Virtual reality can allow us to visit far-away lands, chat with strangers, and in the case of one fashion photographer, give us unique access behind-the-scenes for an editorial shoot in 360°.
The virtual reality project “UnStitched,” directed by Ruvan Wijesooriya, takes you onto the set of an editorial cover shoot, with two models playfully interacting in a fast-paced 360° fashion whirlwind.
In the video above, we see quirky actions like the 360° camera fall to the floor in the first scene or models just disappearing into stich lines. All very intentional, but at the same time, giving you a feeling of the vibe during the shoot. Unstitched was shot with the help of virtual reality content agency Virtualize and will make its debut during New York’s Spring Fashion Week. The resulting photos from the shoot were part of a cover story for the Icelandic edition of Glamour – shown below.
Fashion brands have been quick to adopt VR within their marketing and communication strategy. Over the past year, we have seen editorial VR shoots from Elle Canada and InStyle with Drew Barrymore. We got a taste of Jaunt partnering up with 7 For All Mankind to bring fashion stories in VR to life for in-store experiences and a sneak peek at Tommy Hilfiger making their fashion show available on a Gear VR for customers while they waited for a fitting room. Just this last week, Stockholm Fashion Week was made accessible to fans worldwide with a VR live stream.
The growing use of virtual reality and fashion is only a small part of a larger trend from fashion brands quickly adopting to a digital age. Constantly connected consumers are expecting more access from the fashion brands they love, whether or not it’s a peek behind-the-scenes of a photoshoot, a live-stream from the runway, or instant shopping carts when they stumble across an item on social media that they have to have at that moment.
On set of fashion shoot.
Just this past week, Burberry and Tom Ford made big annoucements that they would be getting rid of the outdated idea of seasonal timeline fashion shows. The retailers will make their collections available to shop online and in store after showing on the runway. In the past, collections shown on the runway were meant only for the eyes of the press and wholesale buyers, with consumers waiting 6-months to actually find it in store. Now fashion shows will become consumer facing events, as they should be, especially since they are seeing all the fashion anyways on Instagram and Twitter.
We can slowly say goodbye to the days of inaccessible fashion and brands spending extravagant amounts of money on fashion shows for just a room-full of individuals. Brands will continue to see a return on investing in video and real-time access technology, and what better way to accomplish that than with virtual reality.
Photo Credit: Ruvan Wijesooriya / Ilya Yamasaki
