How lockdown changed the game in haute couture?
Ralph and Russo, UK haute couture fashion house, proved that the avatar doesn’t need to look like a video game character and that digital clothing can be strikingly similar to clothes sewed from soft fabrics. The avatar, created with the sole purpose of suiting this brand, is the effect of the meticulous work of 3D graphic designers.
In the past two years the fashion business has started taking digital fashion more and more seriously. In order to respond to the increasing awareness of the negative impact of fast fashion, top brands in the fashion world (for example Tommy Hilfiger) started to experiment with virtual clothing, to the point of moving the design processes to the digital world.
The new way of presenting clothes on the Internet and the new possibility to test the interest for new collections seemed to be the way to go, but only when accompanied with careful planning and integrating fashion and technology. The pandemic and the difficulties that the fashion industry was facing worked as an accelerator — the things planned for long just needed to start working now.
While AI as a dimension is something I have always been interested in exploring, really it’s the recent developments in the world, and subsequent limitations, that made me feel now is the right time to do so. — says Tamara Ralph, who decided to present the couture collection Fall-Winter 20/21 as a digital experience.
How were the digital collection and the avatar model made?
Every element of the digital creation was first drawn manually and then transformed into 3D form by the graphic design studio specialized in 3D modeling. The challenge they were facing was almost as intense as it is for couture creation dressmakers — based on the sketches the graphic designers were modeling details for embroidery, decorative stones, flowers and feathers.
Besides transforming the projects into 3D virtual models, the studio also created a personalized avatar for the brand — the virtual fashion model.
Hauli, as she was called, manages to deceive recipients in a blink of an eye. Take me as an example — after glancing at look 27 I was in awe of both creation and model, absolutely sure that the revealed photo comes from a standard photoshoot.
This extremely realistic look was achieved by many factors, among others the texture of the skin — it looks fresh and convincing, especially with the refraction of light visible on the photo. The silhouette of Hauli was modeled to reflect “the most feminine of shapes” — the hourglass. The facial lines as well as the whole shape of the avatar was supposed to reflect the woman’s strength, self-confidence and express the spirit and the values of the brand.
The next stage, which was to transfer the creation onto the virtual character, as the creators said, was a long and complicated process, but surely it was worth the effort. Every creation was modeled on the “basic” avatar’s pose — standing still, with hands down, and then the target position of the model was tested.
Virtual photoshoot
The collection was ultimately shown on the background of the Seven World’s Wonders (or to be specified: on its visualizations). This is the one element that appears to be the weakest link in the whole venture for me. Some of the backgrounds seem to be too saturated, therefore they may look a bit fake, the others though seem to be very naturalistic, therefore the creation stands out in an unnatural way.
Hauli would definitely come across more naturally in a more minimalistic environment, but then, I get the idea that the creative director was aiming to present — the creation was supposed to take the recipient into the world of wonders and fantasy and give the impression of a little escape from the covid-influenced world.
Hauli’s avatar and fall/winter 2021 collection was just a little trailer of the direction that digital fashion is coming forward — the subtle blur on a, so far, clear line between the visualization and the real creation on the real model.
The bare fact that the avatar was named and that it was introduced into well-known, existing places was just a way to familiarize us with the concept of new digital fashion. The brand does not reveal if the creations are free to be bought. If so, that would be my first, completely irrational and very exciting, haute couture purchase.
