A cross-cultural comparison of image perception and preferences for cotton fabrics between Korea and the United States

The purpose of this research was to perform an international comparison of image perception and preferences for cotton fabrics, specifically examining the inter-cultural differences that exist between Koreans and Americans. Respondents were asked to rate 55 different fabrics, produced in Korea, relative to eight different characterizations: feminine, masculine, casual, classic, new, old, ambiguous and orderly. Then they were asked to rate their level of preference for each fabric, using 7-point scales. Both Koreans and Americans evaluated thin and soft fabrics with pale colors high relative to feminine image and evaluated slightly thick, coarse and stiff fabrics with low chromatics high relative to masculine image. However, Koreans tended to categorize fabrics as feminine or masculine using color characteristics, while Americans tended to use surface characteristics. For the casual image, Denim and Chambray were rated highly, both in Korea and in the US. There were no fabrics which both countries rated highly for the classic image. New image was rated significantly above average in Korea, but average in the US. The old image perceptions fell below average in both countries. Most fabrics were evaluated above average with respect to being orderly, but fell below the average for ambiguous image, both in Korea and the US. Koreans showed higher preferences for the chosen fabrics than Americans, but the preference tendencies were similar in the two countries.