It’s no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed a lot in our industry. One such change is the increased use of 3D in various areas of product development and marketing. Over the last two years I’ve seen many brands who are shifting away from traditional sampling and photoshoots and instead investing in 3D artists, training and software. But is 3D here to stay, or is it merely a fad?
An important thing to note is that 3D clothing design software is nothing new. For example the CLO 3D software was released in 2009, Browzwear in 2012 and even prior to that 3D clothing design was possible and largely used in the gaming industry. From my understanding, early adoption was low and fashion brands were hard to convince when it came to using the software in place of traditional sampling, which is hardly surprising when we think of how reluctant our industry can be when it comes to making changes to our structure and processes. Ironic really, given how fast we react to new trends each and every season.
I first became aware of 3D product development being used by brands in 2018 and this was largely by big name brands with the budget to explore their options, with many trialling small product ranges in 3D to see how it went, before expanding into more areas. I do believe that the industry would have looked more and more to 3D, even without the pandemic, but it has certainly accelerated it in my opinion, particularly in 3 key areas.
Sample Development
This is the area where I personally have seen the most change and had the most use for 3D. A lot of the people I work with find it hard to visualise what products will look like when looking at the traditional technical sketches. In this respect 3D work has been a game changer as we can achieve digital garments that are extremely close to the finished product, helping people to imagine the garments clearly and make styling changes in real time. We can achieve realism not only in terms of colour and styling, but in texture too. My clients have found 3D development so helpful, that over 60% realised they could reduce the amount of samples they needed, thus reducing development timelines and costs. Plus, there’s environmental implications too; less materials needed, less transport and packaging and all-in-all less damage.
It’s not just small businesses like mine who have adopted 3D though, big name brands are doing it too and I’ve been lucky enough to take an inside look at what they’re up to. Of course, due to NDAs I’m restricted to what I can tell you but one thing I can say is that a lot of brands are going all in on this, with a 2-3 year plan to – at a minimum – exclusively use 3D sampling for all core lines. I do think that fashion lines for many businesses will still need samples due to the newness and the fact there may not be existing blocks that can be modified. For high end luxury brands for example, I think physical samples will always be important, but for commercial labels who put a new twist on previous bestsellers, there are a lot of advantages to doing the majority of development in 3D.
Advertising
While I personally don’t create marketing assets in 3D, it’s something I’ve seen more and more. The most exciting thing I’ve seen in the last 2 years is the freedom that 3D gives the brand. With traditional photoshoots we have to stay within the realms of reality. But in 3D, anything goes. You’ve probably seen the Puma campaign from The Fabricant, which used futuristic models in place of human avatars and the location could easily be a far off planet. If you’ve not heard of The Fabricant, they’re one of the big winners of the rise of 3D and I have to say I couldn’t be happier for them, the founders are a breath of fresh air and really supportive of the 3D design community. It’s refreshing to see the industry finally starting to embrace collaboration.
Aside from the creative freedom that 3D advertising offers, it also reduces the burden on the brand, as often photoshoots require a lot of travel and organisation. Having been involved in a lot of photoshoots and scheduling nightmares in the past, I can tell you it’s no easy task to get a group of busy fashion professionals together on the same day. Plus when working outside as we often do for swimwear, we always run the risk of a rainy day, which really causes a problem when you’re trying to shoot an aspirational sunny beach scene. Finally of course, there’s the benefit for sustainability; digital photoshoots don’t require any travel or any samples, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the advertising.
While I love the opportunities that 3D advertising brings, I have to say I don’t think it’s for everyone. Especially those who want to show personality by having models speak; I don’t think we’re quite there yet in making believable talking avatars. But, for those focussing on being truly sustainable, or those wanting to do something outside of what is physically possible, I think it presents an exciting opportunity.
Fashion Shows
Last but not least, digital fashion shows went from unheard of to the new normal in the past 2 years. Without doubt it was a pivot that needed to happen in order to save – or try to save – brands who rely on fashion shows to get the awareness and visibility they need to thrive. One of the biggest successes in my opinion was the La Vie by Claude Kameni digital swimwear show created by The Diigitals; when released it felt like that collection was everywhere and it seemed to dominate the fashion press.
As with the digital advertising, digital fashion shows save a lot of time, energy and reduce the need to travel; not only in this case the brand’s team, but also of course, guests remain at home too. The sustainability case is strong, but I am interested to see what happens when the world regains its confidence and wants to go out. The feeling I get is that people are ready to step away from their screens and embrace the real world, but well curated 3D experiences can still have their place in a post-covid world, I believe.
The Future of Retail
We’ve all heard the rumours about physical stores being dead, but personally I don’t believe that. You only have to try and find a parking space at Ikea at the weekend to know that people are still out there spending. And during the pandemic, I’d regularly see queues outside brands like Zara and Primark. They had customers so determined to shop that they were willing to wait in the snow until a space opened up in the ‘one in, on out’ policy that a lot of stores had to adopt when capacity restrictions came in. I bring this up because I see retail as the next big opportunity for 3D artists and perhaps the saviour the High Street is looking for.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting an immersive 3D Monet exhibition which brought the late artist’s work to life with colour, music, interactive digital installations and stunning 3D work. It was captivating and held the audience’s attention for 44 minutes, which is a huge amount of time for a world which seems to have the shortest attention span in history. It’s especially impressive given the audience were sitting on uncomfortable wooden stools or the floor for the duration. I believe that, as many others do, experiences are the way to get people coming back into retail stores. Shops need to give people a reason to get out of their comfy chair and go to the trouble of actually visiting a store; it has to be enticing and worth their time. If all a store is offering is the ability to buy products people can – and will – just stay home. It’s far easier, and let’s be honest, often the price is better online. A marriage between great service and digital experience in my opinion is what can bring people back to the stores and increase the all-important average transaction value.
I’m excited to see what the post-pandemic world does with 3D and other innovations that we’ve adopted during these uncertain times. I for one hope that we don’t go back to the old normal and instead take time to question whether we should still be using old strategies, or instead moving forward and embracing the new.
Vicki Wallis, Fashion Business Strategist and Sustainability Expert / Images: Vicki Wallis and Bok Goodall
