As excited as we are for the potential of 3D, VR and AR in the Fashion (and Retail) industry, what we know from the challenges other industries have had with adoption is ‘Content is King’. As I’ve referenced many times before, we’re still very much in the ‘gap of disappointment’ however when compared to gaming, architecture, and furniture (to name a few of the industries that are starting to see some traction), the Fashion industry has had very little to no exposure to 3D up until recently. To add insult to injury, the Fashion industry has had a very challenging relationship with technology adoption in the past and that’s primarily with technology that barely touches the creative process e.g. e-Commerce, ERP, PLM. However, in my opinion, we could be at an inflection point for the industry that is seeing extremely challenging times driven by a change in consumer habits, online shopping, brick-and-mortar closures at the highest rate in history as well as global economic challenges. Today brands are being forced to question their natural tendency to resist new technology, especially those that encroach the creative process, because of the opportunities they bring to save teams time and money.
Let’s assume that my belief that we’re at an inflection point is true and that the industry is in a position to rapidly adopt 3D technology, the challenge we need to be aware of is how to overcome the initial response of ‘that doesn’t look right’ or in the most extreme cases ‘Arghhh…why does it look so creepy?’ Something that’s also known as the Uncanny Valley.
The concept of uncanny was first defined by Freud in 1919 which explored the eeriness of dolls and waxwork. The Uncanny Valley is a term developed by Masahiro Mori in 1970 and primarily refers to why humanoid robots look so creepy!! For example:
Buzzfeed has a really great article that covers the basics of the ‘Uncanny Valley’ and provides some examples from the robotics, film and gaming industries which illustrates the concept pretty well in my opinion.
Kent Bye also has some fantastic podcasts on the Uncanny Valley and how the VR industry is trying to overcome it
- http://voicesofvr.com/502-an-elemental-theory-of-presence-future-of-ai-interactive-storytelling/
- http://voicesofvr.com/130-richard-skarbez-on-immersion-coherence-being-the-two-key-components-of-presence/
- http://voicesofvr.com/489-from-2d-illustration-to-3d-vr-art-the-role-of-artists-with-the-uncanny-valley/
The ‘gray’ that glues things together
The reason why I’m referring to the Uncanny Valley is because I believe that this is a key barrier to overcome, and to develop a strategy for, in order to successful integrate 3D technology with the Fashion industry. Fashion and technology have had a rocky past partly because technologists have a tendency to focus on black and white benefits. In a world of apps and data it’s relatively easy to make the case for adoption because it’s fairly straightforward: how many dollars will we make/save, is traffic/views/followers increasing, etc, etc. But when it comes to the creative process of design, the balance between emotion and form… there is a lot of gray. But this ‘gray’ has been the glue that kept the competing elements of the Fashion industry, such as business and creative, working together. There is a mutual dependency for teams with opposing goals to work together in order to succeed.
Historically, traditional Fashion houses have been Creative driven with the Creative Director’s vision being the true north that bounds the rest of the company together. However with the numerous challenges in the industry previously mentioned there has been more of a normalization, in terms of ‘say’, between the different departments that make up a Fashion company. As Fashion and Retail are in the midst of a huge reset, the balance of ‘gray’ is being redistributed into different areas. This is where new technology like 3D, VR and AR have an opportunity like never before to see the type of adoption that previous technology waves have had such a hard time with. BUT, even with more advantageous settings, the one piece that I don’t think any environmental changes can overcome is whether or not something looks ‘right’. This is where I think having an approach to conquering the Uncanny Valley is crucial to any 3D,VR, AR strategy that’s targeting the Fashion and Retail industries.
What version of real are we trying to achieve?
What’s been an interesting experience over the past few years speaking to brands and, for a majority of cases, introducing them to 3D assets for the first time is that we’ve run into a recurring theme, ‘Which version of real are we trying to resemble?’ This challenge has come up throughout the product development process from initial design concepts to the finished consumer ready product. What we’ve found is that the limitations of the 2D medium has created a gap that people fill in with their imagination that creates the definition of what real is. It reminds me of a concept that Scott McCloud wrote about in his book, Understanding Comics, that discusses how we construct rich and complex meanings from very basic visual input. One of his most famous concepts speaks to the psychology behind storytelling in comic books and that the story is what’s happening in the blank spaces between the panels. I feel this is extremely relatable to the challenges in the design process as it pertains to achieving something representative in 3D. One of the axes that measures the Uncanny Valley is ‘Familiarity’ or a sense of what reality is, so we must understand what that is within the context of Fashion.
