As digital twin technology begins to become more democratised, it is now easier for companies and people alike to capture their spaces and create digital replicas of the real world. These replicas can then be used in a number of ways, from optimising retail layouts to keeping track of items as part of insurance audits. The opportunity is massive; we estimate that less than one percent of the world’s spaces are digitised, and so it is very much primed for further growth.
Digital twins have the flexibility and potential to work across multiple different industries as well, from facilities management to travel and hospitality. But one unique area of application is in fashion, spearheaded by Prada, where digital twins were utilised to create a digital replica of a showroom. Here, we’ll go into detail about how this worked, the role of digital twins, and how Prada benefitted from the digitisation of their showcase during Milan Fashion Week.
What are digital twins?
A digital twin is a digital replica of a real-world place or object. These digital twins are normally captured via either sophisticated camera systems or mobile apps on both iOS and Android. Once captured, the dimensionally-accurate 3D digital models can be updated quickly to reflect changes with their physical counterparts.
With digital twins, companies can then take advantage of a range of benefits that impact a host of verticals. In real estate, for example, professionals can take advantage of digitising an asset class that is worth $240trn globally, which has a lot of room to grow over the next few years. In retail, digital twins can be used to create a digital version of a physical location, where shoppers can interact and engage with a retail brand from anywhere around the world. Another application is for property developers, where they can provide virtual walk-throughs of properties that people can walk through and visit at any time.
Digital twins and fashion
The main reason that the fashion industry has begun to embrace digital twins is that they can combine the best of the online world with the physical. The differentiator for companies that use digital twins is simply standing out, as their consumers will be provided with an immersive experience they will remember. A digital representation of their work increases the reach of items, while also providing an engaging way to access them.
Fashion and retail move extremely fast, and there is a consistent need to innovate to ensure they are on the edge of the competition. This bleeds into the use of digital technologies to pioneer new ways to profile . Furthermore, digital twins make fashion shows more accessible. Many people from all over the world can see collections even if they can’t make the shows on-location. The audience can be transported to wherever the collections are, and the participants can see the interactions no matter where they are situated. And this accessibility theme is set to continue.
Prada x Milan Fashion Week
In last year’s Milan Fashion Week, Prada worked with Matterport to make a digital twin of their showroom, to bring its menswear collection to life. The show was organised during the pandemic, so it meant that the collection could still be seen without any restrictions holding Prada back. The approach meant that real-life fashion shows could be experienced virtually by many across the globe, helping the excitement of fashion continue despite the spread of COVID-19 at the time.
By using Matterport, Prada was able to demonstrate its collection, showcasing great backdrops to the items as well as the incredibly important photorealistic collection itself. Additionally, an accompanying soundtrack gave this fashion show more life, bringing the Prada audience in further with audio as well as visual effects. In this case – as well as many other cases – digital twins were extremely useful for social distancing while also helping to create an immersive experience that advances fashion shows to new heights.
The wider significance
The absolute bonus that the Prada case shows is that digital twins help to create more immersive experiences – at a time where it’s adapt or die. Retail has worked hard in tough conditions to maintain footfall levels, with the pandemic only making things worse. This is only outlined further with data from Springboard, which showed that shopping trips fell by 18.6% from August 2019 to August 2021.
For those retailers that remain, surviving is all about innovation while keeping abreast of ecommerce trends. The best way to approach this is to make a blend of the best of physical locations to produce an immersive location for consumers to get stuck into. It is changed like this that will make retailers stand out from the crowd and allow them to compete in the industry more effectively. Consumers can also take a look at products and gather a firm understanding of the product before they even touch it in real life. In short, the possibilities are extensive.
