“The barrier is that you have to change your workflows almost completely if you’re moving into 3-D.” “You can either be late to the party or you can do it now,” Wilson said. They can also turn to any number of companies that advise brands on 3-D transformation such as PixelPool, PI Apparel or Stitch, the tech incubator Hilfiger founded in 2018 to speed its transformation. Wilson suggests designers and brands reproduce some garments in 3-D to get a feel for how they look and function, “But there are only so many baby steps you can take before you make that big leap.” Discussions continue with the brand, Murphy noted.
The time required to create high-quality digital imagery would not allow him to do even one look to his satisfaction. Murphy said he was approached last year by a luxury brand keen to do digital renderings of its 43-exit collection - asking three days before the runway lights were to go up.
The last-minute nature of designer collections has been another barrier to digital adoption. To create that culture is challenging, and it requires people willing to take risks.”
While few brands and designers are likely to make the full leap to digital, Murphy said all could invite a 3-D designer to collaborate with a traditional one “and see where that goes. Indeed, in order for fashion to pivot, “the digital experience needs to be better than the physical experience, otherwise people are not going to want to change,” he said. “Luxury ones are hardest to change because they’re so comfortable in the way things are right now,” said Murphy. In a broader sense, fashion and luxury companies tend to be perfectionists, and not used to trialing, failing and moving on, as start-ups and high-tech firms do. “It takes a long time to make an avatar, it takes a long time to digitize something well.” “There is a language barrier here,” she said.
He pointed to closer collaboration between those industries and fashion in recent years, with Nike and Louis Vuitton collaborating with the games Fortnite and League of Legends, respectively, and also selling skins and digital shoes as an additional revenue stream.Įvelyn Mora, founder of Helsinki Fashion Week, said it will take time for the fashion sector to learn how to interface with the tech and digital industries.
WWD STAFFīeyond 3-D design, the fashion industry could look to the movie and gaming industry to acquire talents in VR, computer-generated imagery and compelling storytelling, Drinkwater recommended. Model Kate Moss as a hologram on the runway during Alexander McQueen fall 2006 show. Murphy stressed that digital won’t completely replace physical fashions, stores or experiences, but “add value to and transform our physical lives.”Ī diverse cast of striking digital models are at the ready to walk virtual runways, thanks to Cameron-James Wilson, a photographer who founded The Diigitals, an avatar agency that’s home to Shudu, billed as the world’s first digital supermodel. He noted that Fortnite, one popular online game, has generated up to $300 million in a month, with about 60 percent of revenues coming from “skins,” the clothing worn on games. The younger consumer is completely sold already and would rather spend their money on buying skins on game night than going to the store to buy clothing for their physical lives. “It’s just a transformation that’s happening, and it’s moving towards the digital space,” Murphy said. Why not a digital Zegna suit for the latter, and something sporty and casual for the former platforms?
He pointed to popular memes showing how people portray themselves very differently: trendy for Instagram, casual in Facebook and serious for LinkedIn. He forecasts wider adoption of avatars and digital clothing purchases as our online identities become more important. These are used mainly for marketing and communication purposes, but The Fabricant has also sold a digital-only couture dress for $9,500. Murphy’s firm has made digital clothes for clients including Puma, A Bathing Ape, Tommy Hilfiger and Soorty, a sustainable denim mill. “Why can’t the e-commerce experience actually be the catwalk experience? It think that’s the future of e-commerce - it’s connecting those two different touchpoints and making a unified experience out of it,” he said. He noted during the last fashion season, designers including London-based Steven Tai experimented with “interactive look books,” allowing buyers to view garments via 360-degree videos.Īccording to Murphy, the digital space allows for complete freedom to rethink the look and feel of all online channels, noting e-commerce is visually “boring” with garments laid flat or on hangdog models standing against a white background.