Trying on smalls without a big effort

Isn't shopping for clothes a drag? All that taking off and putting back on again. It seems that underwear peddler Triumph agree as yesterday it launched its Fantasy Mirror in Selfridges, London, which allows users to see how lingerie looks on, without having to strip off.

A motion sensor camera attached to the screen scans anyone standing in front of it. Using infra-red technology to create a highly accurate 3D reconstruction, the camera tracks the viewer's body, which is then translated onto the screen as a 3D silhouette of a female avatar that moves in real time to the viewers' own motion (although sadly, some moves are censored – trust me, I tried). You can even take home a video.

For the moment, the avatar is merely an interpretation of what users might look like in the underwear they're virtually trying on; however, Ultimo is apparently working on a prototype that will give a more realistic appearance that takes into account the user's actual body shape.

The Fantasy Mirror seems a little pointless; after all, it won't show you if the underwear flatters or fits you. And if you want to see it on a moving person you could just, say, watch a video of a model parading around in her smells. The set-up takes up a large chunk of Selfridges' lingerie section, though, so it will probably help sell a ton of knickers.