Heartdub: How Innovative Technology Demonstrates Runway's New Rhythm

After the delay caused by Shanghai's two-month-long Covid-19 lockdown, Shanghai Fashion Week announced its AW 2022 showcase to be held online. The first "Digital Shanghai Fashion Week" subverted the traditional stereotype and brought immersive experiences to the global audience.

Many of the designer brands contributed head-turning collabs during this period. One of the highlights was a collaboration hosted by the tech start-up Heartdub, virtual musician K, and two emerging designer brands PANN and DANZ. The collaborators delivered a new method of showcasing the runway in Eco-tech Fashion.

The fashion industry produces between 2 to 8 per cent of global carbon emissions and is the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply (UNEP, Putting the brakes on fast fashion, 2018). As a member of NVIDIA Inception, the multinational AI company Heartdub is dedicated to developing sustainable fashion in digital form to address this issue. This collaboration addresses reducing pollution and waste from physical runways as well as allowing the wider public to experience the innovation of fashion through Heartdub's physics engine. Despite the new challenges of transformation, designers have never stopped thinking about the present and future. They are committed to promoting the progress of sustainable fashion along with the development of digital power.

On the other hand, as a female union, collaborators themed the show as "Her-Power", aimed to explore the inner strength of females to the audience and convey the attitude of pioneering women. In a digitally constructed extra-terrestrial setting, "K" models four looks created by the designers, directing the audience to explore different aspects of femininity from a diverse perspective.

Digital technology has opened up a new development direction for the fashion industry, fashion shows are all globally exploring the perfect and realistic presentation of virtual fashion. The invention of the physics engine technology has introduced infinite possibilities for the industry. Heartdub's SaaS rationalizing technology supports sustainable fashion by delivering computational modeling in high simulation. It allows users to design physics-based digital garments in real-time, archive them in the cloud, and then share the designs with clients. This technology can take a piece of fabric and reproduce an exact copy of it digitally, revolutionizing marketing and communication for the industry.

With the new forms of consumption, Eco-tech Fashion is snowballing and attracting the interests of both practitioners and consumers. The fashion industry is beginning to embrace innovative technologies and taking steps to explore the virtual world. Digital products promote the gradual transformation of enterprises to empower and create a new futuristic lifestyle.

Release Summary:

Shanghai Fashion Week announced its AW 2022 showcase to be held online. The first "Digital Shanghai Fashion Week" subverted the traditional stereotype and brought immersive experiences to the global audience. The start-up company Heartdub has developed a virtual musician "K" to make collaboration with two designer brands PANN and DANZ.

Company Twitter Account: @Myheartdub

Company Instagram Account: @Myheartdub

Resources:

UNEP, Putting the brakes on fast fashion, 2018, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/fashion-industry-carbon-unsustainable-environment-pollution/