Having completed their first successful augmented reality experience with the launch of their spring/summer line, KHAITE wanted to continue pushing the envelope with ways that their customers could experience their high-end clothing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While their first augmented reality experience was focused on shoes, for this second experience KHAITE wanted to showcase their clothing in a way that showed customers how it moved, laid, and looked at multiple angles.
During a time when most customers are working from home, buying high end clothing has become even more of a luxury. Through the use of greenscreen video, users can place the virtual model in their own lived space, helping bridge that mental gap by showcasing how these clothes could fit into their own lives. Emily Farra of Vogue wrote, “In the past, this reviewer might have considered that dress too fancy to justify for my “regular life,”... But seeing it (virtually) inhabit my Lower East Side one-bedroom, styled in an offhand way, the impression was different. I could wear that.” Through an in-line WebAR experience made using 8th Wall, customers can experience 10 looks in an augmented reality fashion show just by visiting the KHAITE website. Using greenscreen video allows customers to see how the garments move as well as get a close up look at the fabrics and their texture. While this is a huge benefit of an AR experience that uses greenscreen video, it’s also a challenge to use this method in conjunction with WebAR due to the restriction on file size. The ability to create an experience with 10 looks using 4K video with high frame rates was an engineering feat, but allowed us to showcase the clothing in the high quality way – a necessity for a premium brand. This method also works to simulate the tactile and texture-driven experience of an in-person fashion show amidst social distancing. A small list of influencers and buyers received a printed zine, created by Chandelier Creative, that paired with the digital experience. Users that had the zine could place the virtual model of the respective look by scanning images within the physical zine, allowing the designs to come to life from 2D to 3D instantaneously. The use of the zine and additional WebAR functionality created a more exclusive experience for a subset of users without the need to create two different experiences.
On average, users explored 16 looks which means that they went back to experience looks multiple times. Additionally, the experience was featured by Vogue, British Vogue, and 8th Wall as a prime example of the power of the use of augmented reality in fashion.
