this is how the Hungarian fashion store of communism imagined luxury
One of the most popular fashion stores in communist Hungary announced that the goal was not to create quantity, but quality, uniqueness, and luxury. A special feature of the “S” Model (or S-Model) is that only a few major cities outside the capital have opened such a fashion store, mostly dressed in Western style. Although they proclaimed themselves to bring the standard of capitalism, they are only marketable in a pre-regime deficit economy. In our compilation, we present the history of this.
The “S” Model Clothing Trading Company was established in 1980, the store network was initially a subsidiary of Skála-COOP. The concept of the boutique was to provide more affluent domestic shoppers with expensive, primarily Western, imported products.
In Hungary, these luxury shops, recognizable by their purple umbrella image, were unprecedented before.
Although it soon became popular, and similar stores opened in a row, they became mostly in the capital, but there were also branches in Dunaújváros, Nyíregyháza, Eger, Tatabánya, Kecskemét, Szekszárd, Győr, Miskolc and Pécs. The company deliberately sought to open smaller stores of just a few tens of square feet, emphasizing exclusivity. it was specifically dedicated to advertising and marketing – you can read more about this on the second page of our article – and they advertised fashion items with the most beautiful models of the age.
In our gallery you can see the pretty girls and fashion from decades ago! Click on the picture!
In 1982, Béláné Bányai, the then director of the “S” Model, also talks in an interview about which segment of the population the customers come from the best.
“We expect solvent demand. We provide goods that could not be received before. Don’t have to travel abroad, give them currency. We have an auxiliary customer who is sometimes happy to sacrifice for a special piece. Intellectuals who spend money more often on fashion. And young people who give up everything else, even eating, for a prettier model, ”he explained. Of course, there is a strong source of criticism for the propagandistic text about auxiliary workers, but the director inadvertently revealed a lot about the scarcity economy of the age with the image of young people who also gave up eating clothes.
Why did you buy here?
Part of the uniqueness of the boutique was that over a certain amount of purchases, the store manager thanked the store manager for the trust with this newspaper, occasionally flowers, and even the typical “S” Model clothes hanger. under the company name, a recording of this is shown below:
The “S” Model’s offer included the small series children’s ready-to-wear clothing; special knitwear; exceptional casual wear; pleasant sportswear; beachwear, leather and noble fur; The company therefore also did a lot of marketing.
One of the most memorable “S” Model ads was:
The business, which became known as the “Special S …” motto, became independent in 1986, and a characteristic part of the exclusive range of goods also came from imports and cooperatives working for capitalist exports.
The raw material and the tailoring pattern were obtained from the dictating countries, and the task of the domestic cooperatives and factories was to assemble.
A total of 31 “S” Model clothing stores were opened in the country (16 in Budapest and 15 in the countryside according to the issue of the Figyelő economic magazine dated September 10, 1992).
On the next page, we show who the face of this popular boutique chain was and what one of the best-known Hungarian painters had to do with the business. please scroll!