The future of vintage clothing is here!

When you think of vintage clothing, cutting-edge AR tech doesn’t often come to mind. However, thanks to the prolonged pandemic, businesses like them that often rely on foot traffic have had to find new ways to adapt, and that’s just what Showa Vintage Clothing Store SU-MIX in Tokyo did, recently opening the Showa Vintage Clothing Other Dimension Store online.

Online fashion retail is hardly anything new, but what makes this store unique is the virtual showroom that users can seamlessly walk around in on their PC or smart device browser without any added apps. This allows shoppers to really get a sense of how the clothes look in 3-D and examine them in ways that are impossible with ordinary photographs.

▼ Some of the 3-D models used in the showroom

The outfits were scanned by the wizards at Steampunk Digital in Fukuoka Prefecture, who specialize in highly accurate 3-D modelling of real-world objects using their own Monocle Prime scanning technology. Not only is the scale extremely precise so that you can see exactly how frilly a shirt is, but the level of detail is so crisp that potential buyers can examine the real stitching and even get a good sense of the texture just by looking at these digitizations.

This is essential too since all the luxury clothing in this store was personally sewn by experts during the Showa Era in Japan between 1945 and 1965. Understanding and observing the fine details in design are crucial in appreciating the level of craftsmanship in each piece.

Of course, each digital model has an icon that links users directly to further information and real photographs for the best of both worlds. There is also a box connecting users to customer support during business hours, which is always…