HistoVeaR – Experiencing Historical Clothing in Virtual Reality is an interdisciplinary research project dedicated to the digital reconstruction, simulation, and experiential exploration of historical clothing in virtual environments. The project is carried out in collaboration with World of VR, the Cologne Game Lab at TH Köln, the Computer Graphics Group, and the University of Paderborn, and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Clothing is a central cultural artifact: it shapes identity, communicates social belonging, and reflects technological and societal change. However, historical garments are often difficult to access. Due to their fragility, they cannot be worn, are only partially preserved, or remain confined to archives and controlled exhibition contexts. As a result, essential aspects—such as movement, material behavior, and the interaction between body and garment—remain largely inaccessible.
HistoVeaR addresses this limitation by developing new digital methods to create AI-supported “digital twins” of historical garments. These are based on detailed scans, reconstructed patterns, and material analyses, and are designed to be both visually accurate and physically plausible. The project focuses on enabling garments to be experienced dynamically—particularly in motion and in relation to the human body—through real-time simulation and virtual reality environments. Research Focus at Cologne Game Lab.
At the Cologne Game Lab, the research focuses on the development of a production-ready pipeline that transforms scanned garments into simulation-ready and real-time compatible assets. This includes:
- the creation of clean, simulation-capable 3D garment models based on reconstructed patterns
- the integration of scan-based visual detail into analytically structured meshes
- the development of workflows for animation, fitting, and real-time rendering
- the implementation and testing of garments in game engines and XR environments
A key contribution of CGL is the validation of an end-to-end workflow, from digitization and modeling to simulation and deployment in real-time systems such as game engines. Initial feasibility studies have demonstrated that historical garments can be transformed into high-quality digital assets that are both physically responsive and suitable for interactive applications. Application Areas
The technologies developed in HistoVeaR are designed for three main application domains:
- Museums: enabling immersive, interactive access to historical clothing and expanding curatorial possibilities
- Film and VFX: improving the realism and efficiency of digital costume production
- Games: supporting the integration of historically accurate clothing into real-time interactive environments
By combining cultural research with advanced simulation technologies, HistoVeaR establishes new approaches to both the study and the mediation of historical dress. It contributes to the development of transdisciplinary methods at the intersection of digital heritage, game technology, and design research.
The research project “AI-reconstructed historical clothing in virtual reality for museums, games, and film productions” (HistoVeaR) is led by the Cologne-based mixed reality specialist World of VR GmbH (project lead: Tobias Kemper). The consortium includes Prof. Dr. Arnulph Fuhrmann (Institute of Media and Phototechnology), Prof. Björn Bartholdy (Cologne Game Lab), both at TH Köln, and Prof. Dr. Kerstin Kraft from the Faculty of Cultural Studies at Paderborn University.
The project is funded within the framework of the innovation competition “NEXT.IN.NRW” by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia until the end of May 2028 with approximately €1.5 million and is co-financed by the European Union.
Website: http://histovear.de/en/
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