A case study of motivation in Hungarian fashion shows.

Abstract

Fashion has the ability to generate emotions in individuals' mind. It has the ability to form a sense of shared belonging by creating a 'common visible world' for people who are interested in fashion. As events have developed so did the demand for memorable experiences. People become more interested in investing money into leisure activities that can satisfy their personal needs, such as fashion shows. However, not only attendees' can fulfil their desires by attending the shows. Fashion shows provide the greatest platform for designers to showcase their designs thus offering them the opportunity of 'live advertisements' benefiting them with rewards, such as gaining media awareness and reputation through the shows. After investigating the existing literature, the researcher was able to explore and identify the theoretical framework on which the research study was built on. Although it has been recognised that a wide range of research was previously carried out on motivation regarding to event attendance, however, investigating the nature of fashion shows and the motivations regarding fashion show attendance and participation within lesser developed countries, such as Hungary seems to be an under researched area. Therefore, the research's aim is to classify the main motivational factors regarding to fashion show attendance and participation through the eyes of the attendees and designers using the case of Hungary. Personal experiences, thoughts and opinions of attendees and designers will be examined in order to provide an in-depth understanding of what lies behind the motivations of each individuals in order to attend and participate at the shows. The researcher chose to apply qualitative approach through the use of semi-structured and online personal interviews as it has the ability to provide more in-depth information. In order to provide reliable results, discussion and analysis, the researcher chose to conduct the interviews with eight individuals who have been previously attended fashion shows and another two with contemporary designers. Moreover, the interviews have been carefully translated to English. The results found demonstrate that identifying attendees' and designers' motivations towards fashion show attendance and participation is crucial in order to understand the needs and desires of both attendees' and designers' thus enabling Hungarian fashion shows to reach out for a wider audience and participants. Also, it become clear that fashion shows already have a demand in Hungary. Despite the undeniable limitations of the present Hungarian fashion shows, both sample groups had positive and optimistic thoughts about its future development. Hungarian designers considered fashion shows as an innovative experience that could benefit them greatly with the rewards that the shows might offer, such as monetary benefits, relationships building and press coverage. Attendees shared this opinion and added that the shows' overall experience has improved greatly since the beginning. Attendees also highlighted that fashion shows allow Hungarians to be more opened towards newness whilst also providing an exciting platform for individuals to be entertained, share a sense of belonging and to have the ability to build beneficial relationships. Both designers and attendees have however agreed that essential changes still need to be implemented in order to improve and increase the attractiveness of the shows.