Fashion is one of the largest industries in the world, influencing modern culture. Recently, digital technology has begun to reshape how clothing is designed, produced, marketed, and sold.
Based in Seoul, South Korea, the fashion technology company z-emotion is at the forefront of this transformation. By adapting tools originally developed for media and entertainment, z-emotion provides fashion brands with advanced 3D simulation technology. These tools, used in films and video games for visual effects, help designers and retailers in the fashion industry streamline their design, production, and marketing processes.
The Changing Fashion Landscape
The fashion industry has been disrupted by the rise of fast fashion, which emphasizes speed and cost-efficiency in replicating runway trends for a mass market. The global fast fashion market is expected to grow to $197 billion by 2028, though its environmental impact is a growing concern, with wasteful production and non-recyclable materials contributing to pollution.
On the other hand, demand for sustainable fashion is increasing. Consumers are seeking clothing made from eco-friendly materials and using more sustainable production methods.
Social media is also influencing fashion purchases, shifting the way consumers interact with brands. As more people shop online, fashion companies are using e-commerce to tap into global markets.
3D Technology Driving Innovation
Z-emotion’s key technology, the z-weave clothing design software, is helping address some of the fashion industry’s challenges. The software allows designers to create realistic digital garments, enabling them to visualize how clothes will look and behave before they are physically produced. This digital approach speeds up design processes, reduces waste, and ensures better product quality.
The company has also developed plugins that integrate digital fashion design with popular media and gaming tools like Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine. These tools help brands create virtual fashion shows, digital previews, and interactive marketing campaigns, making it easier to showcase collections and reach wider audiences.
Additionally, z-emotion offers virtual fitting technologies for online shopping, allowing consumers to try on digital clothes on customizable avatars, helping them visualize how garments will fit on different body types.
Streamlining Design and Manufacturing
Han Dong Soo, CEO of z-emotion, explains how their technology makes the design-to-manufacturing process more efficient. For example, in the past, fashion companies created separate 2D files for different t-shirt sizes and manually adjusted designs before sending them to production. Z-emotion’s 3D simulation tools speed up this process, allowing designers to quickly create virtual samples, make adjustments, and directly generate production files.
Industry Collaborations Open New Marketing Channels
Z-emotion is also helping brands innovate their marketing strategies. In 2022, the company partnered with Nike Korea to create an interactive 3D shopping experience. Customers could customize avatars, try on various outfits, and share their styles on social media. This campaign, which attracted 20,000 members in just a week, boosted product exposure and drove customer engagement.
The company also worked with Louis Vuitton to create a digital version of its 2023 Fall/Winter Menswear collection, which was showcased at the Viva Tech conference in Paris. This virtual fashion show allowed customers to experience the runway in an immersive, interactive environment.
Expanding Beyond Fashion
Z-emotion’s technology is now being applied beyond traditional fashion. In a collaboration with the National Busan Gugak Center in Korea, the company created a 3D digital exhibit showcasing traditional costumes, dance, and music. Z-emotion’s motion capture technology was used to create avatars and animate the costumes in vivid detail.
The company is also exploring the gaming industry, where digital clothing and character simulations are becoming increasingly important. Z-emotion worked with China’s NetEase to test its simulation technology for virtual gaming characters, which could be used in major gaming productions.
The Future of Fashion
Z-emotion’s innovations are reshaping the fashion industry by integrating 3D design technology into every step of the process—from product development to marketing. This digital transformation is making the fashion business more efficient, reducing costs, and promoting sustainability.
Virtual fitting systems are another area the company is exploring, using AI to create more personalized shopping experiences. By merging digital technologies with traditional fashion processes, z-emotion is helping to bring about a new era of fashion design and consumption, and its influence is expanding into gaming and virtual entertainment.
Looking ahead, z-emotion is seeing growing interest from industries beyond fashion, as its technology continues to blur the lines between fashion, gaming, and digital media, driving innovation across multiple sectors.
Related topics:
