It's safe to say that at this point, tech has transformed the way we experience fashion. We follow the industry (and more importantly, their pets) on Instagram. We drop in on fashion week—shoeless, sometimes—by live streaming shows from our Macbook Airs. And e-commerce for all intents and purposes has rendered fitting rooms beyond passé. What's next, teleportation? Well, almost.
Last year, ELLE partnered with tech company Jaunt for the first-ever virtual reality fashion experience that let viewers feel what it's like to be on set at a fashion shoot. Now, premium denim brand 7 For All Mankind is getting in on this cutting-edge technology to share a completely immersive narrative of their spring collection with consumers: a virtual reality film called "Visions of California."
7 For All Mankind's cinematic collab with Jaunt is the first of its kind. (To give you an idea of the sort of vivid, high-heart-rate films Jaunt is known for, the VR company most recently worked with The North Face climbers for a base jumping experience in Moab and Yosemite. So yeah, these films feel alarmingly real). Using 360-degree, stereoscopic 3D cameras and 3D sound-field microphones, Jaunt fully transports viewers into one girl's ultimate California fantasy—which happens to feel very much like an elegant Paris rendezvous. Jaunt filmed the brand's spring journey against the backdrop of a French chateau.
"Collaborating with 7 For All Mankind and ELLE has been one of our most captivating projects to date," said Jens Christensen, CEO of Jaunt. "We are creating an entirely new way to share experiences and tell stories in VR, and 'Visions of California' shows just how powerful this new medium can be."
Limited-edition VR viewers (by Dodocase) are being sent to a select number of ELLE subscribers and 7 For All Mankind customers. Experience the film in person at a 7 For All Mankind boutique if you're in Santa Monica, San Diego, San Francisco in California, Aventura in Florida, or at the SoHo store in New York.
You can also experience "Visions of California" on your Android phone with Google Cardboard and your iOS devices later this month. The free app is available for download on 7forallmankind.com/experience, and the 2D version is viewable here.
