From Augmented to Authentic, Weaving the Past into Future

Lead Research Organisation: Robert Gordon University
Department Name: School of Comp Sci & Digital Media

Abstract

This project seeks to explore ways to educate the consumer about the sustainability, craftsmanship, heritage and value of traditional fashion and textile products, using a variety of mediums such as film and immersive technologies, leading to the following questions:

1. How can new developments in Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (MR) and Mixed Reality (MR) be used to communicate the human involvement, heritage, provenance, sustainability and therefore value of traditional fashion and textile products to consumers?
2. How can new developments in AR, VR and MR be used to preserve the history and heritage of traditional fashion and textile products?
3. What support is required for creative industries (fashion and textile design, fashion advertisers and marketers, museums and galleries) to access and use immersive technologies to engage with a wider range of consumers, across different cultures, and ensure that value and heritage is fully understood?

Fashion has embraced computer technology, with online sales continuing to grow and fashion film increasingly being used to market creative designs. This presents an opportunity to redress the balance by using technology to educate and shape an alternative and sustainable future for the fashion design of traditional textiles.

The UK and Chinese research - industry teams will establish and enhance a long-term collaboration to discuss the challenges and threats to creative fashion and textiles and ideas on how immersive experience and techniques could be used to represent and preserve the history and heritage of traditional fashion and textile products, and transfer them into modern-style design to meet the current and future fashion trends will be explored in facilitated workshops designed to determine how developments in AR, VR and MR and can provide opportunities to capture, develop, disseminate and promote provenance, heritage, craftsmanship and the value of slow fashion and textile products in contemporary society.
 
Description Storytelling & Provenance - the narrative behind the object/product is fundamental;
Human interaction & Humanity is so important in the new world of AI;
Technology merely facilitates the process of communication and information;
Authenticity - Communicating the personal interaction to appreciate the value in hand-making
Exploitation Route The direct beneficiaries of this research will be the international academic community within fashion and textiles and computing. The impact will be through discipline-specific, cross-disciplinary and methodological generated research outputs that include conference papers, journal articles, book chapters, and case studies. The establishment of the first International Augmented Fashion Conference in year 2 of the project at RGU and subsequent Conference at Donghua University, Shanghai, in year 3 is a key target of the project, and will significantly widen the dissemination and global impact of the project. It is hoped the Conference will become a bi-annual event post-project. A Conference Committee will be established to facilitate this, providing the opportunity for long-term impact and a special edition journal publication will be established. Recognized international academics within the relevant fields will be invited as reviewers.
Non-academic beneficiaries of this research will be the public and global consumers of fashion and textiles where it will have significant international societal and economic impact by engaging with the public in both China and the UK. The public engagement activities namely, two interdisciplinary immersive fashion shows and exhibitions, showcasing the project's co-creative collaborative outcomes provide opportunities for dissemination of the project to live public audiences across both countries. Fashion social media influencers, the international press, and cultural organizations in both countries will have access to fashion show material. The public will be invited to take part in fashion show workshops. They will be free to access, providing an experiential and creative opportunity for involvement with AR, VR and immersive technologies. The fashion shows and workshops will be followed by a public exhibition of all pieces, facilitating maximum exposure. The impacts of these activities are multiple, providing a showcase for Scottish and Chinese artisan fashion and textile producers/creatives and multimedia creatives, making the project outputs more accessible to new and wider audiences. The design of the website will also be made accessible to non-experts through a user-friendly interface, the use of non-academic language and global reach through bi-lingual text in both English and Chinese. The immersive technology outputs created by the project will be made freely available via the website.
The global business/Industry community will be beneficiaries of the research where collaboration with fashion and textile industry partners to design and exhibit fashion outfits and accessories will provide case study material for design and manufacture, design innovation and new product development and R&D models for companies to access. Through international PR for the brands and creatives involved in the project, this will be shared with the business community through the press and social media. The business and commercialization workshops will support UK industry partners' understanding of the business practices and the fashion and textile market in China which will be disseminated through the website, and related outputs. For the creative industries, specifically small businesses all software developed will be published online, with open access, as a comprehensive system incorporating immersive technologies and 3D visualizations, providing an Immersive Technologies Toolkit together with an online, open-access learning module. The computational toolkit will enable artisan fashion and textile practitioners and brands to enhance their digital skills and make use of immersive technologies.

