shop windows. Tliere are several dummies (three or more for each window) in the window, showing the newest collection. Often, additional shelves are used to present clothes. All this looks well-balanced but it does not give the impression of emptiness. The main reason for that is the use of large photographs of models in the stores. The photographs give the impression that they are cut out of a fashion catalog [Figure 7], The shop window of the chain store is designed as an enlarged, real-life advertisement for itself. Therefore, store chains as a group give a similar, mass media-like message through their shop windows. Next to the large posters, the use of seasonal themes in the shop window enhances the commercial picture we have sketched. Since our data were collected in June, the main recurring theme was summer and vacation. The metaphors used most frequently to express the idea of summer and vacation were palms or sailboards. To underline the themes, the posters often featured beach scenes with models walking along the beach. Also, separate catchwords referred to the upcoming holiday season. Although all shops were selling their summer collections, only chain stores regularly referred to this. As was stated before, bulk purchase shops merely concentrate on prices and large sales. But smaller boutiques or exclusive luxury boutiques also did not predominantly use the seasonal theme (see further).
Boutiques

As soon as the size of the shop decreases, a clothing shop can be described as a boutique. Boutiques are ground-floor shops with a limited collection of clothes usually restricted to one sex. Large chain stores sell clothes for both men and women (often also for children); boutiques are smaller and more specialized. Almost half of our sample (58 of 125 shops, 46%) can be described as a boutique. As a consec]uence, there is a much larger diversity in this group. A first group we will not further discuss in detail, consists of boutiques with a pattern equivalent to those of chain stores. They belong to a smaller chain or a more specialized chain within the fashion market. These shops are indeed smaller and have a few characteristics of the boutiques we will discuss further. Their dominant image however is one of a brand-oriented and highly popularized shop.

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Figure 7 Springfield (Antwerp, Meir).

This results in the use of large posters or sailboards, only on a smaller surface. Although these shops are both technically and economically boutiques, we classify them in the chain store category. Besides this group, we can discern three groups of boutiques: first, boutiques using modern and artful design m their shop window; second, boutiques where the interior of the shop itself becomes part of the shop window, and third, boutiques in which emptiness prevails. Firsl Type: Art and Modern Design. Some boutiques try to distinguish themselves with art and design. Although such decor might exist elsewhere, we did not find any modern painting or sculptures in our sample. The most prominent type of design used includes abstract objects and forms. Hardly any figurative objects are used in this type. The impression of the shop window is one of soberness and distinction. The amor vacui enters the shop window but it does not prevail as we will see in the last type. Dummies and other window elements still have an important place. Sometimes the dummies as such are the subject of design.

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Figure 8

Olivier Strelli (Antwerp, Keyserlci).

In Figure 8 the dummies form a composition in themselves. Here, the shop designer went further than merely dressing some dummies. He created an isolated composition with an artistically-minded undertone. In this shop window, we also see one of the rare exceptions in the use of person-like dummies. The women in the composition have a head and a face. In boutiques, dummies are usually decapitated. Only torso and legs are used, without a head. The personalized dummy is used more frequently in bulk purchase shops. One of the particular elements of the boutique as such is the entrance-way. Chain stores all have large glass entrance doors. Boutiques are more likely to have a regular door with a doorhandle and a doorpost. In addition, about half of the boutiques do not leave their doors open: there is a deliberately created border between the shop and the outside world. An interested consumer can't just walk in and out; entering a boutique requires an explicit action of the consumer. Moreover, it is not just the act of grabbing the doorhandle and pushing the door. The door closes again behind the consunier, giving the impression that he is more than a flaneur (Bauman) who passes by.
Second Type: Blurring the Threshold between Public and Private Spheres. The sec-

ond type of boutique is the first one where emptiness is used as a technique on its own. It is characterized by the transparency of the shop window. The window itself is rather empty; the number of clothing items is limited, as is the number of dummies. The main characteristic of the second type is transparency. It is a type that has been described earlier by the French semiotician Ana Claudia Alves de Oliveira [19961. The shop window does not have a background. There are some objects in the shop window but the shop itself is visible in the background. The shop window ceases to exist: it becomes integrated with the shop itself. The shop window is a bridge between the public sphere outside and the private sphere of the shop vanishes. Both spheres make direct contact. The outsider can look and judge the activities inside the shop. Most shops without a clearly distinct shop window do not reduce only the shop window to a minimum. The interior design of the shop itself also is an utterance of

