China’s hyper-realistic digital human AYAYI has launched her own eponymous fashion brand. With the tagline “Realistic Utopia” (现实乌托邦) for its first collection, the brand is focused on the “phygital”, the combination of physical and digital. By leveraging augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and generative AI technologies it further enhances customisation and consumer experiences.
Emphasising the core brand value “phygital”, AYAYI the brand aims to integrate the real and the virtual in its aesthetic and products. It does so by combining real garments and conceptual virtual AVATARs. The first collection from AYAYI is called “Dimensional Explorer” and draws inspiration from a wingsuit flying. Each garment corresponds with a digital AVATAR. The design of the AVATARs comes from a mix of “innovative use of digital assets and deep exploration of AIGC”.
Along with real models demonstrating the garment, as well as the wing-like AVATARs in AR shoots, AYAYI herself also models the outfits in the digital domain. The brand released a video of the clothes in motion, which showcases both minimalist street-style clothing and their corresponding AR AVATARs, with models exploring the urban landscape including a mixed reality world.
AYAYI was developed by Ranmai Technology, based on Epic Games’ MetaHuman in Ureal Engine. Launched in 2021, AYAYI was the first MetaHuman, or hyper-realistic virtual human from China. She has been successful as a virtual influencer, having appeared in Moody’s colour contact lens campaign and a Shiseido livestream. Her current move into phygital fashion means that the digital human is ready to make an impact on the real world.
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