Experiencing Historical Clothing in Virtual Reality Using AI

Under the coordination of World of VR, the Computer Graphics Group and the Cologne Game Lab at TH Köln, together with the Chair of Cultural Studies of Fashion and Textiles at Paderborn University, are working closely as an interdisciplinary research team. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the NEXT.IN.NRW program.

Clothing is an everyday part of life, yet it is also highly complex: it shapes identity, conveys social belonging, and reflects social and cultural developments. However, historical garments can only be experienced to a limited extent today. Many objects are fragile, can no longer be worn, or have not been fully preserved. In the research project “HistoVeaR,” an interdisciplinary team is developing new digital methods to realistically reconstruct, simulate, and make historical clothing accessible in virtual reality, while also preparing digitally reconstructed garments for use in games and visual effects (VFX).

“Clothing only reveals its full effect in interaction with the human body—through movement, material behavior, and shape,” says Prof. Dr. Kerstin Kraft from the Faculty of Cultural Studies at Paderborn University. “This dimension is often lost in museums, but also in digital productions such as games and films.” The goal of the HistoVeaR project is therefore to create digital twins of historical garments based on original objects. These digital garments will move in real time, respond according to physical laws, and be used interactively.

At the heart of the project is the design and implementation of a seamless process that enables the contactless digitization, AI-supported simulation, and animation of historical clothing. The aim is to realistically reproduce not only the cut and appearance of garments but also material properties such as weight, stiffness, and draping behavior. “A particular challenge is collision detection—that is, the realistic interaction between the body and clothing, as well as between multiple layers of fabric, such as understructures or multi-layered garments,” explains Prof. Dr. Arnulph Fuhrmann from TH Köln’s Institute of Media and Photographic Technology.

User-Friendly Toolset for Creative Industries

The project is being carried out by the Cologne-based XR company World of VR, TH Köln, and Paderborn University. Paderborn University contributes expertise in textiles and cultural history, including selecting original garments, creating patterns, and providing the foundation for digital reconstruction. Another project partner is World of VR GmbH, which is developing a modular, contactless scanning system and a 3D scanning process for capturing the geometry, surface structure, and colors of garments as well as the associated avatars. At TH Köln, a real-time AI-based simulation, fitting, and animation system will be developed. This system will enable the integration of digitally captured clothing into VR, gaming, and film environments.

“With HistoVeaR, we want to help make cultural heritage more accessible while also providing new tools for creative industries,” explains Prof. Björn Bartholdy of the Cologne Game Lab at TH Köln. “The planned system is intended to be flexible, deliver high-quality results with minimal manual effort, and therefore be easy for potential users to adopt.” For example, museum visitors could use a VR headset to enter a virtual simulation environment, put on historical garments, view themselves in a virtual mirror, and move around while wearing them, as Fuhrmann further explains.

About the Project

The research project “AI-Reconstructed Historical Clothing in Virtual Reality for Museums, Games, and Film Productions” (HistoVeaR) is being led by the Cologne-based mixed reality specialist World of VR GmbH (Project Director: Tobias Kemper). The consortium includes: Prof. Dr. Arnulph Fuhrmann, Institute of Media and Photographic Technology, TH Köln Prof. Björn Bartholdy, Cologne Game Lab, TH Köln Prof. Dr. Kerstin Kraft, Faculty of Cultural Studies, Paderborn University

The project is funded through the NEXT.IN.NRW innovation competition by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. It will receive approximately €1.5 million in funding through May 2028, with additional co-financing from the European Union.