Job:02-30034 Title:RP-Fashion Design Ref and Spec Book
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Technology and Sustainability 2 47
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Dava Newman, inventor, science, and engineering; Guillermo Trotti,
design; Dainese, S.p.A., fabrication. Photograph by Douglas Sonders.
with one designed to behave more like a second skin. The Bio-Suit was honored by NASA and
Time magazine (Best Inventors 2007) and was included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s
2008 exhibit Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy—demonstrating that the boundaries between
science and style are flexing.
NEW FRONTIERS
No discussion of technology and fashion can exclude the phenomenon of virtual fashion. Virtu-
al fashion can be created for use in computer-simulated environments or developed there with
the intention of being worn in the real world. In Second Life and similar interactive online plat-
forms, individuals use avatars that either simulate their own appearance or reflect aspects
of their personality in ways that could only be entertained in a virtual world. Everything can
be customized, including one’s clothes. The technically proficient might undertake this them-
selves, but many virtual visitors are inclined to take advantage of designers who sell fashions
crafted from pixels, not fabric.
Through virtual fashion shows and storefronts, major retailers, indie designers, and fashion
students also use this very flexible and accessible new space to display the work that they
are doing in the real world. Services such as My Virtual Model provide virtual changing rooms
and virtual models that can be personalized to look like the customer and be shared online.
From the designer’s perspective, such services allow their customers to see themselves in
the clothing with a few clicks of the mouse. Some designers that offer virtual residents the
opportunity to dress in their fashions also provide a click-through to websites where they can
buy the real-world counterparts.
Big-name fashion brands—Adidas, American Apparel, Lacoste, Reebok, Giorgio Armani, Jean-
Paul Gaultier, Calvin Klein, and Stella McCartney (who staged an antifur animal rights protest
in Second Life)—have all taken advantage of this new frontier to enhance their brands and
extend them with actual stores or virtual promotions. Second Life is populated by early adopt-
ers, individuals who lead the way in testing and developing new ideas. For fashion designers
who become part of the community, this makes it the perfect place to experiment and get
feedback on their work. It is an immersive, peer-driven landscape that demands authenticity
and innovation.
Second Life Fashion
Reproduced with the permission of Linden Research, Inc.
Copyright © 2001–2009. All rights reserved.
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