As part of London Fashion week, vogue collaborated with Snapchat to create an immersive AR exhibition: ‘Redefining the Body’.
We are seeing all aspects of fashion become more digital, especially with the growing dominance of the Metaverse.
This exhibition nicely combines both the physical and the digital experience – demonstrating the value in using digital to enhance what already exists, not to replace it.
Edward Enninful OBE and Editor in chief at British vogue and European editorial director of Condé Nast curated the exhibition which features six of the world’s leading fashion brands and designers: Stella McCartney, Richard Quinn, Kenneth Ize, Thebe Magugu, Dior and Versace.
Accessibility
The exhibition invites people from every race, background, gender, and sexuality to enjoy and experience fashion.
This was a key consideration for Enninful in curating the space, as he explains “It has always been important to me to make fashion accessible for all.”
Giving a diverse group of creatives the space to design a room each which spoke to their brand and heritage meant visitors had access to a wide range of fashion and interpretations.
The use of AR, which encouraged users to scan QR codes which layered the physical exhibition with digital frames, or information acted to provide another layer of experience but also education around the designers and their concepts.
Shareability
Each room was carefully considered and aligned with each designer’s background or collection.
For example – Kenneth Ize’s room was filled with colourful wall hangings, and featured mannequins which displayed unique one-off pieces displayed Ize’s bespoke and passionate approach to craft.
Through snapchat, visitors could experience Ize’s story, and even try on his wonderful garments before saving photos of themselves to share online.
Not only is this shareability useful for the content creator who looks for experiences like this to create coveted Instagram content, but it allows the narrative Enninful creates and reinforces throughout to gain further awareness as people hear or see content shared online.
Overall – the exhibition really demonstrated the power as well as the potential of fashion. As well as this, it stood out as a great example of a fashion experience that bridges the gap between the physical and the digital.
At times the use of AR did feel like an add on and did not always act to enhance the work of the designers.
However, as a business in this industry we really appreciated the approach this exhibition took in choosing to combine the physical with the digital, instead of opting to replace the physical experience altogether to advance the realm of fashion.