Triumph has partnered with augmented reality technology provider Holition to offer shoppers at Selfridges in London, the opportunity to virtually try on its new collection.
Through the ‘Fantasy Mirror’, women can see themselves wearing items from the Triumph Essence line, without removing a single item of clothing. The mirror uses a motion sensor camera that scans anyone standing in front of it. Infra-red technology then creates an accurate 3D reconstruction of the environment, facilitating a female avatar with real-time movement.
Jonathan Chippindale, CEO of Holition, said: “The Fantasy Mirror demonstrates how 3D virtual reality solutions can be used to develop the consumer experience. We have integrated elegant design with innovative technology to give female shoppers something they have never seen before. The mirror is not an alternative to trying-on clothes, but an additional shopping experience. Consumer expectations are constantly changing as technology evolves and Holition is proud to support this evolution by providing complementary services.”
The Fantasy Mirror was created in partnership with OgilvyAction, and unveiled at Selfridges last month alongside the new Triumph collection, by Helena Christensen (as pictured).
US Glamour magazine has set up a virtual beauty shopping wall in New York that lets users scan 2-D barcodes on their phones and have products sent directly to their homes.
The wall features products from brands such as John Frieda, Elizabeth Arden, Clearasil and Versace, many of whom are longstanding advertising partners with Glamour.
It is based opposite the Standard Hotel in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, and will be on display until Tuesday, February 21.
Net-a-Porter returned to its virtual window shop concept to launch the new Karl by Karl Lagerfeld collection in several cities around the world today.
First previewed at Fashion’s Night Out in September 2011, the augmented-reality storefronts allowed customers to shop the collection by scanning products with their iPads or iPhones. In doing so, they were also in with the chance of winning various prizes from the luxury retailer.
The pop-up windows were on show in London, New York, Berlin and Sydney, as well as in Paris where Lagerfeld himself was in attendance. He told reporters: “We are making fashion and technology history.”
The 70-piece collection launched exclusively online at 10.30am EST worldwide; following which numerous pieces quickly sold out.
The site also hosts a huge variety of Karl-themed content, not to mention what can only be referred to as a Google Doodle-inspired logo, featuring Lagerfeld’s silhouette in place of the “a” in Net-a-Porter…
The fashion industry has been celebrating the festive season with all manner of digital initiatives. Here’s a look at some of the things they’ve been doing:
Ralph Lauren transforms online catalog into holiday greeting cards (as pictured) [Mashable]
Coach launches New York-themed gift tags campaign featuring eight animated videos, e-cards and Facebook application [WWD]
Marc Jacobs invites fans to upload their family holiday snaps with ‘MarcFam’ campaign [StyleCaster]
Calvin Klein partners with Shazam for interactive in-store displays and unique holiday song [L2 Blog]
Burberry sends festive cheer with interactive music videos [Burberry]
Tiffany & Co unveils digital storybook, ‘The Winter Carousel’, to tie in with store windows [Luxury Daily]
Macy’s extends annual Believe campaign with augmented reality app [Macy's]
John Lewis launches window display featuring its ‘Top 30 favorite things for Christmas’, allowing shoppers to buy directly via QR codes [PSFK]
JC Penney invites consumers to personalise their gifts with ‘Santa Tags’; QR codes that host voice recordings [JC Penney]
Alexander Wang compiles 12 days of Christmas gift guide [Global Grind]
Uniqlo UK offers shoppers the chance to win their Christmas wishlist [Uniqlo]
Esprit partners with Yvan Rodic of FaceHunter as part of Make Your Wish holiday campaign [PR Newswire]
Gap gives shoppers head start on holiday shopping with Shop Yourself Social initiative [RIS News]
As reported last month, it showcases five decades of the designer’s fashion history in an immersive 3-D experience; 300 dresses, 5000 images, 100 show videos, all in an equivalent real-world space of 10,000sq m.
Although officially retired from Valentino ‘the brand’, Valentino Garavani and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti (pictured above) have been working on it for the past two years.
