Striking a Pose: How Fashion Models’ Postures Shape Consumers’ Perceptions
(A2026-133995)

AUTHORS

Sujin Gwon, Hanyang university; Eunsoo Baek, Hanyang university

ABSTRACT

This research examines how variations in fashion models’ postures operate as cognitive signals that shape consumers’ product valuations. Across a field A/B test and two controlled experiments, dynamic (vs. static) poses reliably increased consumer engagement and willingness to pay. Mediation analyses indicate that dynamic poses trigger production-related inferences, heightening perceived effort and production cost, which in turn enhance perceived value. Providing explicit production information attenuated these effects, suggesting that pose-based inferences reflect heuristic processing and weaken when more diagnostic production information is available. By conceptualizing model posture as a systematic visual cue, this research extends theories of visual communication, heuristic judgment, and online product presentation while offering actionable implications for fashion imagery design and management.