Non-academic beneficiaries of this research will also include policymakers and third sector organizations (e.g. through the British Fashion Council, The Textile Institute, the UK Fashion, and Textile Institute, Highlands and Islands Enterprise.)
Sectors Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Retail
URL http://www.augmentedfashion.co.uk
 
Description This is a network partnership project, we had built up a consortium through this project. All partners joined this project took steps forward to working with us. They've supported our second project with AHRC currently. This project entitled "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles" is a 3 years project, we've awarded £500,000 from AHRC + £844,349 matched funding from all partners across UK & China. This is the continuing project from AHRC "UK-China Creative Industries Partnership Development Grants". It is under our network that Soluis, a Glasgow based company was invited to attend a London workshop organized by Yanyue Communication Ltd. In this workshop, Yanyue brought a group of Chinese investors from Shenzhen Stoke Exchange to look for opportunities to invest in UK SMEs. And Cindy Soong, an independent Shanghai designer who owns a fashion brand contacted Harris Tweed Hebrides to work with them on their new winter collections.
First Year Of Impact 2019
Sector Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural,Economic
 
Description Augmented Fashion Workshop
Amount £300 (GBP)
Organisation SICSA Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2019 
End 06/2019
 
Description Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions For Sustainable Heritage In Fashion And Textiles
Amount £499,377 (GBP)
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2020 
End 01/2023
 
Description Embedding sustainable business practices & a culture of innovation-led design, to create a legacy process platform into HTH
Amount £163,250 (GBP)
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2020 
End 03/2022
 
Description Smart Fashion and Textile
Amount £2,260 (GBP)
Organisation SICSA Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2020 
 
Description Bailian Group 
Organisation Bailian Group
Country China 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We built this partnership in this project and work with them from the beginning to the end of other projects.
Collaborator Contribution The Yan Qingli Fashion Centre (Bailian Group) will provide a fashion-specific, high-profile central Shanghai location with flexible space for holding workshops and the project's proposed Immersive Fashion Show experience, workshop and exhibition. Staff costs (including event planning: 3 people, PR: 5 people and security: 5 people) contribute in-kind support of £21,500 to the project. Use of equipment and venue rental costs contribute further in-kind support of £72,000. Cash support of £10,000 will be provided to purchase additional equipment for the fashion show/exhibition. As the Augmented Fashion project commences, a key priority will be writing a proposal with Bailian Group to apply for the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality Fund for International Collaboration.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Collaboration with Chinese university 
Organisation Donghua University
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We work with this partner from the beginning to the end of both projects. I met the partner from Donghua University on the Shanghai workshop organized and funded by AHRC in November 2018.
Collaborator Contribution Professor Rong Zheng (Shanghai International Innovation Centre, Donghua University) will be the 0.2 FTE Chinese Principal Investigator: she will project manage all activities in China and provide guidance on Chinese policies, procedures, and technical issues. Professor Zheng has access to a team of researchers who can provide further support to the project as necessary, and will line manage the Chinese research team. She will design and implement data collections tools for use in China (surveys, workshops, interviews), in collaboration with the UK PI, and analyze the data gathered.
Impact The collaboration leads to the success of following funding stream: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 36 months project funded by AHRC, "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles", £1.3 million awarded, £500,000 from AHRC + £844,349 matched funding from all partners across UK & China. Continuing project from AHRC "UK-China Creative Industries Partnership Development Grants". June 2019, SICSA's DVF (Distinguished Visiting Fellow) scheme to invite the Chinese PI from Donghua University to visit Scottish Institutes. £2,260 awarded.
Start Year 2018
 
