Could the Apple Vision Pro Become Fashion’s New Frontier?

The headlining act of Apple’s 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the Apple Vision Pro is the tech giant’s long-awaited first AR headset on a mission to create the most immersive blended-reality experience for a mainstream line of consumers. “It’s the first Apple product you look through, and not at,” CEO Tim Cook proudly stated of the product, which enters the market alongside AR headsets from the likes of Meta, Google and Magic Leap. In lieu of the “metaverse” descriptor previously used by the aforementioned companies, Apple calls its new technology “spatial computing.” It runs on its own operating system, dubbed visionOS, with Apple’s M2 and newly-debuted R1 chips, and hosts a vast array of next-generation features that can be controlled by users’ eye and hand movements — all for the hefty price tag of $3,499 USD.

Now, across categories, brands want in on the action. During its presentation, Apple showcased how video game developers and entertainment companies will be able to utilize the headset’s technology to create new content experiences for consumers. Similarly, the tech giant provided examples of how its native applications, like FaceTime and Safari, can be used via spatial computing, and it detailed how its new device might be able to change the way that societies communicate. But, one industry that was left out of the conversation was fashion. In the dawn of Apple’s hotly-anticipated headset, Vision Pro could provide designers with ample opportunities to expand their brands’ digital presences through immersive interfaces and innovative, direct-to-consumer marketing strategies — but will it catch on?

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While the device marks a huge step forward with spatial computing, it’s still a little ways away from effectively producing mixed-reality experiences, like placing digital clothing on a real-life subject. While the implementation of that technology is not far off (we’ve already seen it on smartphone apps from AR try-on companies like ZERO10), the first-generation Vision Pro will likely offer a breeding ground for experimentation within the headset’s three-dimensional environment for brands. In fashion, particularly, tech-forward designers will likely initially tap into Apple’s spatial computing with futuristic presentations for new collections in immersive spaces, while innovation-first brands will likely offer new shopping experiences, with three-dimensional, photo-realistic renderings of products existing in digital storefronts, in the tech’s elementary introduction, per Vogue Business.

Down the line, though, it’s exciting to think of the possibilities: perhaps users could explore worlds inspired by seasonal campaigns, attend fashion shows through their headsets or enter boutiques, as avatars, to view products alongside a personal stylist. Here, fashion businesses can — and should — let their imaginations run wild, as it will become increasingly more important for their survival to think up immersive strategies for existing within the realms of spatial computing. According to Glossy, fashion’s digital design agencies, including the London-based Institute of Digital Fashion and the online-only fashion house The Fabricant, are beginning to experiment with Apple’s partner development platform, Unity, so it won’t be long before developers can actually turn brands’ big ideas into realities, especially as Vision Pro’s capabilities continue to evolve.

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Apple’s presentation dedicated a significant portion of time to its partnership with Disney, in which the tech company will work to build on the entertainment giant’s movies, series and products via immersive content on the headset’s operating system. In the video, Apple showed examples of users exploring Star Wars-inspired domains and transforming into superheroes inside an interactive Marvel game. While far from fashion, Disney’s demonstration depicted just how brands — of all kinds — could utilize the technology to create all-new experiences in partnership with Apple or third-party developers. Notably, Apple’s partnership with Unity engine lets apps run directly on visionOS, so anything that developers are building on the platform now can become immediately available once the headset launches next year.

Further, Apple introduced an avatar creation feature, which utilizes AI to form photo-realistic versions of users. Here, designers could eventually create an entirely new market for digital wearables, where users could purchase items from brands for their avatars or, alternatively, try on pieces from designers’ collections on a precise replication of their own body before making a physical purchase. The technology moves far beyond that of Apple’s competitors, like Microsoft Teams and Meta, which have previously offered consumers more cartoonish options. And while, at launch, the company will introduce the feature for users’ faces and hands in FaceTime, it’s likely that Vision Pro will soon be able to create accurate replications of users’ full bodies, thanks to its “advanced encoder-decoder neural network,” which has already been tested on a “diverse group of thousands of individuals,” according to The Verge.

Apple

From a sartorial standpoint, the Vision Pro headset is a fashion statement in its own right. And its introduction to the market begs questions about its success as a high-tech accessory. The device’s gargantuan price tag makes it a glaring signal of wealth — albeit, one that stylistically lands far outside the bounds of today’s popular “quiet luxury” trend. However, the device seems to be intended for use in controlled environments, like at home or in an office, as opposed to on the streets. Aside from one clip showing a woman putting the headset on to watch a movie on an airplane, Apple’s presentation exclusively demonstrates the device’s capabilities in the confines of contained spaces.

These are the very early days of Vision Pro, and it’s safe to assume that Apple will work to build a lighter-weight device that can be more easily used while out and about in the coming years. But for now, given its behind-closed-doors mentality, perhaps Vision Pro is the high-priced eyewear piece for stealth-wealth shoppers. It’s worth noting, too, that Apple previously established partnerships with Hermès and Nike for the Apple Watch, which included premium bands aligned with the respective labels’ codes, so it’s not far off to assume that Apple would tap high-end fashion brands for design-focused Vision Pro collaborations in the future. Might a Schiaparelli version decorated with Daniel Roseberry’s signature all-gold eyes, ears and noses arrive down the line? One can dream.

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This all might read far-fetched, but fashion companies have a history of hopping onto new technologies at the get-go. More than a decade ago, Diane von Furstenberg collaborated with Google Glass to produce a fully-fledged fashion show. And in recent years, brands like Burberry, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger and Valentino have partnered with video games including Blankos Block Party, Roblox and Animal Crossing on virtual collections and NFTs. Meanwhile, Balmain joined forces with Meta to create a limited-edition collection of co-branded Oculus VR headsets in 2018; GCDS debuted its Spring 2021 collection inside a digital fashion arcade, featuring CGI cartoons of models, famous front-row attendees and the designer; Ray-Ban worked with the Instagram owner on a pair of sunglasses in 2021, and this year, Coach partnered with ZERO10 to install highly-realistic try-on mirrors in its stores.

The aforementioned achievements marked significant milestones in fashion’s infiltration of both the digital domain and wearable tech alike, but, overall, these types of crossovers are still looking to achieve widespread integration. Maybe those listed were ahead of their time, or maybe fashion companies are looking for something that feels more familiar to consumers to more successfully carry them into this new age — and that could be Apple. The tech giant proved it could change the face of consumer-wide technology with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, and again with the Apple Watch in 2015. So, perhaps, it could begin to do so another time, in 2024, with its unveiling of the Vision Pro.

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The main factor barring the company from achieving a universal takeover with its latest device is the sky-high price point. From fashion’s lens, however, luxury labels will likely see the value in connecting with wealthy, tech-forward Vision Pro consumers at the device’s launch, but the vast majority of brands will proceed with caution, primarily due to the fact that their target audiences will not be using the device en masse.

As next-generation devices hit the market, older generations of the Vision Pro will likely fall in price; and perhaps, over a much longer period of time, the headset, in its many iterations, will become more commonplace. Until then, though, it’s up to the fashion industry’s pioneering developers to shape what the industry’s presence, across demographics, can look like in spatial computing in the years to come.