Description
Several fashion museums, including Balenciaga and Museum at FIT, have started to digitize their archives by creating detailed 3D-models of the fashion items. I visited the studio of a digital production company Superficial, located in Chinatown, New York, to interview the founders-designers. In their shared, cozy office space, the two digital creatives practice a refined craftsmanship while slowly and carefully turning fashion classics into bits and bytes. They do so by first closely examining and measuring the fragile physical garments at the museum at FIT, believing that digital twins of the fashion masterpieces can reach larger audiences and educate about fashion craftsmanship. The 3D-renderings include all the data as the physical garments, and – unlike in museums, where the physical garments have to be protected – one can dive into a digital garment and see the smallest details also from the interior parts of the garment. One can almost feel and touch the garment when the textile motion is simulated (animated). One might even try the garment on. The Virtual Fashion Archive project can be seen as part of the overall rise of “digital fashion” – a historical shift in virtualization, decentralization and datafication of the fashion culture.| Period | 21 Oct 2021 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Curation & Conservation: Dress and Textiles in Museums |
| Event type | Conference |
| Organiser | Association of Dress Historians |
| Location | Turin, ItalyShow on map |