Collaboratively created cyber-fashion show, where sketches (white bg)
from FIT fashion designers are turned into 3d avatar models (black bg) by SFU students
– all using distance collaborative tools between two coasts and countries.

About
This was a collaborative design / e-learning research project between two university professors/researchers (w/ their 4th year students) – from two different countries working with and about online virtual tools for design.
The project had it’s start in the fall of 2002 when Daria Dorosh at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, was invited by Steve DiPaola, at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada to participate in an university collaboration between their students in the disciplines of design, interactive computer graphics, virtual collaboration for design and learning. An industry partner was enlisted to complete the collaboration process — Adobe and their beta software Adobe Atmosphere, a 3D virtual environment system. The goal was to explore how collaboration systems and virtual environments can be used practically, for learning, design collaboration, virtual portfolios, virtual fashion and cross cultural online/physical events. This then was an interdisciplinary, cross-institutional, international effort in collaborative design, distance learning and virtual environments

One of several ‘virtual fashion-cyber mystery show’ rooms, here before
the virtual crowds arrived. These models are click-able, revealing
additional 3d galleries of the designers work.

The system
Guided by the two researchers/teachers, the students at SFU and FIT worked via several online collaboration systems in an iterative process. Collaboration took place at many levels of the project:

• creating and translating fashion designs to explore how they relate to virtual environments
• exploring how virtual worlds can support artists (artwork is included from NYC and Vancouver)
• interactive narrative performance (characters are played by actors simultaneously from both coasts/countries)
• how collaborative projects can bring people and countries together
• exploring as a group that never met the issues of the “real” and the virtual.

Original fashions for the event called “Ratava’s Line” were designed and drawn by students at the FIT in NY. The drawings were then translated into 3D using a variety of software and tools by students at SFU in Vancouver. The fashion performance event included a narrative look of what is real and what is virtual (i.e. the fashion industry, computer graphics, media events, …) so the students also collaborated on the character design, and the story writing, as well as the specific roles needed to put on an international, online and two city event.

What is Real: In exploring these ideas, FIT designer Leon, poses
at the seminar event in NYC, clothed in his designs, in front of different virtualities of himself.

Collaborative Design

Collaboration occurred entirely via virtual online systems — no-one from FIT and SFU (including the faculty) ever met physically during the project. New design and learning skills The researchers looking to understand how technology can help provide new design and learning skills, by guiding and documented the students as they learned to work with new design and learning skill including:

• Range of environments: 2D, 3D, physical, virtual, live
• Range of media: Fashion show, art show, interactive narrative, game, live performance
• Collaborating as a distributed international team
• Interdisciplinary communicating, thinking, working, negotiating, results

Collaboration tools were used in the teaching, planning, design and execution of the final event. Online collaborative tools included:

• Shared virtual 3D spaces for design collaboration and portfolio
• Real time chat
• Video Webcam during the seminar and event.
• Open Source Discussion forums with team and topic threading.
• Collaborative web tools: (Wiki, open permission website)
• Phone conferencing

The learning/research hybrid culminated in a live fashion opening, interactive cyber-mystery event on April 23rd, 2003. The audience was invited to attend physically at either NYC or Vancouver; or online via the created 3d worlds. This was a simultaneous international and online event, that displayed original fashion designs using 3D avatars, demonstrated how virtual collaboration can work and included an interactive cyber mystery where fictional characters in the fashion show were played by online actors on both coasts. Earlier in the day a seminar for academics, the press and industry was held with participants and speakers from SFU, FIT, NYU (Ken Perlin), the game industry and the press. Student physically at FIT and via a webcam and via online 3d avatars participated at SFU. Ratava’s Line and the seminar garnered much press from diverse publications as the fashion industry trade newspaper “Women’s Ware Daily”, to the academic Chronicle of Higher Education. Several additional seminars continue this collaboration on the future of virtual collaboration. See the downloads for more details.

: Sketches to Avatars ::

Original fashions for Ratava’s Line were designed and drawn by students at the Fashion Institute of Technology, located in New York City. The drawings were then translated into 3D using a variety of software and tools by Interactive Arts students from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Below is a preview of what can be found in Ratava’s Line…

: 3D Worlds ::

Original 3D worlds were created exploring virtual directions in fashion, artwork and interactive narrative.

The main fashion show room with spinning fashion avatars, which when clicked display more about the work and the designer.

A character of the interactive mystery drama walking through the gallery showcasing artwork from artists in NYC and Vancouver, blurring fact and fiction – an art gallery – an unfolding narrative.

Backstage for more clues … who and where is Ratava?