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what we called amor vacui: large rooms with only a few racks. The shop window of Natan [Figure 9] is reduced to a small platform with two dummies. Further, the window gives a vision of the interior design. Inside the shop there are only a few racks on the right side of the shop and a cash desk in the middle of the room. Further, the shop is nearly empty. There is no decoration on the walls and the height of the shop combined with a large unused surface inside the shop gives an impression of emptiness. The sign of amor vacui in this type is not created in the shop window itself. Because of the transparency of the shop window, the empty space inside the shop is brought to the fore. In the last type of boutique, the emptiness is created in the shop window itself. Third Type: .^lnor vacui as a Sign of Distinction. The last type of boutique has a lot in common with both types described earlier. This type does not use glass doors or humanized dummies. It does not have large windows but rather tall and straight ones. The crucial difference however is the use of emptiness in the shop window itself. The interior world of the shop and the exterior world are separated by the shop window. There is no or hardly any direct connection between both sides. Unlike the previous type, the shop window is used as a separation. The interior of the shop is not visible from the street. As with the interior design of the Natan shop, backgrounds in this type are monotonally colored. The most dominant color is white, but some shops use other light-colored shades. The prototype of the last type of shop window can be found in Figure 10. The shop window of Gianni Versace suppresses all superfluous material. Each window contains only one dummy and a white background. The impression of emptiness is enhanced by the tall windows. The background behind the dummies is limited to the height of the dummies. In this way, the profundity of the shop is added to the upper side of the window, as becomes visible at the right side of the photograph. All redundant elements are left out and what remains is a well-balanced equilibrium between showing a collection and leaving the shop window completely empty.

Figure 9

Natan (Antwerp, Schuttershofstraat).

fc

I
CQ

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Shop Window Design and Prestige. In this last section, we want to combine the quantitative and the quaUtative analysis. The qualitative typology we constructed by analyzing our visual data does not tell us anything about the prestige of a certain shop. It is quite possible that shop design has little or nothhig to do with the prestige of a shop. Therefore we need to link the quantitative typology to the prestige scale we constructed earlier with consumer prices. In an intuitive way, we can expect a correlation between the use of emptiness and the prestige of a shop. The Pearson's correlation of the prestige scale and the total number of objects in the shop window is .25 (Probability /-teat = 0.009). Although the number of objects tells nothing about the design of a shop, there is a negative correlation with prestige. A more accurate way of looking at the design of a shop and its place on the prestige scale is given in Figure 11. Here we have transposed the qualitative typology in scores where bulk sales stores have the lowest score and the third type of boutique has the highest score.'^ Important to notice is that we added all shops to the graph this time. As was explained before, a necessary condition for the construction of the prestige scale was the presence of price tags. In Figure 11, we added the shops that did not show any price tags at the right side of the graph. They were added to the graph in no particular order. It is important to include these shops, since it was hypothesized that the omission of prices was in itself a sign of luxury. If we look at Figure 11, there are several conclusions to make. First, bulk sales shops are located in the lower parts of the scale. Their trademark is low prices, and therefore they score very low on the prestige scale. Since we did not include any second-hand shops in the sample, it is difficult to judge whether or not these shops are the absolute lower limit of clothes shops. Next to the bulk sales shops we see a large group of chain stores clustering together. This is the part where the z-scores

Figure 11 Prestige scale and shop window design.

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are rising very slowly, indicating that the prices of large chain stores are very similar. They operate in the same market segment, and therefore they use similar pricing categories. This category is not only coherent in its prices, it is equally coherent in its window dressing. Most shops here showed the previously described design of large posters and seasonal themes. Even if each brand uses its own accents, the main structure is very much the same. This uniformity no longer applies once we enter the world of the boutique. Since the use of emptiness as a sign of luxury was the starting, point in our research, we expected to see a reflection of the use of emptiness on the prestige scale. If we take the last three categories from our typology, there is indeed a correlation with the prestige scale. Window dressing techniques we identified as Boutique 1, 2 or 5 are occurring at the higher end of the prestige scale. Also shops that are not using price tags are all using these types of window dressing. However, we cannot clearly distinguish any of the three types of window dressing along the prestige scale. Only the third type with an absolute stress on emptiness seems to occur more regularly at the higher end of the scale. A possible explanation for this result is the existence of different signifiers of prestige in window dressing. Here art, design, transparent windows and emptiness can be used to construct prestigious shop windows. In conclusion, we want to draw attention to two outliers from Figure 11. Since shops are free to dress their window as they like, they can easily adopt styles from others. At the left side of the prestige scale there is one shop using the transparency technique in its shop window. The shop window (from Mexx) is shown in Figure 12. It was a surprise that it appeared so low in the prestige scale. When studying the quantitative data more closely, it appeared that they did not use price tags on their models. The reason they appeared so low was that three t-shirts had prices on them. Therefore, they appeared in the prestige scale at a rather low level. A second

Figure 12 Mexx (Antwerp, Meir}.

