Unveiling New Narratives: Digitising Fashion Assets at the Fashion Museum Bath Part II
Image Description: Working on the 1999 Alexander McQueen dress from show No.13
Image Credit: Fashion Museum, Gabrielle Shiner-Hill & CAMERA
2024 saw me working on my 10 month Fellowship with the Fashion Museum Bath, investigating the digitisation of fashion assets and focusing on the Museum's unique Dress of the Year collection which has been running since 1963. I was working with three selected outfits using different hardwares, softwares and techniques to see how we can replicate them digitally. Why? Well as the Fashion Museum is closed to the public until it opens at its new site The Old Post Office in Bath I wanted to see how the Museum can utilise technology as a tool in the pre-opening phase and if digital tools can enable a different kind of conversation with audiences.
The digitisation process creates ‘digital twins’ of the outfits which can then be viewed online eg: on browsers, in augmented reality (AR) through your phone and even in virtual reality (VR). But is just being able to see a digital twin of a fashion piece that is held in an archive really enough? From research conducted we know that people want to see the back of the item of clothing, the inside for construction ideas, to take a closer look at the textiles, see what the pattern pieces look like, stitching details, be able to walk around the outfit, they want to see it move, they even want to try it on…
These options seem tantalisingly close with the technology we now have available to us, but they also raise important questions—how do we use these digital twins in meaningful ways? Who owns them? What are the implications for IP? And beyond creation, how do we ensure their upkeep? The need for new skills to manage these digital garments could create further barriers to entry rather than increasing access.
But something surprising happened. While undertaking this Fellowship I uncovered a rich narrative about the 1999 Alexander McQueen piece: the process not only digitally preserved the garment but also revealed hidden stories—about the model who wore it on the catwalk, the work in the atelier, the lace, the leather, and the tulle. For example we discovered that up to 30m of tulle was used in the underskirt and it was stiffened with starch to create the shape of the garment, the lace was from France, the leather from Italy, the model had to have a 23cm waist and the leather neck piece was crafted using saddle making techniques laid upon layers and layers of shoulder pads.
I explored four different digitisation processes, ranging from high-tech high-skill methods to more accessible low-fi approaches, which I’ve outlined below.
Digitisation Processes Explored
Option 1: High-End 3D Scanning
Hardware: Artec Scanners, Gaming Laptops
Software: Maya
Equipment & Setup: Professional lighting & diffusers
Skills Required: Creative technologists the team at CAMERA supported this scanning, VFX artists, fashion consultants, Fashion Museum representatives
Outcome: Highly detailed 3D models with photorealistic textures, created an exact digital twin of the garment
Cost: $$$
Takeaways & Challenges: High cost and expertise required; excellent for archival-quality assets but resource-intensive, significant manual post processing.
Image Description: Team from CAMERA using Artec scanners to scan 1999 Alexander McQueen Dress of the Year, digital twin of the dress in Maya created by CAMERA
Image Credit: CAMERA
Option 2: Photogrammetry & Digital Fashion
Hardware: Gaming Laptop, DSLR, Hot Shoe
Skills Required: Digital fashion designer, fashion consultant, researcher
Outcome: Digital garment reconstruction with digital pattern and digital textile, all elements sharable. Considered a digital version, not a digital twin.
Cost: $$
Takeaways & Challenges: Requires controlled lighting; effective for pattern extraction, closer garment research is needed and this revealed previously unknown stories about the piece.
Image Description: Pattern creation and render of 1999 Alexander McQueen dress in CLO and textile digitisation process.
Image Credit: Gabrielle Shiner-Hill
Option 3: AR-Focused Digitisation
Hardware: Gaming Laptop
Software: CLO, Lens Studio, Adobe
Skills Required: Digital fashion designer, fashion consultant
Outcome: AR-ready virtual try-on assets for audience engagement
Cost: $$
Takeaways & Challenges: Optimised for interactivity; challenges in maintaining authenticity in materials
Image Description: AR filter creation process and testing of 1972 Biba Dress of the Year
Image Credit: Gabrielle Shiner-Hill
Option 4: Low-Cost, Accessible Scanning
Hardware: iPad or iPhone with LiDAR (iPhone 12+)
Software: Polycam Pro
Skills Required: 5 mins intro leading to self-led digitisation
Outcome: Quick, accessible 3D captures for educational use
Cost: $
Takeaways & Challenges: Cost-effective; lower fidelity compared to high-end solutions, suitable for mass scanning
Image Description: Polycam scanning of 1999 Alexander McQueen Dress of the Year, Augmented Reality version of the dress next to the original
Image Credit: Gabrielle Shiner-Hill
Challenges & Considerations
Standardisation & Quality Control
There is currently no universal standard for digitisation of fashion assets, but digitisation within the heritage sector has seen significant development, so if we consider scanning, we can learn a lot from this area. A lack of standards leads to varied quality levels which can be a challenge when working with fashion houses. Establishing a set of guiding principles will be essential for future projects.
Intellectual Property (IP) Questions
Legal Considerations: Museums may have exceptions under copyright law for digitisation for preservation but the digital assets cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Engagement with Designers: Transparency is key—highlighting education, access, and research benefits.
Ownership & Licensing: Institutions must consider data management, storage, security, and entering into conversations about long-term IP strategies.
From my ten months working with the Museum and these digitisation techniques I have three main takeaways:
Digitisation as a Tool for Engagement & Discovery: Creating digital twins of fashion pieces isn’t just about visual replication—it opens up new ways to engage audiences.
Different Digitisation Approaches Have Trade-offs: I explored four digitisation methods, from high-end 3D scanning to low-cost LiDAR scanning, each with varying levels of accessibility, accuracy, and cost. High-fidelity scans provide museum-quality archives but require significant expertise and resources, while lower-cost approaches make digitisation more inclusive but at the expense of detail.
Challenges Around Standards, IP, and Sustainability: There’s no universal standard for digitising fashion assets, leading to inconsistencies. Intellectual property (IP) concerns arise regarding ownership and licensing, especially when working with designers and fashion houses. Additionally, maintaining digital twins requires long-term data management strategies, raising questions about sustainability and accessibility.
Thank you to MyWorld, Pervasive Media Studio, Watershed, The Studio - Bath Spa University, the team at Fashion Museum Bath and the team at CAMERA for their help and technical expertise. Regina Jiang & James Mack