Fashion

Innovating with 3-D digital fashion design

By Derek Sun

Instead of sketching with a pencil and paper, Karina Ochoa designs her various clothing collections on a computer, using a special three-dimensional software that simulates real-life textures and colors of fabric and lets her skip what used to be the usual step of making a garment: Seeing if that fabric was suitable, finding out that it wasn’t, trashing the test garment and starting all over again. 

Infinito Studio, Ochoa’s Manhattan-based company, is among those pushing the boundaries of design and  blurring the lines between the physical and digital worlds.

“It’s a representation of your identity,” said Ochoa, a 2012 Fashion Institute of Technology graduate.

She created her “Infinito Project,” which showcases Colombian streetwear-inspired outfits for men and women. She hopes to inspire Colombians to join her in the digital fashion profession with her molas made of traditional Colombian textiles. “I want to tell meaningful stories with my art.”

So, is digital fashion the future of fashion? Karina believes so. By embracing digital technologies, the fashion industry can achieve greater efficiency, allowing designers to plan, conceptualize, and create more exact and educated product designs. Moreover, digital fashion presents surreal and limitless creative possibilities, enabling designers to weave engaging stories and representation of identity into their designs.

Becoming a digital fashion designer is an exciting prospect, but it does come with challenges. Hardware and software accessibility can be a hindrance for aspiring designers. However, Karina encourages students to be fearless and seek out communities that support digital fashion.

On the other side of the ever-evolving landscape of the digital fashion industry, one name stands out as the profit-maker business: The Fabricant. With a mission to dress 100 million people by 2025, Fabricant has become a leading agency at the forefront of the convergence between physical and digital fashion.

Unlike traditional fashion houses that focus on tangible garments, Fabricant’s unique approach revolves around creating straightforward digital fashion. This means that their creations do not have a physical body or utility but are accessible to all age groups in the virtual realm. This novel concept, however, has faced challenges with overselling and misunderstanding from the public.

One of the significant hurdles in the digital fashion industry is the misinterpretation of the metaverse and its potential virality. While the media plays a significant role in driving attention to the subject, it often fails to capture the real essence of digital fashion as an art form. Instead, sensationalist headlines and wild images dominate, creating a distorted perception of the technology.

“The cold hard fact is that this is a business,” says Kenneth Loo, the CEO of Chapter 2 Agency which manages the Fabricant. The rise of NFTs, blockchain, and crypto has been both a boon and a curse for the digital fashion industry. While it has opened up new possibilities for transactions and ownership, it has also been plagued by misconceptions and overspeculation. NFT headlines often include the loss or gain of tens of thousands to millions of dollars at a time. Loo is working diligently to bring more transparency and authenticity to their designs, using blockchain technology to validate ownership and establish true value.

Chapter 2 Agency aims to focus on where this technology can genuinely improve people’s lives rather than chasing quick profits. They view digital fashion as a means to represent one’s identity in virtual environments and to provide a space that companies can resort to in case of another pandemic. 

Educating the public about the real goals of the digital fashion industry is a key priority for Loo and his team. They plan to achieve this through regular case studies that showcase the evolution of their work, given how quickly technology is advancing in this domain. By building on top of new data and learning from each development, Fabricant seeks to create a solid foundation for the future of digital fashion.

As the digital fashion industry moves forward, Fabricant stands as a beacon of innovation, using technology to transcend traditional boundaries and bring a new dimension to the world of fashion. Through transparency, education, and a focus on improving lives, they are paving the way for a future where digital fashion is not only accepted but embraced by all.