A new campaign starring none other than Egyptian Queen Cleopatra demonstrates the power of technology in the textile space.
Creative agency Wunderman Thompson and 3D technology company TG3D debuted a custom-made pair of jeans designed to fit the ancient icon at a recent launch event at the Fashion for Good Museum, an Amsterdam-based space dedicated to promoting sustainable fashion.
At the event, Mariette Hoitink, co-founder of the House of Denim, along with fashion industry experts from Amsterdam Fashion Institute, discussed textile waste and possible solutions. 3D design and other technologies were a top talking point.
“Fashion has a challenge with waste, we all know that,” she said. “We should buy less and more consciously. The fashion and denim industries are working hard to address this—but technology will be the crucial factor that makes the difference in the race against waste.”
Using 3D scanning from TG3D, along with historical and genetic research of contemporary Coptic Egyptian women to calculate Cleopatra’s body shape, the jeans were developed to show that fashion waste could be a problem of the past. The dark-wash skinny jeans feature a high rise and a button fly, with detailed hardware and a leather patch that pay homage to the queen.
“Using innovation to make a pair of jeans for someone that died thousands of years before jeans were even invented is not only awesome, but also shows how body scanning can play a role in making a more sustainable fashion industry,” said Carlos Camacho, Wunderman Thompson Amsterdam executive creative director.
Bas Korsten, the company’s global chief creative officer, added that the jeans are a “provocative statement and an inspiring conversation starter—a symbol for how technology can drive us towards a zero-waste future” and that other historical figures like Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could be stars of the next campaign.
TG3D is one of the 3D design companies popping up to reduce waste from the fashion supply chain. Its infrared, self-service Scanatic 360 Body Scanner scans a consumer in three seconds and obtains “millions” of data points on the body surface. Its accompanying Scanatic Body Service processes the 3D data into sets of body measurements, labeling each customer with an avatar and enabling retailers to customize the data and review or adjust measurement landmarks.
