New York – Taking fashion garments beyond the constraints of their physical form, the new online platform adds motion and interaction to virtual garments.
Created by the studio Superficial, in collaboration with The Museum at FIT, the Virtual Fashion Archive features archive pieces from innovative designers including Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler and Claire McCardell. Taking the form of a digital museum, the Virtual Fashion Archive’s initial selection was chosen because of each garment’s pioneering construction techniques and materials, which provided an interesting basis for their digital iterations. For example, with Miyake’s iconic pleated garments and McCardell's full-circle skirt requiring movement to bring them to life, techniques such as reverse engineering original patterns and garment creation software have been used to capture the intricacies of fabric in motion.
As we explore in our Immaterial Fashion macrotrend, digitisation is offering fashion followers new ways to engage with clothing brands. And with this experimental approach to design, cultural spaces can become sites for novel experiences and pop-up concepts, as examined in our Post-modern Museums microtrend.