Abstract

Award-winning and internationally recognised shoe design house, Nadderzique, was showcased at the 2008 Cannes International Film Festival. Nadderzique enlisted psychologists to analyse ‘fashion personality’ - who buys haute couture and what does fashion tell us about its wearers? To determine the psychological personality profile of their clientele as well as how fashion itself informs us about the people who wear haute couture, research focused on whether personality is reflected through a person’s clothing (their fashion). The study also considered whether there was a link between personality, fashion and anxiety. Using a within-subjects design, an opportunistic sample of 60 male and 60 female students were recruited. The well-known Eysenck Personality Inventory and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales were used to measure personality and anxiety / depression, respectively. ‘Fashion’ was measured using specially developed scales. Positive correlations between fashion and personality were found with significant relationships between anxiety, personality and fashion. These findings informed the design process for enhancing the Nadderzique shoe brand.