Speaking at a press conference in New York this morning (watch on YouTube), the duo explained that the aim was to showcase the work of a “life dedicated to beauty”, and make it accessible to as many people as possible.
It’s a particularly interesting move for a traditionally non tech-savvy brand (Giammetti joked at Valentino’s inability to even turn the television on).
“It all started with where to keep the enormous amount of things we’ve collected for nearly 50 years,” said Giammetti. “How to make it available to everyone that wants to see it; and how to make it exciting year after year without things becoming dusty or obsolete. Why not then use modern technology… where everyone can move with just a click.”
Albeit in essence a legacy space, Giammetti was quick to highlight that the work continues tomorrow; both in terms of keeping up with technological change, and providing fresh content.
Indeed to encourage return visitors, there will be frequent updates to the museum, be it additional rooms, new drawings and ideas – as suggested by Valentino – or video insights from the likes of Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue who also spoke this morning.
Giammetti pointed out that the museum was funded by themselves and has no sponsors. For them, the numbers are irrelevant, he said. The app is free to download in anycase.
Nonetheless, it will be intriguing to see how it actually does. The McQueen exhibition at the Met was one of the Costume Institute’s most successful of all time; if you were interested in fashion – indeed even if you weren’t – it proved a must-see on the New York calendar this year. Could an online museum ever have the same pulling power?
But perhaps that’s irrelevant. What counts is that Valentino is advancing the fashion industry. While digital destinations to accompany exhibitions have been played with for a few years, virtual archive museums in their entirety are now likely to become increasingly commonplace.
Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway, who hosted the press conference, explained how Valentino and Giammetti together helped shape the industry in the 1960s. “Now, they’re repeating that inspiration,” she said, “setting the bar for other fashion brands around the world.”
I agree.
See below for a virtual tour of the museum, as well as a number of pictures from within it…
Valentino is set to launch a virtual museum that will showcase five decades of the designer’s fashion history in an immersive 3-D experience.
A downloadable desktop application connected to an online database, it captures over 300 dresses from the Valentino archive, organised by theme.
Users can explore different galleries and wings that would likely cover over 10,000sq m in an actual museum. There are also sketches, illustrations, advertising campaigns and red carpet as well as event photos accompanying each dress.
Photos and videos celebrate the special events and exhibitions from Valentino Garavani and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti’s history, from the 1968 White Collection to the 2011 White Fairy Tale Love Ball. And there’s a media library cataloguing more than 5000 images including dresses, photos, drawings and 95 show videos.
A short video introduction has just launched (as below), while users are currently being invited to register their email addresses on the site to keep up with news on the December 5 launch.
The museum has been created by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, with support from Valentino SpA. It was designed and produced by Novacom Associes in Paris, in collaboration with Kinmonth-Monfreda Design Project in London.
Department store Debenhams has partnered with augmented reality app Goldrun to place 10 virtual party dresses in various locations around the UK for shoppers to discover.
Launched yesterday, the initiative sees the digital garments “hidden” at specific landmarks in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. Using the Goldrun app on the iPhone or iPad2, consumers are able to scan the area for the items and then opt to see an image of themselves trying each one on.
The app also allows shoppers to upload their picture to Facebook and Twitter to get feedback from friends, order the item they want and then have it delivered to an address of their choice.
Debenhams.com’s director, Simon Forster, said: “This really is the future of shopping. It brings the hassle-free element of online, with the experience of shopping in store combined with the fantastic backdrops of iconic UK locations. It is incredible what the developments in technology mean we can now do – including trying on a dress without even having to remove an item of clothing!”
Check out the video explaining more, below:
The virtual “stores” will be at the following locations until Saturday, October 29:
London – Trafalgar Square
Glasgow – George Square
Birmingham – Centenary Square
Manchester –Albert Square
Cardiff – Cardiff Castle
Net-a-Porter returned to its virtual window shop concept to launch the new Karl by Karl Lagerfeld collection in several cities around the world today.
