OLD STANDARDS IN NEW WORLDS WITH AISHA
When the pandemic threw the world into a state of uncertainty, Aisha began learning digital fashion as a way to escape the what was going on in the world. Little did she know that she would be coming out on the other side a full-on 3D fashion designer.
A master’s student in architectural design, she decided to model her first collection based off of architecture, as she found they require similar skillsets. “Color, scale, space, texture – things like that you also have to care about in creating digital garments,” she says. The Façade Collection included six pieces, all modeled after buildings that inspired her, such as the Ribbon Chapel in Japan and the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The garments resemble the buildings perfectly – a dress with the textured, converging spiral effect of the Chapel and another illustrating the voluminous concrete shells of the Opera House. Her most recent collection was inspired by the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, including 3 unique pieces representing the tempered monarch from the story.
A degree in architectural design, let alone a master’s degree, takes time and commitment. I had asked her about her plans with digital fashion given the fact that her background allows her to do pretty much anything in the virtual world. There’s a slight hesitation and she smiles, “I think at this rate I want to go into 3D fashion because I find it interesting and I was always looking forward to doing more with that.” After all, virtual worlds not only need clothes for avatars but homes and buildings as well. She’s open to the idea if and when the opportunity presents itself because the virtual world is limitless. Aisha says, “I would definitely design buildings because the thing about the Metaverse is there are no rules,” Her eyes wide with enthusiasm, she continues, “I could design a floating building and no one would question me for it.”
Aside from designing clothes, Aisha created a digital model named Awelewa to be the face of her brand. Recently, she has tried on incorporating more inclusive body types and skin tones in her designs. When she began learning how to customize avatars, she was only taught “one particular body type.” A majority of designers stick to one body type and as their skills progress, they “slowly start to be more inclusive.” Aisha says, “You start off wanting to go with the industry standard of a model. That’s how I started.” The industry standard of a model has been discussed for years – it’s unrealistic and discriminatory. The fashion industry has recently made an effort to represent the various body types that exists, but the road to overcoming a standard that, up until recently seemed to stand the test of time, is long and arduous. For years, society’s standards did not fit the reality of body types, making self-love difficult to fully internalize. Digital clothes and virtual worlds can help break the stigma around body types and encourage body positivity, and it can exacerbate the issue.
If digital fashion designers are creating avatars and they already don’t have the tools to create realistic representations of themselves or those around them, what does that mean for other users? A curvy woman of color might go into a virtual world and see that avatar options don’t represent her at all, leaving her with the choice to either settle with being ‘something else’ or not participate at all.
Although the appeal of virtual worlds is to be anything at any time, those who wish to represent themselves accurately need the options to do so. The importance of customizations is representation. In 2021, the Institute of Digital Fashion released its study, My Self, My Avatar, My Identity, where they found that people want more diverse representation in online spaces and highlighted that “not being defined by skin color is a very white concept.” With about 80% of the tech industry comprising of white males, stigmas such as body standards has the potential to bleed into this next phase of the Internet. Digital fashion isn’t entirely liberated from reinforcing or creating body standards no matter how limitless the creation process is. It is yet to achieve the level of inclusivity and representation that we all desire, making it more important that now, during the formative stages of virtual worlds that we challenge the norms and create new standards.
