Hungarian fashion identity

Absztrakt (kivonat)

Fashion as a non-verbal form of communication is able to convey information between humans by visual signs and sign systems. People provide information about themselves by their dressing and appearance both on an individual and a national level. The common features observable in the dressing forms of people with identical national backgrounds are attributed to the stable fashion identities of particular nations which carry historical and cultural references. Although fashion is an ever-changing phenomenon, national identities provide a static framework within which new trends operate (e.g. romantic French, kitschy Italian, innovative British), the given research aimed to define this framework of Hungarian fashion. The aim of the paper was to study the Hungarian fashion identity, supposing that Hungary has a distinct fashion image and Hungarian fashion designers display common features in their work, stemming from their national background. It was expected to recognise recurring visual signifiers displayed on clothing that can be perceived as visual signs making certain items recognised as typically Hungarian. The historical motivations behind the common usage of certain components have also been examined, to understand their relationship to the historical and cultural characteristics of the nation. The precedents of countries with strong fashion identities provided the scheme for the study’s questionnaire to analyse the Hungarian platform. The establishment of the questionnaire has also been preceded by a thorough historical review of Hungarian fashion history and visual analysis of the work of contemporary Hungarian fashion designers. All of the possible visual signs with their origins and motivations recognised with the help of the literature were incorporated in the survey. The aim of the questionnaire was to obtain information about the overall existence of Hungarian fashion identity, furthermore, to collect its features and the historical motivations behind them. The survey filled out by contemporary Hungarian fashion professionals enabled to obtain a thorough picture of the present Hungarian fashion scene and its levels of development. Results yielded that the work of Hungarian designers is unique, creative, and able to compete in the international arena, however, its characteristics are moving on such a wide scale that its country of origin cannot be recognised at large. The work of Hungarian fashion designers forms a coherent image to some extent, the problem is that this image is too general and lacks specificity, therefore Hungarian fashion identity cannot be described specifically enough. The majority of respondents agreed on some features to be stable ones, such as femininity, practicality, creativeness, and a notable presence of craftsmanship on the work of designers, furthermore, the imprints of the age of Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin and Socialism were recognisable in the contemporary Hungarian fashion design with exact visual signifiers related to the mentioned eras. Nevertheless, Hungarian fashion identity has been found underdeveloped, the main reasons interfering with its development were the lack of re-occurring stable features, the lack of generational transmission of national features, the lack of consistency, and the following and imitation of other countries’ fashion instead of working on the strengthening of Hungarian visual signifiers.