Description F Plus International Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. 
Organisation Faga International Trading Co., Ltd. F PLUS
Country China 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We've built this partnership during this project, and work with this partner to other projects.
Collaborator Contribution F Plus International (Shanghai) Trading Ltd. will provide advice on the Chinese and international fashion and textile markets, including import and export of goods, market research, brand management and PR activities. Staff costs (2 members of staff) contribute in-kind support of £42,000 to the project. F Plus will contribute cash support of £62,000 to the project, for immersive technology R&D, research and analytics, equipment purchase and travel to the UK for one 7-day trip to support the project A submission to the Shanghai Cultural Development Fund will be explored with F Plus, focusing on the use of animation for immersive experiences for Business-to-Business sales and marketing activities.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Harris Tweed Hebrides 
Organisation Harris Tweed Hebrides
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We are working together on this project and the following project from AHRC. Our team had also won the KTP project working with Harris Tweed Hebrides (HTH) for 24 months together starts from March 2020.
Collaborator Contribution Harris Tweed Hebrides is the main producer of Harris Tweed handwoven fabrics. They are a globally recognized textile brand, used by major international fashion brands such as Ralph Lauren, Chanel, and Vivienne Westwood. They will provide tweed fabric for use by other industry partners in the project, and provide a unique opportunity for industry partners to work with them at their mill in Stornoway to develop bespoke fabrics that reflect the project's mix of the UK and Chinese culture. Their factory, island location and access to handweavers will provide opportunities for unique and engaging content capture for development into immersive experiences, aligning well with the project's focus on heritage, the human hand, value, slow fashion, and sustainable consumption. HTH's in-kind support contributes £9,750 of staff time and £2,600 of fabric for creative design development.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles". This also leads to another success of a KTP project on Sustainable fashion & textile working with HTH.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Look Again Festival 
Organisation Look Again
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We are working with Look Again Aberdeen on both projects.
Collaborator Contribution Look Again Aberdeen delivers cultural activities and festivals, bring valuable exhibition and event experience to the UK project team. Look Again's in-kind support contributes £4,100 in staff costs and venue hire and £350 cash support for event materials.
Impact Leading to the success of 36 months project fund by AHRC: "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Nielanell 
Organisation Nielanell
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We work together on both projects funded by AHRC.
Collaborator Contribution Neilanell is a knitted textile designer based on Shetland. Neilanell's in-kind support contributes £8,625 in staff costs to the project.
Impact Leading to the success of 36 months project fund by AHRC: "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description POP Fashion 
Organisation POP Fashion Shanghai
Country China 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We've built this partnership on this project, and work with this partner for more other projects.
Collaborator Contribution POP Fashion, China's first online fashion trend forecasting and education service, will provide trend forecasting information to the project and support for immersive technology developments, both of which will be of significant value to the project, given POP's in-depth knowledge of the Chinese fashion industry, and its data-driven digital expertise. Their network of education centres across China will provide the potential for wider dissemination of the project. A submission to the Shanghai Cultural and Creative Fund will be explored with POP, seeking to commercialise the immersive technologies toolkit for use by Chinese and international artisan fashion and textile businesses, to enhance their use of digital technologies for new audiences and contemporary consumers. Staff costs (2 members of staff), R&D software costs and hosting visits from the UK project partners contribute in-kind support of £45,000 to the project.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Shanghai Promotion Centre for City of Fashion 
Organisation Shanghai Promotion Center for City of Fashion
Country China 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution We work with this partner from the beginning to the end of both projects funded by AHRC.
Collaborator Contribution Shanghai Promotion Centre for Fashion of City will lead the discussions with all industry partners in Shanghai. Their extensive industry network has already provided a range of industry partners to support the proposed project activities. Their proximity to and involvement with Donghua University will aid academic-industry communication, which will be important to the project's successful implementation. Mr Han brings extensive experience of managing and coordinating fashion events, both in China and in Edinburgh, in collaboration with the Edinburgh Festival and of successful funding applications. Staff costs (4 members of staff) and hosting visits contribute in-kind support of £45,402 to the project. Catering and venue hire will provide cash support of £4272.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Soluis Industry Partnership 
