Virtual reality as a new means of communication: A case study analysis of fashion brand, Accidental Cutting

Abstract

The research analyses the challenges and opportunities that virtual reality has initiated for the communication of fashion collections since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. It focuses on a case study of the work of the Accidental Cutting fashion brand, who have pioneered the presentation of virtual fashion collections at London Fashion Week since September 2020. The brand has explored new ways to promote and market their collections investigating a diverse use of virtual reality. The study also explores how this technology has subsequently become linked to different phases involved in the design and manufacture of the brand’s clothes. The methodological approach is qualitative and focuses on the auto-ethnographic reflections of the Accidental Cutting designer. These consider the challenges, technical and material difficulties, as well as opportunities in the global context of fashion, which the brand had to face when showing their virtual collections amid the restrictions imposed by COVID-19. The research also considers the future direction for the use of virtual reality in global fashion communication within a post pandemic world.