United by their mutual enthusiasm for the digital fashion space, Antonio and Isabelle combined their talents in 2022 to conceptualise Future Front Row, a ground-breaking holographic fashion showcase. Their maiden show took place a year later in Amsterdam and unsurprisingly, garnered widespread acclaim. I was lucky enough to be in attendance; it was my first ever catwalk show, never mind digital catwalk, and I was completely entranced by the production. Now, having hosted three more iterations of the project, I sit down with the team to talk about how they plan to keep disrupting the traditional fashion show and bringing digital into the mainstream.
Hello and welcome to Seamless! We are of course here to talk all things Future Front Row, but first, please tell our readers who you are, a little bit about your backgrounds and how you met.
Isa: Amazing – thanks for having us. Well, my name is Isabelle (Isa for short) and I’m a Digital Artist by trade. Four years ago, I launched VideOrbit Studio where I work with Beauty and Fashion brands around the world to create augmented reality experiences. I am also Co-Founder of Code Couture, a digital fashion house, and am Co-Founder of Future Front Row along with Antonio.
Antonio: And my background is also creative but more so in the Digital Art industries. I was working as the Museum Experience Producer at Amsterdam’s NXT Museum (a large immersive installation space) when I met Isa. Back then, we were both keeping our eyes on the growing digital fashion space and soon noticed that there was a gap in the market to help bring the experience of digital fashion into a physical space. We figured if not us, then someone else would, and that’s when we founded Future Front Row: a holographic digital fashion catwalk.
So you noticed there was that gap in the market but what were the specifics that took you from concept to formally saying ‘ok, let’s do this!’?
Antonio: We could see that digital fashion was undoubtedly on the rise and promised so much opportunity. But the traditional industry, with its sense of tangible craft and connection, looked on and felt it was gimmicky and childish. And at first we could see why; even to us it felt so abstract, synthetic and kind of emotionless. In order for someone to interact with it, they had to do so via a screen and with that came friction.
But at the same time, you have this rapidly growing, highly disruptive digital community doing amazing things and looking at the traditional brands believing they are dated and kind of stuck in this really damaging cycle.
Isa: We knew that digital wasn’t going anywhere, in fact, it was only going to grow, and so we felt a responsibility to try and bring the two worlds closer together: a digital catwalk but in a physical space. You could be a complete digital novice, and still be able to come in, sit down and consume digital fashion in a way that felt familiar. It would be an immersive experience, complete with emotional engagement and a level of storytelling.
And so we sat down with our ideal scenario in mind, and reverse engineered that into something achievable with the technologies available to us.
Antonio: It felt like the perfect middle ground between the physical and the digital worlds.
Absolutely! As someone who has dabbled in both worlds myself very recently, I agree that you need to really experience it to begin to understand it. What are the essential ingredients in setting this production up in terms of features and tech?
Isa: One of the most important ingredients for us going into this was to ensure that people really have that feeling that they are going to a fashion runway; to have a setup where visitors can experience the show from both sides, as you would at a traditional catwalk.
Antonio: Yes, so running parallel to the catwalk is a special mesh, one that creates these illusions wherein if anything is dark or black, it disappears and you don’t notice it. But, when we project onto it, it causes the light to bounce back in a way that creates this 3D hologram effect. We project-map 6 pieces of the show along the mesh beforehand, and then mirror that on the other side so from either vantage point, you get the same immersive experience.
At times, we have also trialled real time motion capture elements and that of course requires its own unique set of considerations and is a work in progress.
But this is very much an answer in brief. We want to keep experimenting and pushing the technology. We can easily see 10 more iterations of this but we want to do it slowly and perfect it as we go. Every time you add a new piece to the puzzle it changes everything else so there is a lot of trial, error and play, which is of course part of the fun of innovating!
You collaborate with artists who are the ones that showcase their digital collections on the catwalk. What kind of brief are they given ahead of time?
Isa: To be honest, we like to give them a fairly free and open brief so they can then go away and think about how they want to approach the design, creation and simulation of the garments, unhindered.
We of course had to share technical parameters in terms of avatar size, pixel size and frame rate, but other than that, we wanted the richness and variation of their differing styles and vision.
