Business

No More 'Gowns and Glitter of the Old Days' on Detroit Auto Show Presenters

January 22, 2018, 12:40 PM by  Alan Stamm

Bye-bye, "booth babes." Hello, product specialists.

Business outfits, not glittery gowns, are standard styles on Detroit Auto Show presenters.

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"In 2018, the desired image for a female product specialist is relatable, warm and inclusive."
(NAIAS photo)

Woke wardrobes and the shift from script-memorizing models to knowledgeable marketing representatives aren't new. Julie Hinds of the Detroit Free Press pays fresh attention as part of "the mood of change" on gender issues nationally: 

The message of 2018 is clear. This isn't a time for wearing rose-colored glasses. It's the age of the #metoo movement. . . .

The mood of change can be felt everywhere, including inside the massive interior of Cobo Center during the public days of the Detroit auto show.

This used to be an event where a woman's place was as a booth babe (the marginalizing nickname for auto show models), and where spin-and-grin (again, a diminishing term) defined the essential task of an auto show model. . . . The time is definitely up for that model of behavior. . . .

Women — and the men who’ve joined them as auto show models — now play a completely different role. And don’t call them models. They are product specialists trained in the particulars of the vehicles they represent. ...

With a few exceptions, you can't just come to an auto show and tell a product specialist from a junior executive or a dealer rep or an engineer solely by how they are dressed.

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Presenters' outfits "are chosen carefully to represent the brand," the paper's pop culture writer notes. Hinds sees "a look that's vaguely European" look at Audi's display and a "millennial chic" style on Volkswagen representatives wearing "crisp Express jeans and sweater blazers." 

The gowns and glitter of the old days have been replaced by a range of upscale suits, casual separates and those crisp, sleeveless dresses favored by TV news anchors. . . . In 2018, the desired image for a female product specialist is relatable, warm and inclusive.


Read more:  Detroit Free Press


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