Avatars and 3D Virtual Prototyping – Week 2 by Antalya Todd

This week has been far busier than the first week and it feels as though the project is very much underway. I have spent the majority of the week becoming familiar with the Clo3D software and can now adapt the sizing of avatars and make them MOVE within the virtual space! I can also simulate the movement of pattern pieces and sew them together using the software. 

It has been a fairly straightforward design programme to get used to due to it being so sleek and it’s really opened my eyes to the way in which technology can assist the design and pattern processes within the fashion industry. It has also become evident that an underlying knowledge of pattern cutting is required prior to using Clo3D to make experimenting with it much easier. For example, there is a specific order for constructing a collar correctly and the garment could not be simulated without this knowledge.

On Wednesday I went in the 3D body scanner for the first time. This was a weird experience. I, like everyone else, am so used to looking down on my body and having a perception of its shape from looking down. (This confused me when Jayne first explained it, but your eyes are at the very top of your body so no matter where you are standing, you are always looking down at the rest of your body). The image produced from the body scanner looked as though my normal body had been taken and squashed down. It was a bit off putting and I could understand why many people would hate the idea of having their body scanned. But after creating a female avatar from my size specification and seeing myself as a 3D model, I realised that I wasn’t quite as much of a box shape as I thought (yay). 

This pushed me to start researching into the average size specifications of British women, and comparing them against the unrealistic body image that the media portrays. I came across some beautiful images of women with fat rolls and undefined waists, and it became evident that there is still such a reluctance to show real women’s bodies in clothing (or lack of). Despite the ‘curve’ or ‘plus size’ movement, these women still have a very smoothed down figure with a defined waist. A sought-after hourglass figure. This goes for the smaller models too, who may appear to be curvy when modelling bikinis for example, but are still a 24” waist and tiny hips. It’s all about the camera angle, poses and marketing. But I’ve realised that this is could be a huge part to do with how garments are being graded so badly. 

I mentioned in my last post that once a garment has been graded up/down two sizes, the patterns must be re-drafted (ie the process needs to restart) to be able to take the garment into further sizes successfully. If garments are being made for women who have seemingly curvy but smoothed down figures, they will not fit slim women with few curves, or larger women with curves in places other than their hips and bust. Garment shapes need to be adapted to fit the shape of women who’s bodies are realistic in today’s world.

I think that celebrating women’s bodies isn’t just to do with size, it is also majorly to do with shape and I think that using these 3D models could really alter women’s perceptions of themselves, as it did with my own experience, and also pave the way for better grading of garments by modelling them on realistic body shapes.