Abstract
This study examined trends in model perceptions in the Asian fashion industry through a survey on the current status of using models, model attributes, and image recognition for companies and brands participating in the Seoul Fashion Week and Hong Kong Fashion Week. The results of the study are as follows. First, an examination of the races of models used for public relations by clothing and accessory companies indicated that the use of Asian and black models was lower than white models. Second, intimacy, reliability, similarity, and professionalism were derived as attributes for a public relation model. Among these factors, only 'intimacy' showed a difference between the countries. Third, Seoul Fashion Week participants gave the highest marks for the strong individuality of the models used for their brands; however, participants in the Hong Kong Fashion Week most appreciated suitability with products and professional appearance. Fourth, the different trends of model image recognition were shown through various analysis results by country or race, in which Seoul Fashion Week participants highly perceived the global and luxurious image of white models, and were generally highly satisfied with the models. In terms of the Hong Kong Fashion Week, Asian models tended to be perceived as a more casual image, and the participants held contributions to brand recognition as the most significant factor when using Asian models.
