Here is some good news for technology fans with a penchant for fashion; you can now use augmented reality to try out new gear without actually going to the inconvenience of putting it on.
Now for the bad news: if you want to buy a dress without trying it on then you will need to nip over to Topshop in Moscow to do it. In fact, you would need to have done it between the 5th and 8th of May to be perfectly honest with you.
The Russian experiment kicked off last week and used a big screen, a camera and a Kinect motion sensor to let customers see what the store’s clothes would look like on them. The technology was provided by AR Door and was used to help promote the Dress Up collection.
Virtual copies of the clothes were superimposed onto the image of the customer, who could scroll through the full selection by using hand gestures. Reaction to the idea was pretty positive, although the end result sometimes seemed to be more like a reasonably professional Photoshop image than anything more advanced.
The idea is undoubtedly fantastic but it seems as though more realistic images which properly adapt the garment to the user’s body are needed in order to make this a genuinely appealing shopping alternative rather than a fun gimmick. Having said that, it could work brilliantly for home shoppers buying online, couldn’t it?
Would you buy an expensive piece of clothing after having only tried it on virtually?
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