Verizon’s production house, RYOT, has created an exhibition that has reimagined a fashion show by presenting it in a virtual-reality environment.
Curated by Fashion Innovation Agency, "The fabric of reality" will showcase the work of three designers and enable audiences to view and interact in real time via a VR headset.
The experience aims to take audiences on a journey to explore the story and narrative behind the collections. It will feature an exhibition room in which the designers' sculptural garments will be showcased and three portals representing each project’s "storyworld" – self-contained universes expressing the "emotional reality" of each garment.
Designers were paired with digital artists to dress the space in a style that matches both the audience and collection. Viewers engaging with the exhibition through VR headsets will appear as avatars and will be able to "fly" and explore the space.
The exhibition will launch on 29 July and run for 12 months within the Museum of Other Realities VR platform.
A live event with the designers inside the experience will stream at 6:30pm on 29 July on Yahoo Style and HuffPost UK in a modified 2D format and will remain available to view after the event.
Mark Melling, head of EMEA at RYOT, said: "Interactive, immersive digital experiences are the future of live events – whether to augment analogue experiences or pure-play digital events. Designers and creators want to tell a story with their creations and a virtual world like the one we are bringing to life with the Museum of Other Realities allows them to tell so much more of the story behind their designs.
"Never before has it been more important to highlight the opportunities to showcase creativity through virtual events. As 5G allows almost instant, real-time digital interactions, as well as smaller device form factors like AR/VR glasses that don’t need computers inside them, XR [mixed-reality] experiences will grow exponentially."
The show was produced in partnership with Kaleidoscope, the Museum of Other Realities and the Fashion Innovation Agency at the London College of Fashion. The project is being delivered by RYOT as part of Verizon Media’s broader XR programme.