In cooperation with Change of Paradigm, garments designed by and for the fashion industry can be simulated realistically before a single piece of fabric has to be cut. This approach does not only save time and money but takes zero-prototyping to a whole new level.
"Project Zero" was our second Innovate UK supported project, and once again we found ourselves in the world of fashion. Building on the experience from the last project, we moved from simple fabrics to simple garments and then eventually complex garments. Working hand in hand with fashion designers, render specialists and computer vision specialists, the goal was to evaluate the feasibility of using virtual representations of garments to During the course of the project, we started working on our own garment stitching tool in Houdini, a pattern importer, and representation of seams and zippers. Although these are not finished products yet, we made good progress and plan to develop them further when funding allows. The main insight we gained from the project was that in order to reproduce a virtual garment replica that looked pretty much identical on, for example a catwalk, each and every individual piece needs to be as close to reality as possible. A small deviation in the garment design, avatar's body setup combined with a slightly different walk already makes a big difference. In addition to that, we learned that in most (complex) garments, the material properties of the fabric play only a minor role in the garment behaviour. The driving force is the structure of the garment, the way it is assembled with stitching and multiple layers.
