Comparing physical to virtual: fit and appearance of multi-layered cultural garments

Abstract

This study sought to expand the use of virtual technology to include multi-layered non-western cultural garments and compare these complex garments, physically and virtually. In addition, 3D simulation of non-western garments could benefit the emerging Chinese market. The study included five parts: material selection, avatar customization, physical multi-layered garment construction, virtual multi-layered garment construction, and evaluation of the physical and virtual garment appearance and fit using an online survey. This study found that multi-layered cultural garments could be relatively effectively simulated in virtual software, such as EFI Optitex. Moreover, number of fabric layers did not significantly affect either appearance or fit similarity between virtual and physical garments. Based on these results, it can be concluded that virtual presentation has great potential as a tool to evaluate the appearance of a garment in a relatively simple and quick way.