5G & Fashion: Scottish Fashion Festival 2023 Opening Night Gala
Story by the Scotland 5G Centre
As one of four winning projects of the Tay5G Challenge Fund, Scotland Re:Design’s project ‘Hidden Floors’, introduced Dundee-based fashion and textile businesses to the capabilities of 5G technology.
4 Dundee fashion, knit, print and textile designers were put into teams led by Scotland Re:Design, to work with an applied artist from Applied Artist Scotland, an architect from Lateral North and the team at Fashion Interrupted.
Each team worked together, utilising each other’s expertise to create a virtual exhibition space displaying digital models and garments from each designers’ collections via 5G enabled VR headsets.
To make this a reality The Scotland 5G Centre’s technical team worked with Scotland Re:Design to create 5G connectivity options for the project. This included surveying and deploying 5G coverage for each of the sites – each creator’s studios, the Opening Night Runway Gala at the V&A and the ‘Hidden Floors’ immersive experience, providing the 5G MIFI Units and integrating the 5G SIMs, and providing expert advice and technical support.
Each creator was provided with a VR headset, to allow them to create an avatar to their client’s body measurements and showcase this through VR, and they were provided also with access to The Scotland 5G Centre’s Private Network to allow them a secure environment to work within.
The V&A Museum was also provided with access to the Dundee City Council 5G Private Network for the Opening Night Runway Gala and the ‘Hidden Floors’ Immersive Experience.
Hidden Floors was launched for the first time at the Scottish Fashion Festival 2023 Opening Night Gala at the V&A Dundee on Friday 17th November and this 5G case study explored how designers create garments and sustainable virtual fashion and fabric, showcased digitally without walls at the V&A meaning the displays could all be any size or scale. The event attracted more than 300 attendees, with over 100 queuing to immerse themselves in the action during the exhibition with VR headsets to see the designer’s digital fashion collections up close after the runway display. In addition to answering capacity challenges for the regularly sold-out festival, the event was also livestreamed via Scotland Re:Design’s Instagram page thanks to the power of 5G!