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Social Media Angle: Gamification encourages content creation, tagging, and sharing, expanding cultural learning
into virtual spaces.
Summary
By combining interactive storytelling, multisensorial stimulation, live demonstrations, immersive audio-visual
design, participatory experiences, and gamification, Manila fashion shows can evolve into cultural learning
experiences. Each fashion item or category—whether apparel, footwear, accessories, or luxury goods—can be
framed as both a cultural artifact and a sensory stimulus, appealing to the attention, curiosity, and sharing behavior
of the social media generation.
DISCUSSION
Preserving the Producer-Consumer Connection of Fashion Shows and Their Products
To prevent alienation between consumers and fashion producers while reinventing the fashion show as a
multisensorial cultural learning experience, the event should prioritize interactive, participatory, and co-creative
experiences. One approach is to incorporate live demonstrations or mini-workshops where audiences can observe
and even participate in the creation of fashion items, such as embroidery, weaving, or fabric dyeing, while having
the opportunity to ask questions or offer input on designs. This fosters a sense of collaboration rather than passive
observation (Bandura, 2001). Similarly, co-creation and personalization opportunities, such as stations where
audiences can customize accessories or textiles inspired by the main collection, allow consumers to contribute to
the creative process. Integrating social media tools to let audiences vote on design features or provide real-time
feedback further strengthens engagement. These approaches echo findings from the Sisyphe Bookstore study,
where integrating educational elements with enjoyable experiences enhanced engagement and cultural literacy
(Rogers, 1969; Wang, 2025).
Storytelling that highlights producer perspectives is also critical. Narrating the background of designers, local
artisans, and the cultural inspirations behind each garment—through live narration or multimedia and augmented
reality (AR) presentations—humanizes the production process and fosters respect and connection between
consumers and creators. Additionally, multisensorial immersion can deepen these connections by blending visual,
auditory, tactile, and even olfactory elements that reflect the materials, craftsmanship, and cultural contexts of the
fashion items. For example, garments made of Piña fabric could be presented alongside natural scents or sounds
from pineapple fields or local weaving communities. This approach mirrors how multisensory engagement in the
bookstore study increased attention, emotional resonance, and loyalty (Classen, 1993; Carvalhais, 2021).
Finally, post-event access and interaction can maintain the connection between producers and consumers.
Opportunities such as meet-and-greet sessions, online forums, or the ability to purchase limited edition or
experiential merchandise help extend the learning and cultural experience beyond the runway. The bookstore
study demonstrated that events encouraging follow-up engagement enhanced both satisfaction and loyalty (North
& Hargreaves, 2008). By combining participation, personalization, narrative immersion, and multisensorial
design, fashion shows in Manila can be reinvented as multisensorial cultural learning experiences that effectively
bridge the gap between creators and audiences, offering meaningful engagement for the social media generation
while preserving the cultural and artistic integrity of the fashion products.
Supporting a Circular Fashion Economy
Reinventing fashion shows in Manila as multisensorial cultural learning experiences can actively support a
circular economy by emphasizing sustainability, local production, and extended product life cycles, all while
engaging audiences in immersive ways. The circular economy in fashion is based on principles of reducing waste,
reusing materials, recycling fabrics, and designing products for longevity (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). A
multisensorial, participatory fashion show can integrate these principles in several ways.