Coming to a headset near you: virtual reality (VR) fashion shows, VR fashion stores, VR fitting rooms, 3D avatars and virtual celebrities to assist you with shopping, clothes design, and custom-tailoring. You could soon be standing next to your favorite celebrity and trying on clothes alongside him or her!
Virtual Reality Dior Headset.
“A dream is not reality, but who’s to say which is which?” -Mad Hatter from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
By Suzanne Dooley
Through The Looking Glass Into The World Of Virtual Reality
Once upon a time, in an ever-advancing technological world, there was a woman who temporarily lived in a computer-simulated reality and, like never before, she explored that reality which mirrored the fantasy world of the surrealist painter, Salvador Dalí. Up, down, sideways, front or rear views -no matter where she looked- she experienced the colorful vista created by Dalí’s imagination: peering across distant lands, adventuring into castles, hearing reflected echoes and discovering marvels around every turn, and in such ways that she could only imagine Dalí may have dreamed.
Virtual World of Salvador Dalí.
Seems like a fairy tale, right? Well, it’s not – it’s reality. Virtual reality! And that woman -who is me- merely slipped on a pair of headphones and a VR headset, worn like a pair of sunglasses, and comfortably sat in a chair to be immediately transported into an interactive, immersive 360-degree fairytale adventure. And my Dalí experience is just one of many virtual thrills available at Jump Into The Light, a VR cinema that recently opened in New York City.
Which Way To Go From Here
Jump Into The Light is the first, and only, virtual reality cinema to emerge on the scene in the United States. Three guys -Mr. Deathless, Mehow and Dr. Sky- partnered together to open this innovative cinema where the general public can go and experience the world of virtual reality. The cinema offers a variety of VR options, that include but are not limited to: viewing panoramic, 360-degree videos (one of which is the Dalí surreality described above); painting with a tilt brush and walking through such virtual paintings in 3D space; having your body scanned to create a 3D animated virtual version of yourself that you can email, tweet, or post on Facebook.
VR Headset and Tilt Brush.
How best to describe these virtual experiences available at Jump Into The Light? Well, remember the sci-fi movie, The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves as Neo? Imagine being infused into that film instead of merely just watching it; experiencing what Neo feels and controlling his actions and, perhaps, the movie’s outcome. A virtual ride is just like that: a synchronized 3D visual orchestra of royal and pastel colors immersing you in an animated universe in which you’re then able to harness and shape reality as you so choose. It’s a must-try, scintillating venture. For real!
With VR becoming the latest trend, this promising technology seemingly has a significant import on a variety of industries, including the fashion industry. Yes, that’s right, fashion! Much like technology, fashion is all about the latest trends: reinventing the eras and captivating the consumers. Both fashion and technology require innovation to present the “latest and greatest” and to revamp so-called, outdated styles. VR headsets are on the verge of becoming fashion’s new tech accessories and the potential for retail is enormous. With that in mind, let’s see what’s on the fashion-tech horizon, shall we?
Down The Rabbit Hole We Go
Earlier this year, some fashion designers took traditional fairy tales and retold them on the runway.
Dolce & Gabbana 2016 Fairytale Fashion Show.
Dolce & Gabbana’s 2016 runway show in Milan represented fairytale couture with a happily-ever-after high that transformed legendary fairy tales into 21st century storytelling: today’s princess wears an oversized furry coat with floral appliqués and gem-encrusted heels on her night out on the town without the prince; the evil queen takes a selfie instead of looking in the mirror.
Dolce & Gabbana Fairytale Fashion Show ’16.
Fendi’s 2016 Fall couture runway show -aptly titled Legends and Fairy Tales– had models gliding across the sparking waters of the Trevi Fountain in Rome (by way of a transparent catwalk) wearing crocheted dresses with mink and fringed leather, as well as lace dresses embroidered with hand-cut flowers made from dyed, sheared mink. This fashion show went down as one of the most majestic runway venues of all time!
Fendi’s 2016 Fashion Show at Trevi Fountain.
Could anything be better than having a front row seat at either of these fantasy runway shows? Perhaps. Try lounging on your couch and partaking in an immersive VR experience that turns these runway fantasies into your very own real sensory experience: You’re now sitting in the front row next to one of the fashion industry’s leaders or a celebrity, and hearing the waters overflow in the Trevi Fountain. Or, perhaps, you’re behind-the-scenes and zooming in on that organza dress, which illustrates Fendi’s extraordinary craftsmanship, with its soft petals of mink and array of fragile flowers delicately sewn around the hem.
With a VR headset, these imaginations are all possible. And likely.
It’s No Use Going Back To Yesterday
A minority of fashion designers have flirted with VR over recent years, but haven’t fully committed. Until now! And Rebecca Minkoff, one of the top high-end designers, appears to be at the forefront when it comes to making the unbridled VR vow.
360-Degree Fashion Show.
At this year’s New York Fashion Week, Rebecca Minkoff, who has long been a fan of VR, made her buy-now, wear-now collection available for purchase simultaneous with her live runway show: from the streets of Soho where women could try on the collection in person, to the streaming on VR video where women could virtually “try on” the collection. Both of these retail options became instantaneously available only moments after models had walked the catwalk. Minkoff is seemingly paving the virtual Yellow Brick Road for other designers to follow.
“[With personally-owned VR headsets], you can be anywhere -New York or Dubai- and step into a Rebecca Minkoff or a Barney’s or another branded shop and get the store experience with the headset,” declared Uri Minkoff, CEO of the Minkoff brand. “Over time, we see this replacing desktop and laptop e-commerce platforms.” And the tech experts agree.
Pundits predict widespread adoption of VR headsets in the next two to five years, and when enough users personally own such headsets, VR shopping platforms will soar and, like smartphones, become the norm. The result? An influx of virtual fashion runway shows; virtual fashion stores; virtual reality fitting rooms; 3D avatars (virtual humans, and perhaps, virtual celebrities) to assist with clothes design and custom-tailoring. You could soon be standing next to your favorite celebrity and trying on clothes alongside him or her.
Virtual Reality.
And so, it seems fairytale fashion has been even further retold. It’s virtually inevitable that Happily Ever After evolves into Happily Ever Now.
To view Jump Into The Light, click here.
-SD
1 comment
WOW! Such an enjoyable read. Very creative! And looking forward to reading future articles!