Maisie Wilen uses giant otherworldly holograms to model latest collection

Fashion label Maisie Wilen showcased its autumn/winter collection using a cast of seven-foot-tall holograms at its New York Fashion Week show.

Set in a dark empty room, the presentation consisted of 28 holograms of different models that were beamed into the room using more than a hundred simultaneously running cameras.

Holographic models showcased Maisie Wilen's AW22 fashion collection

Styled to resemble Monster High dolls, they donned prosthetic fangs, gills and pointed ears alongside bright blue and pink body paint, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.

Some of the looped, moving projections showed the models pointing or laughing at the audience, while others appeared to be electrocuted or blow bubbles from their mouths.

Some of the moving holograms interacted with the audience

"The performances were so engaging that many who attended lingered longer than they might have for a conventional fashion show," one reporter wrote.

The event took place in real life in front of a real audience, but the actual presentation of the garments was entirely digital, which according to Maisie Wilen makes it the "first-ever all-holographic fashion show".

Another projection shows a model playing with a VR headset

Each projection showcased a look from the brand's latest collection, spanning iridescent vinyl trenchcoats, matt silver sequin flares and skintight catsuits with op-art prints.

"I wanted to delve into what could prompt the viewer to question their reality," co-founder Maisie Schloss told Vogue. "The clothes have optical illusions, and we use a lot of textiles with visual effects."

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The holograms were created in collaboration with Yahoo using the web company's volumetric video technology, which involved surrounding each of the models with 106 separate cameras and capturing them in ultra-high 6K resolution from all directions at the same time.

Unlike in 360-degree videos, where multiple cameras face outward from a central rig to capture a flat image of their surroundings, this footage helps to create a kind of 3D model that can then be projected onto a wall to create the impression of a real, larger-than-life person.

Each projection was looped like a gif

For those unable to attend the show, a dedicated website houses all of the 3D models and allows users to place them into their surrounding environment using augmented reality (AR).

"You get to zoom in on them, beam them into your space to walk around them," Schloss told Vogue. "It's a level of engagement that we haven't had with the live show previously."

The holograms were created using volumetric video technology

Fashion has long toyed with holograms, from Alexander McQueen projecting a dancing Kate Moss into his autumn/winter 2006 show to Diesel floating giant aquatic creatures over its runway.

In the last year, brands from Gucci to Balenciaga have moved beyond just virtual set dressing to creating entire virtual garments, which can only be worn in AR or in the growing network of virtual worlds known as the metaverse.

Elsewhere at New York Fashion Week, designer Jonathan Simkhai presented his latest collection in the online world of Second Life this month and made the clothes available as virtual wearables for players to purchase before ever showing their physical counterparts.

All imagery is courtesy of Yahoo.

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Jonathan Simkhai stages FW22 fashion show in virtual world Second Life

Fashion editors and influencers assumed digital avatars to take up their front-row seats at Jonathan Simkhai's Fall/Winter 2022 runway show, which was presented in the virtual world of Second Life during New York Fashion Week.

The show featured ten looks from the designer's latest physical collection that were turned into virtual wearables and modelled by characters within the online platform.

After first going on sale to Second Life users, who can use the digital garments to dress their own avatars, six of the pieces are being auctioned off as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for use in other 3D virtual environments.

Jonathan Simkhai presented his FW22 ready-to-wear collection in Second Life

The day after the virtual event, Simkhai presented the full physical ready-to-wear collection to journalists and buyers by appointment in New York, rather than staging a real-life runway show.

"I really wanted to break the ice and figure this new world out and try to expose my customer to it, but also acquire a new customer," Simkhai told Vogue.

"It's not like I was doing one instead of the other; it was business as usual with an extra fun layer."

The digital wearables can be worn by avatars in 3D virtual worlds

The Second Life event was organised by Everyrealm, the "metaverse real estate" developer also responsible for crafting the presentation's set design.

Rather than transporting viewers to a surreal environment that would be impossible to recreate in real life, this consists of a traditional linear grey runway, surrounded by shallow pools of water.

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Avatars strutted along this raised platform, modelling virtual wearables designed for Simkhai by digital fashion house Blueberry.

This involved taking the real-life garments from the designer's FW22 collection and creating 3D models of them with the same software that is used to design video games.

The pieces are 3D models of real, physical garments

A slew of fashion brands from Balenciaga to Nike has recently started investing in virtual wearables and NFTs as a way to sell products to more people.

Companies are also quickly beginning to look beyond just garments and towards creating immersive experiences in the growing network of virtual worlds called the metaverse.

Previously, Gucci has hosted a virtual exhibition in Roblox, while designers Collina Strada and Mimi Wade hosted fashion shows in online metaverse IMVU.

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Doug Aitken creates kaleidoscopic catwalk for Saint Laurent show in Venice

American artist Doug Aitken has designed a plant-filled mirrored installation for the Saint Laurent menswear spring summer 2021 fashion show in Venice.

Called Green Lens, the kaleidoscopic catwalk is located on the Venetian island of Certosa.

Green Lens is a mirrored installation by the artist Doug Aitken

Planters full of foliage have been placed between the faceted reflective surfaces of the 10-pronged pavilion.

"The installation is a living artwork," Aitken told Dezeen.

"I wanted to design something that was physically alive," he added. "Much of the work is botanic, it is actually vegetation, almost creating a lush forest-scape."

The decagon is made of Alucobond, a composite panel of two aluminium cover sheets combined with a fire-retardant.

During the show, smoke machines and colour-changing lights turn Green Lens into a shifting backdrop, soundtracked by nature sounds that were recorded on the island.

The installation is filled with vegetation

Green Lens was commissioned by Saint Laurent's creative director Anthony Vaccarello for the fashion house's menswear spring summer 2021 show, which took place in Venice last night.

Guests to the show sat on long white benches as models showcasing the collection walked through the reflective archways.

The installation will remain on Certosa Island until the end of July as an artwork in its own right for the public to experience, which Aitken said was crucial to the work's aim of being inclusive.

A soundscape of nature sounds from the island plays inside the installation

Aitken chose a reflective material for Green Lens to represent the idea of remaining in the present moment while reflecting on what the future might hold.

"I was working on this project for almost the entire of Covid," he said.

"I think that one of the things the pandemic did to us as a society was to really force us to look at the present, or the future, where we're going from here, and to question ourselves as individuals and as a society," he continued.

"I became very interested in the idea of an artwork really being a space for the present. A space for ideas for reflections, not looking at existing narratives but instead looking within oneself."

The work was designed for a Saint Laurent menswear show

According to Aitken, Green Lens aims to ground visitors in the present moment and encourage them to engage with the physical object in front of them.

"I wanted to create an artwork that could be a tool to activate our perception," said the artist.

Green Lens as seen from the water

Saint Laurent said that carbon emissions related to the project will be offset through reforestation programmes dedicated to the island.

After the work is dismantled, the plants will be donated to the island, while the fashion house has also pledged to restructure damaged cloister ruins on Certosa.

"It was this little destroyed forgotten island," said Aitken.

"We wanted to create something there that would bring life back to it."

Green Lens is located on the island of Certosa in Venice

Doug Aitken is an American artist who works across a range of mediums. Other projects by Aitken that feature reflective materials include a mirrored building in the Swiss Alps that reflects a shifting display of scenery and sky.

Saint Laurent is an Italian fashion house founded in 1961 by designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé. A museum dedicated to the designer in Marrakech was created by Studio KO.

The imagery is courtesy of Saint Laurent.

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