The Hungarian Academy of Arts, Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology and the University of Pécs’s Department of Applied Arts, and Department of Communication and Media Studies are now accepting submissions for paper presentations at an upcoming three-day, transdisciplinary conference, Transcultural Fashion/Costume Narratives.
We seek original research papers and critical analyses that investigate fashion and costume design in motion pictures, television, and live performances. We are particularly interested in exploring the cross-cultural emergence and representation of fashion, the interrelationship between fashion and media, and fashion as a medium in a globalized system. Papers that can provide insights into multiple aspects of costume design, or fashion as a social, cultural, historical, and aesthetic phenomenon, are strongly encouraged.
We welcome scholarly and creative submissions that address fashion, costume, and appearance.
Potential topics include (but are certainly not limited to):
The conference will take place in two prime locations. In Budapest in the Műcsarnok (Palace of Exhibitions), located in the famous Hősök tere (Heroes Square), and in Schloss Esterházy, the 18th century castle, where composer Joseph Haydn was an artist in residence on 5-7 September 2025. Transportation between the two conference venues will be provided by the conference organizers. On the final day, conference speakers will be guests of honor at Budapest Central European Fashion Week.
KEYNOTES
Dr. Sofia Pantouvaki is a scenographer and Professor of Costume Design at Aalto University, Finland. She is an award-winning practising designer with over 100 credits in major European venues, and curator of international projects, including the Finnish Student exhibits at PQ2015 (Gold Medal) and PQ2023 (awarded ‘Most Imaginative and Inventive Design’). She is the Chair of Critical Costume, a founding editor of Studies in Costume and Performance, and OISTAT Executive Committee member. She led the research project ‘Costume Methodologies’ (Academy of Finland, 2014-2018) and is lead editor of Performance Costume: New Perspectives and Methods (Bloomsbury, 2021).
Dr. Nick Rees-Roberts is Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris. He is the author of French Queer Cinema (2008), Fashion Film: Art and Advertising in the Digital Age(2018), and Failure: The Negative Art of Fashion (2025), co-author of Homo exoticus: race, classe et critique queer (2010), and co-editor of Alain Delon: Style, Stardom and Masculinity (2015) and Isabelle Huppert: Stardom, Performance, Authorship (2021). He is currently co-editing The Elizabeth Wilson Reader: Feminism, Fashion, and the Aesthetics of Modern Life (2026) and writing a new book on fashion and entertainment.
HOW TO APPLY
For consideration, please submit the following by 11:59pm CET May 31 2025:
▪ Paper title
▪ 300-word abstract
▪ 50-word biography
to the following email address: fashioncostumeconference2025@gmail.com
Registration costs
Registration for delegates will be 125 EUR (early bird -until 10 July ), standard fee is 150 EUR (registration closes 1 August).
The fee covers refreshments and light lunches/ snacks on both days.
Key dates:
Questions about the event should be directed to: fashioncostumeconference2025@gmail.com
