This is a brainstorming blog for anyone who wants to create an augmented reality T-shirt and needs inspiration. AR examples covered here are marker-based and can be easily replicated using most DIY AR creators. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a business creating tees for conventions, a fashion team looking to spice up your clothing line, or a sole creator—augmented reality clothing is accessible for all.
Augmented reality shirts for annual celebrations
Let’s start with one of the best times of the year—Christmas. While retailers may want to expand their seasonal offer to drive sales for the Ugly Sweater Day, a creative individual may create a one-off jumper to stand out (I know that Christmas is more of a sweater than a t-shirt occasion but sleeve length is secondary).
Below is a lovely example of an ARed Christmas sweater. We can see that the whole jumper is not the marker image (that would be impossible, more on creating good AR markers here). It has a Teletubbies-like marker on the belly with instructions. Although this is a knitted example, you can create a design and print your garment using such services as Printful or Pritify, and it will come out just as awesome.
Another selling opportunity for themed AR shirts is Halloween. People look for more creative outfits each year, and they can now opt to swap a full-on costume for a freakish augmented reality look. Below is a simple example for kids. Knowing that kids love to be connected on the phone, they can genuinely appreciate these tech-infused shirts.
The below is another superb example of how augmented reality makes clothing fun. It is not made for Halloween, but I think it is a great inspiration for such occasions or dress-up parties—don’t say I haven’t followed the party dress code before you AR scan me! This range of t-shirts features zodiac signs on tops. Once the shirt is scanned with an AR app, the wearers head turns into the zodiac animal. You have to see it to believe it.
Augmented reality fashion tees for children
Let’s continue with a couple more things that are especially relevant to the younger generation. Here you can see a children’s fashion tee line that has been enhanced with AR. These are pretty simple designs and animations, but again, if we look at children, they love to have their favorite animation characters on clothing. Imagine how much more they would love watching a small cartoon on their shirt?
As children love to explore new technologies, you can integrate the AR-hype with educational experiences. We especially love this example of a science tee that enables people to learn about the human body. It features beautifully designed augmented reality and unique 3D learning experiences where you can explore the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems with fully immersive 360 videos. You can even track your heart rate and see it animating live in their app.
Augmented reality tees for superfans at conventions
This video was captured in 2010, so imagine how much better such puzzles or interactive AR games would look today. As the mock-up game features Kelloggs, it highlights how these kinds of shirts could be a great addition to corporate promotional gifts or conventions.
If you’re in the business of selling convention shirts, you may consider if any superfans at such events as Comic-Con would appreciate the extra AR offering. Maybe an extra special AR message from their favourite character on their shirt? Content choices are limitless, but it is clear that there is an untapped market for AR t-shirts that cater for niche audiences and superfans of various genres. You know best what your customer may be after! Below is an example of Epic Hero Shop, where AR features have been enabled from some of its Star Wars offerings.
Here is another AR t-shirt example from Roadster. It is not as such designed for a convention, but its style fits right into this category. You can cater to niche audiences, whether racing, fishing, or comic fans, using such AR-enhanced shirts. It is a great opportunity.
Serious fashion with augmented reality Tees
A very cool example of how augmented reality can enhance clothing and help deliver brand messaging was released by Carlings a little while back. Its single design AR T-shirt was launched with the idea to reduce and limit waste. It lets wearers update their wardrobe in AR rather than buying multiple shirts. AR filters reveal eco-conscious statements like “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Respect” and “No trees no air”, with a yin-yang symbol that spins when you place the filter on the shirt.
I hope these ideas helped you brainstorm for your personal projects. If you are planning to create your own augmented reality tee, you can get started with the Overly Creator. Refer here for any guidance on how to use our DIY AR platform.
If you want to discuss your vision, get in touch with us at hello@overlyapp.com or via chat.
