Digital Catwalk

Destination Denim, an experiential event for ‘Amazon Fashion’ fusing technology, music and culture, hosted in Kühlhaus, Berlin.

RenderHeads, led by the creative direction of Make Associates with production know-how of Amplify, successfully developed a fully automated, unique, experiential fashion event. 

The brief was to create “A stand-out experience that captured the essence of Amazon’s product choice and variety whilst being at the forefront of digital innovation.”

The 12 x 2.3 metre LED wall (with a total resolution of 6656 x 1280) was animated with a constant flow of real-time runway models, choreographed to a bespoke DJ mix. RenderHeads provided full technical consultation, software development and artwork creation. Both RenderHeads UK and RenderHeads South Africa were involved in delivering this complex project.

We worked from the concept feasibility stage through Alpha, pre-production, Beta and the final application deployment on-site. Our team provided on-site commissioning and monitoring of the system throughout the event. 

By stepping into one of three interactive zones, users instantly called a model forward from the catwalk lineup. Then, using the latest Microsoft Azure Kinect skeletal tracking camera and real-time fabric simulation, attendees took control of the virtual runway models through the movement of their bodies. Having complete control of their real-time digital reflection allowed users to explore the detail of each item of clothing or just let go and dance!

Technical Details

• Full 360 skeletal tracking
• 3 x Microsoft Azure Kinect via networked RenderNode©  
• Optimised real time cloth dynamics procedurally generated and output at 60 FPS
• 3 concurrent user interactions 
• Working with Amazon stylists to create 36 unique looks
• 54 unique models
• 6 different body types captured and optimised for rigging
• 99 clothing assets with texture variations
• 2925 hours on asset creation and rigging
• Avatar animation and rigging 
• One person made it through the entire three month project without drinking any coffee!
• Tailored modeling pipeline
  • Marvelous Designer
  • Photoshop
  • Maya LT
  • Blender
  • Unity

• RenderHeads – Software Development
• RenderHeads – Technical Direction
• RenderHeads – Artwork
• Make Associates – Creative Agency
• Amplify – Lead Agency & Production