We want them to have that creative freedom. Yes, we are mimicking a traditional catwalk as an experience, but that doesn’t mean their collections need to be showcased as a simple model. Some added effects, others movement, others played with the lighting…there is so much you can do.
We learn new things every time we run a show and definitely give advice and feedback to them so they can continue to build off of their initial idea.
Shoutout to our designers – Augmented Weaving, DressX, Mutani, Av0lve, Orthodoxx, Suza Vos x Harriet Blend, The Fabricant, Code Couture and Polygon Dressing – who were all involved in making our maiden show such a success!
I know you launched in Amsterdam, because I was lucky enough to be there, but can you tell us more about the 4 shows you have run to date and how they have differed?
Antonio: Yes, so as you mention, so far we have run four shows: Amsterdam, Paris, New York and, most recently, Antwerp. Amsterdam was our maiden show here on our home soil and we wanted to gather a diverse collection of people from the strong creative community here.
We had noticed at other digital fashion events that it was always the same crowd and same faces that would turn up and we wanted to break out of that as we felt that in a way, it was limiting the conversation. We wanted digital fashionistas, traditional fashionistas, students, designers, technology enthusiasts, artists…you name it! New perspectives often lead to new developments.
There is a photo somewhere of a 60-year old woman sitting beside a young teenager; both very fashionable but of course from very different generations. And that kind of diversity felt good. In Amsterdam, we did 4 shows over the course of 2 days to ensure we maximised the number of people that could come and experience what we were doing. I think by the end of it, 1000 different people had popped in which was amazing!
But all of our shows have been a little bit different. We had full ownership and creative licence over the Amsterdam show experience, whereas for the ones in New York, Paris and Antwerp we were invited to host a show within another event which was a bit different but still very rewarding and exciting!
Isabelle: Yes, the New York show was much more experimental; we had a real-time performance captured by a real-time mocap rig. So there was a physical dancer being motion captured, and then we used AI technology to digitally fit the dancer’s digital twin with three different garments that had been especially designed for the show. For us, it’s all about iterating, playing and pushing the envelope.
In Paris, we couldn’t have the usual set up of having people be able to watch the catwalk from both sides, so it was different again. But there we involved our largest group of artists to date…somewhere between 30 and 40. We also had a small booth where guests could experience the mocap/AI setup and embody the digital avatars in the different looks.
And then finally in Antwerp, we partnered with the MoMu Fashion Museum who had worked with d_archive to digitally recreate a 115-year-old archival costume from their collection. There are so many of these historic garments that can’t be worn anymore physically because they would just fall apart, but with a digital showcase, you can bring them to life in a new and really enriching way.
But overall, and as Antonio mentioned, our main overarching goal has always been to democratise digital fashion; to create a space where anyone and everyone can come and see it and for it to be demystified.
What will continue to be really important is pressing ahead with making our offering accessible and shaking off the ‘elite’ reputation that tends to come with a fashion show.
We’ve got another one we are already cooking up but we can’t say anything about that one just yet…watch this space!
So you are merging the physical and digital worlds together and are actively working on getting both communities (and then some) in the same room. I’d be interested to hear any specific feedback you’ve gotten from the more traditional fashion folks…
Antonio: Well, as we mentioned, on the whole, and as spectators, the reception has been really good. But when it comes to more actively involving them, it’s tricky.
We want them there and see them playing a pivotal role in how we evolve, but at the same time, they aren’t as free to push the creative envelope as some of these digital artists are. The moment you shoehorn a brand into the equation, it all has to align with their very strict branding and messaging which very much works against what we are trying to do.
We definitely want to do more projects with brands and many of them are very open to the idea. But I think the offering would need to be a little different and more tailored. If we were to bring them into our wider ‘digital paradise’, we’d really need to ask ourselves: ‘how much are we willing to give up in terms of creative freedom and is there enough value in the collaboration to do that?’
Isa: I would say that we are of course open to all and any opportunity and as and when they come our way, we will make it work. But it’s still early days, and we need to see how these would fit into our bigger strategy. It is very obvious that a lot of brands, especially in the luxury space, have a keen interest in innovation and in finding new ways to have people engage with their universe which is super exciting. Slowly but surely we will meet in the middle, in a sort of physical/digital sweet spot.
