A physical pop-up store allowing shoppers to try on digital clothes has
opened in London with the aim of changing people’s attitudes and feelings
towards digital fashion.
The pop-up by digital startup Hot:Second is open at Protein Studios in
Shoreditch from 19 to 21 November and allows visitors to immersively
experience digital fashion garments from brands pioneering the non-physical
fashion movement, including The Fabricant, Carlings, Virtue and Christopher
Raeburn.
To enter the pop-up, which has been launched in collaboration with
innovation studio Holition and 3D artist Emily Switzer, guests are asked
to donate an “unloved” garment to an instalment inside the pop-up by
Love Not Landfill, a campaign which encourages people to donate their
unwanted clothes to charity instead of throwing them away.
After donating, a token is offered to visitors which grants entry to one
of the futuristic “pods”, inside which a human “digital tailor” helps
visitors try on a variety of digital fashion garments through the use of a “mixed reality magic mirror” made by Holition.
After trying on the digital pieces, visitors will get to take home digital
copies of the look as well as one physical print.
Visitors can also bring their worn clothes to customisation stations inside the pop-up
where independent artists such as Frankie Noller and Giulio Miglietta will give them a new
lease of life, further encouraging circularity through upcycling.
London pop-up champions digital fashion
Kerry Murphy, founder of Dutch digital fashion house The Fabricant,
which designed one of the looks at the pop-up, said: “The project is
another step towards a more sustainable fashion industry by creating an
experience that reduces the physical need of clothing while allowing for
new business models to be tested outside of the gaming focus, purely
transforming fashion towards its digital-only experience.”
Scandanavian retailer Carling, which also has a look at the London
pop-up, teamed up with The Fabricant in 2018 for a limited-edition
digital fashion collection which sold out in just a week. Commenting on the
pop-up, Carlings CEO Ronny Mikalsen said: “We got involved first and
foremost because we loved the project one hundred percent. Both the
innovative and sustainable aspect within it really plays along with our
values. We see it part of our responsibility to contribute towards projects
that do that.”
The idea for the new innovative space was initially thought up by
Hot:Second founder and academic Karinna Nobbs, whose field research
revealed there were many misconceptions about digital fashions and its
positive implications for the wider fashion industry. A recent UK survey
she undertook with One Pulse revealed that 38 percent of people were
unfamiliar with the term digital fashion, while 60 percent were curious
about the concept.
Additionally, 27 percent said they thought interacting with digital
garments could help them decide whether to buy the physical garment and 22
percent thought that digital fashion could offer a way for them to enjoy
fashion in a more sustainable way. Whilst the store is open the research
will be ongoing and the insights gained will be jointly published with
Protein in early 2020.
David Segal, digital manager at Raeburn Design, said: “We are always
looking to innovate but also disrupt and challenge the industry as we know
it, it therefore made perfect sense for us to get involved in Hot:Second.
Digital clothing has real potential to drive responsible design and our
inherent agility also allows us to be flexible with these ideas and, of
course to learn.”
The next evolution of Hot:Second is planned to debut at Berlin Fashion
Week in January 2020 in collaboration with blockchain company Lukso.
Photo courtesy of Hot:Second
