A Semiautomated Pipeline for the Creation of Virtual Fitting Room Experiences Featuring Motion Capture and Cloth Simulation

Technological advancements are prompting the digitization of many industries, including fashion. Many brands are exploring ways to enhance customers' experience [e.g., offering new shopping-oriented services like virtual fitting rooms (VFRs)]. However, there are still challenges that prevent customers from effectively using these tools for trying on digital garments. Challenges are associated with difficulties in obtaining high-fidelity reconstructions of body shapes and providing realistic visualizations of animated clothes following real-time customers' movements. This article tackles such lacks by proposing a semiautomated pipeline supporting the creation of VFR experiences by exploiting state-of-the-art techniques for the accurate description and reconstruction of customers' 3-D avatars, motion capture-based animation, as well as realistic garment design and simulation. A user study in which the resulting VFR experience was compared with those created with two existing tools showed the benefits of the devised solution in terms of usability, embodiment, model accuracy, perceived value, adoption, and purchase intention.