The fashion industry has a global impact of over $2 trillion and employs more than 1.8 million people in the U.S. alone, so it comes as no surprise that companies go to great lengths to develop the next garment trend. What is surprising, however, is UC Irvine’s (UCI) little-known role in bringing a new idea from the lab to your next pair of pants.

In 2013, VF Corporation – owner of brands including Vans, Timberland and The North Face – funded UCI researchers to improve upon an American classic: denim jeans. The team included Professor of Cognitive Sciences from the School of Social Sciences, Don Hoffman, and postdoctoral researcher Darren Peshek, who earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive Sciences.

Taking what he knew about the human visual system’s ability to interpret information, like lighting and gradients, Peshek examined a popular “worn-in” jean style.

“The first thing that stood out to me was the finishing on the jeans – the area that’s worn in and lighter than everything else,” said Peshek. “I thought ‘that’s a shading gradient.’ Those worn-in areas are going to be lighter and that’s going to create a cue of shape from shading that the visual system is going to use to interpret the shape of the person who is wearing them.”

While other jean manufacturers were applying gradients via sanding techniques and lasers to create the illusion of a worn-in appearance, Peshek and team decided to use those same techniques to create subtle shading to mimic and accentuate the natural human anatomy. By applying the anatomy shading finishing technique, a pair of monochromatic blue jeans can become jeans with a 3D illusion making it appear that the lower body has toned muscles.

“It was a lightbulb moment,” said Peshek. “And that was one of the main reasons we wanted to patent this; we thought that as soon as people recognized what we were doing, they would want to copy it.”

Fashion is largely about helping people achieve confidence in what they wear by helping them look good so they feel good, and a lot of the popular wear and tear finishing is actually working against that, according to Peshek. With anatomy shading finishing, consumers have a different option that can help them achieve their own desired physical appearance.

The UCI technology is now available for licensing through UCI Beall Applied Innovation’s Research Translation Group. Read more details about the technology.