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Figure 13 Boss (Antwerp, Meir).

outlier is situated at the right side of the scale where a shop without price tags uses chain store techniques in its shop window. The shop was identified as a Boss store, which was an even bigger surprise. If we look at Figure 13, we can see that Boss is indeed using chain store techniques in its shop window. They do not present price tags, but they do use large posters and several dummies and shelves in their store window. Possibly, Boss tried to adapt its store to the general view of the shopping street (Meir in Antwerp). Nevertheless, it is one of the most striking examples of a shop in the higher range of the prestige scale using a deviant design.
CONCLUSION

Shop windows are part of the packaging of a consumer gooci. They need to convey the image a brand wants to create for itself. But there is more to shop windows than a mere commercial function. If we look at the shop windows we have researched and their connection to the urban network they come from, there is a connection. Shops group together in neighborhoods or in certain streets because they belong to the same category. This results in a highly similar appearance of shops along the shopping street. Waterloo Avenue in Brussels, with all its boutiques, has a more or less coherent look, which contrasts highly with the Abdijstraat in Antwerp. In this sense, we could also say that the shop window is the package of a neighborhood. The type of shop and the layout of shop windows give much information to visual sociologists about the condition of the neighborhood. In our research, we concentrated on horror vacui as one of the discriminating factors to classify shop windows. The typology we constructed shows that shops and shop windows can be classified in more or less homogeneous groups. Some groups are clearly related to the use of or the fight against the principle of horror vacui. The self-constraint of one's inherent fear of the void seems to create standing. However, we need to place the use of emptiness in shop windows in a

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broader perspective. As Stuart Hall argued, the meaning of visual culture in general or images in particular is never fixed [Hall 19971. Images and artifacts are not only polysemous, their meaning is often ephemeral [Attfield 2000]. Bourdieu's theory clearly showed that this polysemy is class-bound. Moreover, different classes not only have different tastes but also different histories of perception. Classes have specific ways of perceiving their surroundings [Lowe 1982]. This observation points to one of the weaknesses in the above presented analysis. The visual analysis showed some evidence of the role of horror vacui in distinction processes. However, the analysis that was performed used an etic perspective [Silverman 1994]. The styles of window dressing were constructed with a visual analysis from the researchers' perspective. No confrontation of these data has been made with the actual viewers of these shop windows, nor with the shop window designers themselves. Such an approach departs from an emic approach. In this way, the visual material of the shop windows can be used to check whether the fear of the void indeed leads to perceptions of distinctiveness as Elias' theory indicated. It can also reveal more detailed information about the rationale behind the process. Is horror vacui indeed an acceptable explanation of the connection between emptiness and exclusivity, or might there be other processes at work? The present results should therefore be seen as sensitizing concepts [B[umer 1969]. The use of emptiness, art and modern design or transparency in the creation of distinction can serve future research in exploring the relation between visual material (like advertisements) or graphic design (as in shop windows) and stratification processes.

NOTES

1. Besides the philosophical debates on the principle of horror I'aciii, several physicists (e.g., Pascal) tried to prove experimentally the existence of a void. 2. Elias treats the state formation in the transition from medieval feudalism to the nation states in the Renaissance. 3. In his Distinction, Bourdieu 11994] gives several examples of differences in aesthetic taste as well as how differences in uses and habits differ on several courts. He illustrates the working of the amor vacui principle in several domains. 4. The data collection was done in June 1999 by the author and a colleague on the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Antwerp University. The author wants to thank Sofie Damen for her help in the data collection of the research. Both the coding and the analysis were done by the author himself. 5. If a limiting decision needed to be made, the encoder always took the left side of the entrance door. This additional rule was imposed to prevent a content-based decision (e.g., taking only empty windows). The left-criterion followed the reasoning that large stores have their entrance in fhe middle of the shop, hi this fashion, the shop design itself usually suggested which part of the shop window needed to be inventoried. 6. One Euro equals 40.3399 Belgian Francs (1.32 U.S. in 2004). 7. In order to reduce bias, it is recommended [Suchar 19971 to use phrases from text as codes {ill I'ivo coding). Since we worked with visual material it was not pctssible to code this way. 8. Atlas-ti provides a separate tool for organizing the open coding: the Network Editor. This too! allows the researcher to link and unlink different codes in a graphic network.

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9. All clothes in the shop window were inventoried, independently of the presence of a price-tag. If three trousers were piled with only one price-tag, for example, the encoders were instructed to write down tliree separate trousers with this price. If no price-tags were shown, they were instructed to inventory the clothes in the shop window. K). In this case, power refers strongly to monetary power, to the capacity to buy. 11. Of course, the reliability of this connection lies in the fact that we suppose that shops from Boss or Chanel are exclusive ones. 12. Only at the very beginning of the curve is there a little leap. The first two shops (called Jeffry and Boxer) at the very beginning of the curve have extremely low clotliing prices. Both shops are located in the shopping street Abdijstraat, which is in a poorer district of Antwerp. 13. The main purpose of giving scores was to create an easily readable graph. Therefore, the scores for bulk sales shops and large chain stores were low (1 and 1.5) while the scores for the three types of boutiques were high (4, 4.5, and 5). Tlie dotted line in the middle of the graph was also added manually for readabihty.
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