Currently, your shows are very much a digital experience consumed in a physical space. Are there any plans to add a live-stream and/or remote element to make them accessible to an even larger audience?
Isa: That is a really good question and something we have talked about a lot. The short answer is: not right now. The longer answer is: not right now BUT, just like with more traditional catwalks now being live-streamed onto social media, it would be amazing for us to trial this in the future and see what we learn from it.
As mentioned, it is the physicality of the catwalk that gives it the buzz and provides the space to gather, network and have conversations. And for now, that is the priority.
Antonio: I think what would be better is to create some form of digital archive of all of the looks. We noticed that people after the shows want to re-look at the garments and have a little longer to digest them. Like with physical clothing, this extended interaction builds that more emotional connection.
If we were to build this central archive showcasing all of the works, it would add value to the community, the conversation and of course, to the artists, on a larger scale.
Isa: We also want to focus more on moving outside of the Western world of the US and Europe. When it comes to creativity, different parts of the world have very different ways of approaching design because of their individual stories and wider cultures. We’d love to see how those nuances would impact their take on digital fashion.
Exciting times ahead! Now this next question is much more general. What would your response be to the statement: ‘digital only fashion is a gimmick and has no long-term opportunity’?
Isa: Frankly, anyone that has this kind of narrow and conservative opinion will simply not survive in the long run. The younger generations are growing up as digital natives and with that, there is going to be an ever-evolving focus on digital identity which of course includes fashion. It’s going to be a massive opportunity.
Granted, it might not be happening quite as quickly as some may have thought initially, but you can already see the potential in games like Fortnite, where kids are buying all sorts of digital skins and items – it’s already second nature to many of them to be investing in these things.
Antonio: We are always looking to the future but as Isa says, these things are already big now. Millions of people are using AR filters daily and millions of dollars are being made from in-game skins in Fortnite and Roblox. The disconnect here is that people have a narrow view of what digital fashion is, but it encompasses all of these things!
To draw a parallel, back in 2007, brands were being told to invest in a presence on Facebook and at first didn’t take it seriously. Today, it is an essential and undeniable part of any company’s marketing strategy. This will be the same.
Some are being too short sighted; Millennials are climbing the corporate ladder and hiring Gen-Zers and these younger generations have grown up with, or have at least experienced, working and/or playing with these things. And then you have the Gen-Alpha kids that are yet to graduate…we (Isa and I) are considered experts in this field but we talk with them, and they have already easily surpassed us in so many ways!
Have you heard of the Proteus effect? It’s when the physical behaviours of an individual begin to change because of their connection with their virtual avatar. A fair amount of research has already shown this to be happening, especially to those currently in their teenage years or younger. Granted, it’s difficult to create an exact linear regression model of how this will continue to grow, but it gives us enough of an insight to know that this is an inevitability and warrants attention.
I hadn’t heard of the Proteus effect, but in terms of the speed of change and adoption, my 3-year old niece can work a phone almost as well as I can, so I see it happening first-hand. Another general one: how have you seen the industry at large change, if at all, since you founded Future Front Row in 2022?
Isa: I can definitely speak to this from both the perspective of Future Front Row, but also my AR work. As I mentioned at the start, I work with a lot of Fashion and Beauty brands. A couple of years ago having something like an immersive augmented reality activation was an afterthought for most people, or a last minute add-on if they happened to have some spare budget left over.
Fast-forward to now, and tech-enabled campaigns like that are much more formally woven into their marketing strategy; creating (and maintaining) a connection with their consumers via tech seems to be more important now than ever, and seems to be how many of the leading brands are staying on top.
Social media is scattered with brands activating digitally in all kinds of amazing ways, and you’re right, there seems to have been a big shift recently to more consumer facing experiences. I will end with this: what’s the long-term vision for Future Front Row?
Isa: We have so many ideas and plans. Through our shows and the digital archive that Antonio already mentioned, our big vision is to become the go-to place to see the newest in digital fashion, and we are building objectives and OKRs around achieving that.
Antonio: The exciting thing is, we have already achieved what we set out to do, at least initially, and there are so many directions we could take this in now. We want digital fashion to become mainstream and a household space, but also would love for this to become profitable so we can focus all of our efforts on growing it. But this will take time and until then, we will be taking small but mighty steps and having fun along the way. Watch this space!
