RUNWAY SHOWS AND FASHION FILMS AS A MEANS OF COMMUNICATING THE DESIGN CONCEPT A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By Xiaohan Lin July 2016 2 Thesis written by Xiaohan Lin B.S, Kent State University, 2014 M.A., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by ______________________________________________ Name, Thesis Supervisor ______________________________________________ Name, Thesis Supervisor or Committee Member ______________________________________________ Name, Committee Member ______________________________________________ Dr. Catherine Amoroso Leslie, Graduate Studies Coordinator, The Fashion School ______________________________________________ Dr. Linda Hoeptner Poling, Graduate Studies Coordinator, The School of Art ______________________________________________ Mr. J.R. Campbell, Director, The Fashion School ______________________________________________ Dr. Christine Havice, Director, The School of Art ______________________________________________ Dr. John Crawford-Spinelli, Dean, College of the Arts 3 REPORT OF THESIS FINAL EXAMINATION DATE OF EXAM________________________ Student Number_________________________________ Name of Candidate_______________________________________ Local Address_______________________________________ Degree for which examination is given_______________________________________ Department or School (and area of concentration, if any)_________________________ Exact title of Thesis_______________________________________ If master’s degree candidate elected an option not requiring a thesis, indicate which one and briefly describe work done in lieu of thesis______________________________ Signatures of examining committee: Name (typed or printed) Signatures Pass Fail ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ Advisor ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ ________________ FINAL RESULT: Pass □ Fail □* *Attach comments or specified conditions if student fails. _______________________________________ ____________________________________ Graduate Program Coordinator Chair/Director ____________________________________ While (original): Registrar College Dean Yellow: College Gold: Student Pink: Department/School 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF TABLES vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii ABSTRACT viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 9 II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT Runway Shows 13 Models 15 Stage Setting 16 Media 18 Runway Show Videos 19 Fashion Film 19 Design Concept 20 Future Fashion Professionals 21 Summary 21 Hypotheses 22 III. FRAMEWORK AND MODEL Communication Process Model 23 IV. METHOD Preparation 26 Participants 30 Procedure 31 Data Analysis 33 Hypothesis Testing 34 V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Discussion 42 Conclusions 43 REFERENCES 47 APPENDIX A. Questionnaire 53 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. The Communication Process Model 24 2. Communication Model as Adapted to Runway Show Video and Fashion Film 25 3. Group 1 and Group 2 Survey Process 32 4. Group 3 and Group 4 Survey Process 33 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Expert Opinions of Design Concept 29 2. The Runway Show Was Creative, They Enjoyed Watching and Were Interested 34 3. Frequencies of Adjective Selection Among Participants Watching Dolce & Gabbana Fashion Film (102 Participants) 35 4. Frequencies of Adjective Selection Among Participants Watching Dolce & Gabbana Runway Show (100 Participants) 36 5. Frequencies of Adjective Selection Among Participants Watching Givenchy Fashion Film (100 Participants) 37 6. Frequencies of Adjective Selection Among Participants Watching Givenchy Runway Show (102 Participants) 38 7. Percentage of Participants Whose Perceptions of the Design Concept Were Congruent with Experts’ Perceptions 39 8. Paired Sample t-tests for Differences Between Means 40 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank my family for being wonderful. My parents have always stood by me through all of the difficult days and nights. I want to thank the faculty in the Fashion School especially Dr. Leslie, and Dr. Gargi who had a super positive influence during my life at Kent State University. I would like to thank my committee member Professor Luke Amour, who is knowledgeable and professional. I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my advisor Dr. Nancy Stanforth who has patient and always helps me to improve my thesis line by line. viii Abstract As diverse media technology develops faster and faster, choosing the best media to show artistic expression directly influences the audience understanding of the design concept. The purpose of this study is to investigate which media assists viewers to understand and manage the information from runway show videos and fashion films differently. In this study, Dolce & Gabbana and Givenchy runway shows and fashion films were shown to participants. The results indicate that there are significant differences in perception of design concepts, intrinsic elements, and extrinsic elements between runway shows and fashion films. Also, the study investigated the congruence in perceptions between participants and fashion experts. This study is especially timely given the rapid growth of electronic fashion communication, and provides detailed information to fashion designers and runway show/fashion film producers in order to create more for effective methods to deliver design concepts to audience. 9 Chapter I Introduction Ariel Emanuel, chief of WME/IMG said, “When we look at the world, we see fashion” (Vanessa, 2015，p. 7). Runway shows offer a form of expression through which to showcase the latest styles during fashion weeks each season in New York City, Milan, Paris, and London, the top fashion cities for fashion events. Guide To Producing a Fashion Show, the concept of the runway show is defined as an event that intends to provide the newest ideas in fashion trends, color trends, and the latest styles in apparel and accessories by showcasing specific items on live models in front of an audience (Everett & Swanson, 2013). Therefore, runway shows are both communicated to the audience and a tool for helping designers to show their design concepts. Majima (2008) provides a possible reason why companies and designers choose runway shows to display their ideas, which is “the fundamental role of runway shows and fairs as venues where capital-poor designers (the seller) and capital-rich mass producers/marketers (the buyer) form a reciprocal relationship” (p. 2). The most important reason to hold a runway show is to sell merchandise (Everett & Swanson, 2013). In the contemporary fashion industry runway show videos are among the most useful methods designers have to present their design concepts to an audience. Designers started recording runway shows in mass numbers in 2000, with such videos appearing on specific television or YouTube channels (Everett & Swanson, 2013). In order to gain 10 attention and create memorable brands, designers for major brands such as Chanel, Givenchy, and Alexander Wang began posting their runway show videos on YouTube. Since Givenchy published its runway show video on YouTube March 8, 2015, the video has generated 103,669 views. Therefore, there is a much wider audience for runway show videos than the live runway shows could ever accommodate. These videos are serving as a means for the introduction of fashion items. The success of runway videos and growth of accessibility to online content has led fashion on designers to explore other media. One of the newest ways to present a design concept is via a fashion film. In 2010, some luxury fashion brands such as Chanel, Givenchy and Alexander Wang, started creating fashion films to communicate with their audiences (Min, Koo & DeLong, 2015). Such companies hire a fashion director to produce a dramatized fashion film, expecting this person not only to sell merchandise, but also to present the design concept to a wider audience (Guerin, 2005). Fashion campaigns on film (referred to as fashion films) are cinematic productions that blend “fashion industry, entertainment and art practice” (Uhlirova, 2013, p. 137). Different methods to deliver information to an audience (runway show videos and fashion films) may have different effects on the receivers of messages (Craig, 1999). A few articles discuss runway show production (Everett & Swanson, 2013), and only one article (Min, Koo, and Delong, 2014) has been found that investigates the differences between runway show videos and fashion films. Min, Koo, and Delong (2014) explored differences in information management 11 between runway show videos and fashion films, focusing on the specific case of Chanel. They revealed that a runway show video is easier for consumers to understand and remember than a fashion film. Currently, no research has explored whether runway show videos or fashion films better communicate design concepts. This paper focuses on how runway show videos and fashion films have different impacts on the audience, specifically on future fashion professionals, such as fashion students, who will be responsible for the promotion marketing and purchasing of fashion products in the industry. This study is especially timely given the rapid growth of electronic fashion communication through platforms such as YouTube and Instagram. Where fashion designers used to produce live shows