COLLABORATION
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of years, it’s likely you’re fully aware that the digital world is increasingly creeping into fashion with each passing season. From Lil Miquela and Bella Hadid’s wholly problematic Calvin Klein make-out session, to the fact the world’s first digital couture dress sold for an eye-watering $9,500 just a few months ago, technology is redefining the way we interact with brands and their clothes themselves. Computer-generated crossovers are clearly having a moment, so it makes sense to assume the next step could be seeing these two concepts meet on the catwalk – which is exactly what creative duo Trashy Muse have done.
Last week, the pair launched the world’s first augmented reality and virtual avatar fashion show at EP7 gallery in Paris during the capital’s SS20 fashion week, because fashion IRL is cancelled, apparently.
Featuring a cast of mostly digitally rendered avatars, including the world’s first digital supermodel Shudu, virtual superhuman Dagny and Trashy Muse’s very own monogrammed influencer, Branded Boi, the one-day show saw Instagram’s hottest AR designers (read: the people behind your favourite artsy face filters) come together to create bespoke digital fashion and accessories designed for and worn by virtual avatars.
The show itself was a collective effort, featuring work by approximately 100 creators across Trashy Muse’s online network, primarily consisting of 3D artists like Anthony Rosati, creative studio NDA Paris and the brains behind virtual shopping experience RELMS. “We’ve been working in AR together with a lot of 3D artists so this is familiar territory for us, but bringing it all together in one show isn’t typical,” Carina Bucspun and Ann-Britt Dittmar, co-founders of Trashy Muse, tell us. “Normal fashion shows are on catwalks with real models and real clothes – we made everything digital.”