Creation in the Digital Space: Digital Fashion by Studio PMS

About six years ago, fashion designer Suzanne Mulder, along with two fellow graduates from the Utrecht School of the Arts, started Studio PMS. "Like many of our fellow students, we thought we would create physical clothing collections," Mulder recalls. "Until we became aware of the massive pollution caused by the fashion industry. We didn’t just want to cater to our own need to create. That’s why we started thinking about an alternative."

Feeling Digital: Digitizing Experiences

That alternative turned out to be digitalization. However, the fashion industry was not yet leading the way in this. "Fashion is all about tactility: we want to be able to touch clothing. That’s why we started, together with an interdisciplinary team, a search for digital tactility. We printed digital fabrics on plexiglass, converted our collections into animations, and created a VR world where the fabrics made sounds when you touched them."

This is also a lesson for digital culture: think about how you can make an experience as rich as possible for your goal or the target audience you want to engage. For Studio PMS, this paid off: major brands like Burberry, Nike, and Adidas immediately wanted to collaborate with Studio PMS to think about what the digital clothing of the future should look like.

The answer, Mulder emphasizes, has not yet been found. "We notice that many people still don’t understand the added value of digital clothing. This often also applies to digital culture more broadly. Our guideline is: our parents must understand what we are doing; otherwise, we’re clearly not explaining it well enough yet."

Digital is Not a Gimmick

Digital clothing is not meant to be a gimmick but a way to permanently change the clothing production process, Mulder emphasizes. For example, if you can digitally try on pants or a shirt before ordering them, it significantly reduces unnecessary transportation movements. Brands can also run marketing campaigns with digitally photoshopped clothing on models. This allows them to test which items are most popular before mass production. Using digital techniques could significantly reduce the current overproduction in the fashion industry, which is about 70%.

Digital transformation offers the same opportunities for culture: it makes experimentation easier and more accessible. Digitally, you can test various ideas before executing them in real life. Think, for example, of setting up an exhibition space or making your offerings more broadly accessible.

Applications for Cultural Institutions

All these digital discoveries can also be used for non-commercial purposes. Studio PMS also collaborated with the Centraal Museum in Utrecht to breathe new life into its fashion collection. Fragile pieces that can no longer be worn were digitized by the studio. As a result, you can now see how they move again, and they can also be worn in costume dramas. Ultimately, the eighteen garments were showcased in a digital fashion show and were also featured in an exhibition, where visitors could also try on the clothing themselves. Digitally, culture becomes more accessible and enduring.

More applications are possible. For instance, Studio PMS developed a coaster with a QR code on it. Scanning it gave you access to a digital outfit. Such examples show how a digital creation can help spread your offerings or message in innovative ways – both inside and outside the walls of your own building.

Additions and Limitations

It’s clear: digital fashion is not a replacement for physical clothing but rather an addition. It’s a different product with different properties that can be used in different ways. 

Creatively, anything seems possible. However, always ask yourself critical questions. How do you make your product visible? How do you explain the added value? And how do you reach people who are less familiar with digital?

To stay relevant in a changing world, digital offers plenty of opportunities. But always reason from creative value and your audience: what message do you want to convey, and how can digital play a role in that?

Collaborating with parties inside and outside your sector is highly beneficial. The same digital technologies can be used in different industries – including the creative sector. Cultural organizations can benefit greatly from innovative developments in other sectors and join forces to move forward together. This leads to new creation, creativity, and cross-pollination that strengthens culture.

Tips to Make Your Digital Project Understandable to Others