Organisation Soluis
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We work with this company from the beginning to the end of all projects connected.
Collaborator Contribution Soluis, an international company involved in digital media, specializing in virtual reality for heritage preservation and interactive experience production brings technological expertise, access to high specification new technologies and a strong R&D profile to the project. Soluis will provide access to immersive reality equipment and staff, contributing £7,150 in-kind support to the project.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Triumdoor 
Organisation Triumdoor Trading
Country China 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We've built this connection during this project, and work with this partner for following up projects.
Collaborator Contribution Triumdoor (Shanghai) Trading Co Ltd will provide consultancy services and access to equipment for digital outputs, including website production and online marketing. Staff costs, including consultancy and software engineers contribute in-kind support of £64,000 to the project. Support with technology development and testing provides a further £30,000. Triumdoor will also visit the UK to support the project workshops, once per year for the project duration (i.e. 3 visits), at an anticipated cash cost of £9,000. Their experience of the China International Import Expo and marketing/branding activities in China will be valuable to the internationalisation of UK industry.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Yangzhou 
Organisation Yangzhou Hiexcel Advanced Materials Co., Ltd.
Country China 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We've built this connection in this project, and work together on the following up projects.
Collaborator Contribution Hiexcel Advanced Material Co Ltd. will provide digital printing techniques and advice to the project, enabling the UK printed textile partner to widen knowledge and expertise and providing new techniques for application to traditional textiles such as Harris Tweed. They will also support market research and data analytics activities, which will be beneficial to UK industry partners and academic research outputs. Staff costs and hosting visits from the UK project partners contribute in-kind support of £31,000 to the project. The company will also provide systems development for immersive technologies and data gathering/analysis activities support of £99,000. Travel and equipment contribute cash support of £20, 900 to the project.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Yangzhou 
Organisation Yangzhou Shanmeng Clothing Co. Ltd.
Country China 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We've built this connection during this project, and work to follow-on projects for R&D challenges.
Collaborator Contribution Yangzhou Shan Meng Clothing Co Ltd. will provide garment design and manufacture, to explore the use of traditional fabrics such as Harris Tweed for outdoor clothing and sportswear, with the potential to bring this fabric to a new market. Staff costs (fashion designers) and hosting visits from the UK project partners contribute in-kind support of £46,000 to the project. The company will also provide digital development support worth £15,000. Travel and equipment contribute cash support of £20,900 to the project.
Impact This partnership leads to the success of the 36 months project funded by AHRC: 01/02/2020 - 01/02/2023 "Augmented Fashion: Immersive Interactions for Sustainable Heritage in Fashion and Textiles".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Augmented Fashion Workshop in RGU 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact The workshop at RGU showcased the work of the Augmented Fashion project and involved hands-on demonstrations and talks. Approximately 50 people joined the workshop for research activities and public engagement event.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://augmentedfashion.co.uk/workshop
 
Description From augmented to authentic: Weaving the past into the future 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Josie Steed gave a talk about the project at Aberdeen Art Gallery lunchtime talk on Wednesday 19th Feb at 12.30
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL http://www.aagm.co.uk/WhatsOn/Events/37265-FromaugmentedtoauthenticWeavingthepastintothefuture.aspx
 
Description From augmented to authentic: Weaving the past into the future talk 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact A deeper understanding of fashion and sustainability disseminated to approximate 100 undergraduate students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Invited Talk at Xi'an University of Technologies 16/07/2019: Presentation title: Immersive Technology - Applications and Research Challenges 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact 30 students attended this event to discuss the research challenges that exists in Immersive Technologies.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Undergraduate Workshop on Immersive Technologies 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact I start to teach Immersive Technology to fourth-year undergraduate students at Robert Gordon University, by educating the students about the technologies and R&D challenges in Augmented Fashion, a workshop had been designed and delivered to this group of students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020