This Saturday, a hugely successful fashion exhibition will open in London. Design Museum which will take visitors behind the scenes of London Fashion Week using augmented reality (AR) through an experience powered by Snap, the creator of Snapchat.

Sponsored by fashion house Alexander McQueen, “Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion” celebrates London’s fashion talent over the past three decades.

Outfits on display in the multimedia exhibition include the Marjan Pejoski “swan dress” worn by Icelandic musician Björk to the 2001 Oscars, the Steven Stokey-Daley outfit worn by Harry Styles in the “Gold” music video, and the HARRI latex inflatable suit worn by Sam. Smith was used at this year’s BRIT Awards.

Visitors can interact with Snap technology in the exhibition’s “Backstage Pass” area, which brings all the important pre-show preparations to life via AR.

“Backstage Pass” exhibition at the London Design Museum. Image: Snap

Augmented reality glasses developed exclusively for the exhibition will allow visitors to try on hair and makeup styles featured in the designer’s shows at London Fashion Week.

Each lens replicates one of nine respective hairstyles and makeup styles designer. These include the extreme face paint revealed by Charles Jeffrey Loverboy for Spring 2018, the Klein blue hair and makeup that newcomer Chet Lo debuted for Spring 2023, and the floral Richard Quinn motorcycle helmet he walked the fall 2018 runway, which attended by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The augmented reality glasses use machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence, to create photorealistic AR hairstyles. Meanwhile, makeup looks are created using facial tracking technology to understand different facial structures.

Displays featuring jewelry, or Richard Quinn’s helmet, use “ray tracing” technology that more accurately simulates how light interacts with reflective surfaces. Snap introduced its ray tracing functionality last year with Tiffany & Co. at the London luxury brand’s exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, where visitors can wear the famous 128.54 carat Tiffany Diamond in AR.

Augmented reality viewing of exhibitions. Image: Snap

The mirror combines Snap technology with Apple’s iPad Pro tablet hardware, designed by Snap’s AR studio in Paris. Visitors can activate each different lens experience via hand-tracking technology, sliding their hand across their face after selecting their preferred look via the vanity mirror’s touchscreen.

Snap’s AR technology was recently implemented at the US Open tennis tournament, where visitors to the Tiffany & Co. stand They can hit virtual shots with diamond-encrusted tennis rackets.

All of the designers featured in the exhibition, including Alexander McQueen, Christopher Kane, Erdem, Kim Jones, JW Anderson, Molly Goddard and Grace Wales Bonner, are NEWGEN alumni. The initiative was founded by the British Fashion Council in 1993 to support emerging fashion design talent in the UK.

The Design Museum exhibition, co-curated by BFC Ambassador for Emerging Talent Sarah Mower MBE and Design Museum Senior Curator Rebecca Lewin, runs until 11 February 2024.