This article examines clothing in The Adventures of Tintin from a semiotic perspective, considering dress as a system of signs embedded in the visual logic of comics. Building on Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle’s pioneering studies (1976, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2012) and later contributions by scholars such as Groensteen, Marion, and Floch, the analysis explores how the aesthetics of the ligne claire transform garments into both narrative and symbolic operators. The results identify seven functional categories of dress—core attire, everyday wear, professional/functional outfits, disguises, cultural costumes, ceremonial garments, and altered clothing—which serve as identity anchors, indicators of action, or markers of cultural otherness. Tintin’s consistent base attire ensures visual coherence, while subtle variations introduce narrative nuance and contextual adaptation. The study concludes that clothing in Hergé’s work is far from decorative; it functions as a central semiotic device whose stability and transformations reinforce the character’s iconicity and his status as a timeless cultural hero.
