Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
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IN A WORLD overrun by influencers, punchdrunk on social media and slavishly led by trends, it is little wonder there are now people willing to pay big money for literally nothing – just to be part of something.
Put on your 3D-glasses, we’re about to enter the world of digital fashion, the latest trend setting frocks on fire in the fashion industry.
Sans any tangible couture in the traditional sense – think actual clothes that you can wear – virtual fashion has already drawn in some of the biggest names in the business such as Gucci and Tommy Hilfiger.
With much of our lives now playing out on social media – thanks to the global coronavirus pandemic confining us to our homes and keeping us glued to our screens – “looking the part” is totally passe, it’s all about “posting the part”.
Fashion trends change before you can say Giorgio Armani, and influencers are champing at the bit to be bang-on-trend on social media.
Waiting to dress the part is so last season. The pressure to showcase a trend before it rolls over mounts with every changing fad. After all, for fashion influencers, flash is king.
This is where digital fashion is making its biggest strides.
The concept is elementary. A customer chooses a garment from a digital catalogue. A full-length photograph, taken in underwear, is sent to the fashion house, where a team of designers customise the chosen outfit to the submitted image.
The image does not have to be professionally shot. Many people have reported taking pictures in their gardens, much to the chagrin of their neighbours. One top tip, wear undies that you’d be happy to be caught dead in.
The designers then send the final image back to the customer, now decked out in the piece chosen from the catalogue, to post on various social media platforms.
The cost, which can run into thousands, depends on your choice of design house.
Let’s make this absolutely clear, what you pay for are not real clothes – it exists only in cyberspace as cutting-edge simulations created using 3D software. Your chosen piece has never been made in the material world (pun intended) – and does not hang in any closet.
Essentially, you are paying for someone to dress your photo.
Some companies, such as DressX, even dedicate several pages on their sites to coach customers on how to take a good photo for their digital garments.
Suck in here, tuck in there. All good for a slinky little number that you’ll never have to squeeze into after a big meal.
DressX only launched last July but already has more than 1 000 regular clients and 70 designers.
It calls itself the “biggest digital fashion retailer on the market”.
Digital fashion has been around for more than five years, but it has only recently taken off. In 2019, a translucent computer-generated dress, described as a piece of art, made by “digital couture” house The Fabricant, sold at auction for £7 800 (over R154 000).