June’s Cloud Wars Expo live event featured dozens of industry leaders who let the Acceleration Economy team into the inner workings of the fastest growing market the world has ever known.
In this News Desk interview held onsite at the Cloud Wars Expo, analysts Kieron Allen and Toni Witt welcome Apparel Intelligence co-founder and CEO Jessica Kim for a discussion on creating hyper-real digital assets, bridging digital fashion and the physical, and the growing overlap between the beauty industry and the Metaverse.
Main points
00:01 — Kieron introduces fellow analyst Toni Witt and Jessica Kim of Apparel Intelligence. The company, represented by the acronym AI, is a digital fashion studio that combines fashion and visual effects technology.
00:59 — Currently, the fashion industry does not have adequate sustainability standards. Apparel Intelligence aims to create more sustainable processes by replacing physical samples with production-ready, true-to-life digital samples for apparel brands.
01:46 — Kim explains the different phases of her business, which are based on simplifying the garment manufacturing process and forming B2C relationships through Metaverse.
03:24 — By focusing on sustainability, Apparel Intelligence makes it possible to save time, cost and resources by making sales before you ever create a physical product. “The truer the better.”
04:07 — Tony asks about the tools and platforms used to create these hyper-real digital assets. Kim explains the combined computer graphics (CG) and digital effects of Clove 3D modeling software, where Kim previously worked as a 3D designer.
05:43 — 3D and CGI have been around for a long time; Kim mentions some CG software alternatives and explains her previous role working The Last Jedi with Light & Industrial Magic.
06:33 — Kim details the film industry’s lengthy process of creating CG from start to finish, including the use of many effects tools and proprietary software.
07:36 — Kieron raises the issue of interoperability. Apparel Intelligence’s hyper-realistic rendering of physical clothing is made possible by fusing film-quality CG with fashion. Kim details the mix of rendering and texturing tools used to make the AI software possible.
09:19 — Making clothes look good on screen doesn’t require the ability to produce the same effect in reality. Apparel Intelligence aims to digitally represent real-world product.
09:38 — Apparel Intelligence software combines fashion, visual effects and computer AI.
10:19 – The central purpose of the Metaverse is to connect the digital and the physical.
11:10 — Kim explains the utility of Wearable Intelligence digital assets compared to traditional NFTs.
12:01 — Tony asks about customization to fit exact body measurements. Through Clove 3D, Apparel intelligence software allows real avatars to test the specifics of clothing.
13:07 — The company aims to create a 3D fitting platform to replace the traditional small-medium-large clothing size scale with unique, realistic renderings of accurate human figures.
14:27 — Visualization and fit are crucial to fashion. Proportions, colors and prints should be seen together.
15:32 — Kieron suggests that entire outfits could be cataloged in the Metaverse.
16:53 — AI partnerships include Atari Hotels, Fred Segal and Subnation.
18:04 — Kim describes the company’s participation in Decentraland’s Metaverse fashion week and the technical hurdles digital still has to overcome.
20:09 — The Beauty and Metaverse audiences are still largely niche circles with plenty of room to grow.
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