British Vogue and Snapchat launch AR fashion exhibit

British Vogue and Snapchat have launched the first-ever immersive and interactive augmented reality fashion exhibition, bringing exclusive fashion designs to life using custom Snapchat filters.

Curated by Edward Enninful OBE, Vogue's European Editorial Director and Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue, the "Vogue x Snapchat: Redefining the Body" exhibition was unveiled at the Cannes Lions festival of creativity on Monday (20 June).

The exhibition saw the Centre d’Art La Malmaison transformed into an immersive world, showcasing archive, contemporary and exclusive pieces from Balenciaga, Dior, Gucci, Kenneth Ize, Richard Quinn, Stella McCartney and Versace using custom Snapchat lenses.

The houses were chosen for their subversive vision of fashion, to challenge stereotypes, norms and conventions related to age, body shape and gender through their collections.

Visitors on Snapchat will be able to discover exclusive archive garments and try them on virtually via Snapchat's Lens carousel and the Dress Up tab in Lens Explorer.

They will also be able to access all of the exhibition's augmented reality experiences, from Balenciaga's opaque dark space to Stella McCartney's digital bees pollinating mushroom spores, Gucci's "illusionistic" mirrored set design, and the opulence of Versace's space.

As part of the exhibition, Vogue and Snapchat have joined forces with DressX, the virtual fashion specialist, to create a capsule collection of limited edition merchandise.

Edward Enninful OBE said: "It has always been important to me to make fashion accessible for all. Using augmented reality, Vogue x Snapchat: Redefining the Body is an exhibition that invites everyone -- regardless of race, gender, sexuality and size -- to experience and enjoy fashion from some of the world's very best designers and luxury brands. It doesn't get better than that."

Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc. added: "Through this exhibition, and augmented reality more broadly, we hope to introduce new levels of accessibility, creativity, and expression to the fashion and design world."