Here are two examples of designs that are commonly generated at the start of the product development process at a fashion company.
The first sketch is a free-hand sketch that is meant to convey the emotional essence of the design e.g. movement, feeling, impact. The free-hand sketch is not meant to convey any specific details on measurements or exact proportion. A lot of the time the model has disproportionate dimensions i.e. the legs, arms and waist are exaggerated. The second sketch is a technical design sketch that is typically created to accompany a technical pack, which contains exact measurements and construction information, that is sent to factories in order for them to make physical samples. Technical sketches are still not meant to be perfectly proportionate but much closer than the freehand sketch. The idea is to give the person who is constructing the garment an idea of what the design is supposed to look like. But again, leaving enough room for interpretation and exact measurements contained in the tech pack.
Now lets review the other end of the process, product photography for e-Commerce sites. Typically there are three different styles of product photography: flat, mannequin and on model. Here are some examples of each:
Typically e-Commerce stores have a mixture of flat or mannequin and on model (depending on their photography budget!). The flat or mannequin shot is supposed to give you a proportionate idea of what the product looks like and the model shot is more stylized to tap into the emotional feeling of how the product could look on you. As I’m sure you can agree, there are noticeable differences between the types of product photography in terms of having a clear understanding of what the product will look like when you take it out of the brown box that arrives at your home. To make things more complicated, most of the garments are styled on product photoshoots which involves a lot of pinning to get the ‘right’ look, which takes it further away from the ‘real’ reality. (I’m not going to get into sizing because that’s a whole other topic but want to acknowledge the challenges sizing plays in defining reality.)
So no matter at what point you are in during the product development process, there has always been a mixture of assets that give you the edges of a picture that to varying degrees requires the audience to fill in the gaps. Due to the limitations of the 2D medium this has been an accepted flaw of the process because there really wasn’t any other option. Unfortunately, this is one of the leading reasons that contributes to the excessive waste produced in the Fashion industry whether that’s over production of samples or the massive return rates from the end customer. However a lot of these problems could be addressed with the introduction of 3D technology but in order to succeed we need to understand what version of real we are trying to achieve.
“Once more into the fray. Into the last good fight I’ll ever know.”
I was extremely lucky to have started my career in eCommerce after the bubble but before the boom so a lot of the challenges with technology adoption in the Fashion industry that’s facing 3D/VR/AR feel all to familiar. To successfully get through the ‘gap of disappointment’ we need to be producing more high-quality content that addresses clear problems and produces ROI. But in order to define those problems and KPIs we also need to have a mutual understanding of the target we’re trying to hit, for the content creator and content consumer. What’s making this more difficult for 3D compared to 2D is that the tools and skills to create 3D content are still very specialized so it required more than a few Photoshop YouTube tutorials for people to start creating content. This is why Artists and Creators need help reducing some of variabilities which is where 3D asset certification can help.
We’ve been very lucky to have been a part of the Khronos Working Group that’s working towards certifying a standardization of 3D Commerce assets. To say we’re walking amongst giants is an understatement with the likes of IKEA, Target, Google, Unity and Facebook to name but a few. What’s been equally fascinating and inspiring is being a part of a conversation the industry is having that’s working towards achieving a goal that will ultimately help all of us get to a place where the potential of this new medium is realized quicker. It’s still in the early days but it’s encouraging and exciting to see the community come together.
This isn’t easy, but nothing good ever comes easy. As we work our way through ‘Gaps’ and ‘Valleys’ we need to remind ourselves that we’re the fortunate few that has a better sense of 3D reality that’s come purely from more exposure to this new medium. It’s our responsibility to help other people navigate these challenges which can be frustrating at times but lets not forget we were those people not that long ago and the only way we’ll reach the potential of this new medium is by working together. And if you’re ever in doubt and need a reminder… just think of this:
Sweet dreams…
