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  • Date
    04 SEPTEMBER 2022
    Author
    ZARINA IZY
    Image by
    PRESS OFFICE
    Categories
    Fashion

    Prague Fashion Week's mixed-reality runways

    A mix of physical and virtual realities fashion shows took place in Prague and Somnium Space earlier this Fall.

    The Avatars Fashion Show was a unique event, first of its kind, utilizing technologies like Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Full Body Tracking, Holograms and more. Models wore Teslasuits during the physical event while also appearing live in VR in a newly built Fashion World in the Metaverse.

    The show was organized by Somnium Space, which partnered with world-renowned designers and clothing brands to create an unforgettable experience for both attendees and virtual visitors alike. Collections were presented by DressX with Ready Player Me, IZY Studio, HONEY, Gravity Layer, Sholotch x Alkali666, Cultivate and many more.

    DressX collection in collaboration with Ready Player Me avatars.
    DressX collection in collaboration with Ready Player Me avatars.

    RED-EYE spoke with some of showcasing brands to get to know about their unique experiences and vision of the virtual fashion industry:

    “For the majority of people, there is no fashion in real life more “clothing “or even a “uniform”. Unfortunately, because of certain rules and stereotypes clothing isn’t a way to express themselves, but rather a way to fit in an environment. But that’s not the issue in the metaverse, here fashion is a real tool to show your identity and express yourself. With more and more designers joining the trend, digital fashion helps to create a totally new image of our society, free of the norms. It’s amazing to see how people unleash their creativity. I hope this trend would transfer from the metaverse to real life!” – shares Atrium Architecture, creators of the virtual gallery in collaboration with Dearch Space, where the best avatars from each collection were exhibited.

    Exhibition space created by Atrium in collabo with Dearch Space for Fashion World in Somnium.
    Exhibition space created by Dearch Space in collaboration with Atrium for the Fashion World in Somnium.

    “It seems to me that fashion is especially relevant in the metaverse for expressing one's identity. Since strangers from all over the world meet in virtual spaces, the first impression can only be made by your appearance. Somnium Fashion Week presented bows with an unusual and striking design that can be remembered from the first time. Some of them resemble costumes close to physical fashion, some, on the contrary, represent a completely new aesthetic. Among them, everyone will be able to choose something to their liking and express themselves.” – says Sergey from Dearch Space.

    Brands used different ways to present collections: some crafted virtual exhibition experiences and some presented an interactive catwalk. IZY studio showed the participants an astonishing example of the second version and here is their comment: “We have presented a digital version of an IZY collection, which was showcased previously at Milan Fashion Week. For our team, it has been an exciting experiment to participate in the first-of-its-kind Avatars Fashion Show in Metaverse. Creating highly complex fashion pieces usually, now we had a call for making lightweight avatars, which people could use as skins used in games. To give an example in numbers we reduced 150 million polygons on an outfit to 30 thousand polygons, saving the esthetic value of our design. 

    During the final runway show, our designers walked avatars on stage from their computers—all located in different countries. This is not possible to experience in the classical fashion industry.”

    IZY collection by Meta Mison: Syxelll, Rayodelux, Ksujen, G. Thereza, Merce Co, G. Bianchi, O Che, I. Zaguzina, I. Blagochevskaya, V. Kemsky
    IZY collection by Meta Mison: Syxelll, Rayodelux, Ksujen, G. Thereza, Merce Co, G. Bianchi, O Che, I. Zaguzina, I. Blagochevskaya, V. Kemsky

    HONEY, a female-led digital studio, presented a tremendous gallery with fashion pieces from over 100 individual designers, including their own purple 3D and NFT creations.

    Founder of HONEY shares with her bright expressions, visiting Prague Fashion Week in presence: “I had a chance to participate physically at the event in Prague at VR Play Park. Honestly, I was impressed by the company’s XR technological advantages. As a digital fashion studio aiming to provide more phygital experiences for luxury brands to engage with consumers, this experience is absolutely masterminded. Mixed reality fashion shows and events will absolutely expand the fashion world and allow more people to connect from around the globe in one physical and digital location simultaneously.”

    “Visioners” genesis drop of HONEY in their virtual gallery.
    “Visioners” genesis drop of HONEY in their virtual gallery.

    “We were excited to have an opportunity to build this game-like experience. The first time when I appeared on stage, looking at the catwalk of 19 digital avatars 2 times bigger than usual avatar-like characters from the movie Prometheus gave me a feeling of shock. There were a few bugs in the metaverse, but not in our world (laughing). Thanks to the founders for such an amazing experience!” – says Boris Shilin, founder of Alkali brand.

    Avatar from the “Biopunks” collection by Alkali and Elena Yaremenko.
    Avatar from the “Biopunks” collection by Alkali and Elena Yaremenko.

    In synergy with innovative virtual shows, models in Teslasuits “walking” avatars in Metaverse, the physical runway was entertaining visitors by We’re Next Prague, who presented a highly creative collection from several fashion designers: “Our mini collection showcased during the mixed reality event by Somnium Space was a teaser to the main event. We wanted to present the freshest fashion talents that were curated to match the futuristic atmosphere of the whole Metaverse fashion week. We selected 11 outfits, and almost 300 looks were presented on 10/9 during We’re Next 2022.”

    Looks by Lukáš Spilka, Paolo Belleri and Natália Repkovská
    Looks by Lukáš Spilka, Paolo Belleri and Natália Repkovská

    The show was streamed on Twitch and on YouTube so that everyone could experience it from home if they couldn't make it to the event.

    At RED-EYE, we believe that the future of fashion is in exploring new technologies, opening our minds to new possibilities, and creating a better, more exciting world for all of us.

    Gravity Layer
    Gravity Layer