Resonant Heels and ‘The Devil Wears Prada’

Building and Sharing Identity Through Sound

Abstract

This paper explores how the “sounding silhouette” (Stasiulite) – the sound produced by a dressed body – becomes a social value, that is, a semantic concept (Violi). It proposes a methodology for analysing the valences emerging from sounding and the values emerging from signalling silhouettes (community values), drawing on Peirce, Greimas, and Landowski. Through Ricoeur’s notion of identity, the sounding silhouette is shown to shape identity via four personae types: coherent (acceptance), indifferent (a priori rejection), rebel (a posteriori rejection), and aesthetic/ascetic (neutrality). This four types of personae developing from the relation with the values sent: accepted, rejected a priori or a posteriori or neutralized. These theories are applied to The Devil Wears Prada, where heels function as a signalling silhouette linked to power and willingness. This silhouette acts as interpellation, initiating dialogue with others. Using Marino and Santangelo’s framework on spreadability, the paper argues that in Western societies, the dominant shared values are power and willingness, tied to the construction of self-made identities.