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Ralph Lauren reinvents the fashion show with 4D spectacular

Posted on 11. Nov, 2010 by Jonathan Cherry in Technology

The making of this 10- minute fashion show must have cost the same amount of money that was spent to make Avatar, but the result is simply spectacular.

“It’s game changing — it blows my mind — it changes the way we look at architecture; it will change retail, movies, advertising, everything,” says David Lauren, son of the brand’s founder, of the spectacle and the new technology that makes it possible.

On Wednesday, Ralph Lauren plans to offer the public a futuristic vision in which “architectural mapping” technology is used on the store facade, creating what the brand calls a “4-D” experience.

The effects are to include a vision of the company’s signature polo players, a giant horse-head belt wrapping the building and a lineup of vast neckties — a reference to the product on which Ralph Lauren was founded four decades ago.

This latest dramatic development is part of what the company calls “merchan-tainment,” the concept of commerce with entertainment, which it previously has offered through lifestyle films on RLTV, its own production operation, as well as initiatives with sports.

But the new “augmented reality” project is in another league.

“We put our hearts and souls into this,” says Mr. Lauren of the sound and light show created by superimposing optical effects created by pinpointed pixels of light over a projected 3-D replica of the building.

This sensory experience — complete with sound and even a mist of fragrance — will not be staged only in London. One of the brand’s New York stores also will get a similar eye-popping show. [more via NYTimes]

…and here is the official video of the show itself.

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Tags: projection mapping, Ralph Lauren