in the time of COVID-19 is that we have two options: real or virtual; there’s no in-between. The only way to “attend” a show, it seems, is to be crammed onto a metal bench with models storming past; anything else is simply “not the same,” because your physical body isn’t there. But isn’t that a little retrograde? Alexander McQueen was thinking about bridging the gap a full 10 years ago, when he beamed holograms of Kate Moss onto his runway and live-streamed his show to fans around the world.
The truth is, fashion shows are virtual for 99% of the people who view them. It took a pandemic for the industry to take that digital experience seriously and embrace the possibilities of virtual reality, augmented reality, live-streams, and beyond. This season,’s Catherine Holstein has merged a few of those technologies—AR and film—with more familiar “offline” mediums to create a complete sensory experience.
“It really feels like you’re handling the shoe in a store,” Holstein says. For those without the book, the same technology is available to everyone at. “It’s about making online shopping more of an experience,” she adds. “It was a really interesting process to work on this, and to think about how it can transcend offline and online, how we can make it feel like we aren’t sacrificing anything [in lieu of a show].
Holstein pointed out that while this technology may be new for her team and customers, it’s existed for years, and is relatively simple compared to what else is possible. “There are so many untapped technological resources that luxury fashion has shied away from,” she says. “If the pandemic hadn’t happened, we never would have been forced to explore this. But it’s changed our business forever.
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