ThreadAR brings immersion to virtual shopping by allowing users create bespoke avatars that improve clothing measurements and shopping experiences.

The fashion industry is filled with different standards and formats for clothing sizes, and having a way to identify and fully express one’s clothing needs while getting an accurate fit has become even more complex. Leveraging VR and AR technologies to create simple solutions to model and preview clothing styles and sizing, without the hassle of conversion maths is the obvious choice in addressing this challenge.

Create digital product to capture and store user body and clothing measurements to improve accurate clothing purchases. Use captured data to recommend and curate matching outfits and styles with user body type and preference.

The first thing we (The PM, myself and the backend developer) did was hop on a discovery session to clearly understand the features we were trying to build. We identified certain technological constraints for building the product, from the platform it could be built on to how the data would be presented. This is to give better clarity to development partners on what sorts of APIs they would need to implement, and whether it was even feasible within the client’s timeline. We also identified several user specific needs, such as: The need for a profile to store their captured data, a place to preview their captured data, and a place to find clothing items of interest. once we were all on the same page, we collaborated in creating the flow for the product and then heading straight into the design.

Conversations with stakeholders to define and understand the proposed solution and flow. Then competitive analysis to understand how our competitors were achieving the goal.

Brainstorming and making concretes from abstract. Here I decided which problem can be imparted the most and came up with IA and flows.

With solid findings, I started sketching our screens for the app from lo-fi to hi-fi, fully prototyped and ready for reviews and test.

Share designs with stakeholders and other relevant people for test, received feedback and iterate on them.

With a clear directive on user actions, the design highlights major user functions from the get-go. Users are presented with 3 descriptive screens and an option to explore the app without the need to immediately sign up.

Here, users can view a curated list of items as well as search for items on the platform, filtering based on their needs, sizes and preferences.

Users can preview clothing items in the shop module and also get relevant information on the fit and style of the outfit they are previewing. The results they view are curated based on the user’s sizing needs and predefined preference. They also can preview the item in AR or on their avatar in VR and then purchase said item.

This module was created after researching bespoke store needs as well as user needs (individuals who regularly purchased bespoke outfits) to do two major things: capture a user’s body/clothing data and, creates a avenue to fine bespoke or contemporary clothing shops to share previously captured data with for tailored outfits. This module captures basic sizing data gives room specific sizing requests for areas that may not have been captured on the initial measurement. This allows users not only share their sizing info, but gives the stores room to capture any other measure they need to better suite a user’s needs.

This project explored multiple formats of visual presentation and takes a modern approach to an older style of business. It required a lot of research, both in standard user journeys and VR/AR design and user interaction, and several iterations had to be discarded.

Overall, the findings are: An overly complex layout or dashboard tends to do more harm than good. Most users are focused on saving time, not just cool visuals.

AR/VR is a valid tool at informing users on their purchase choices and cuts down incidences of having unsatisfied customers.