Uncanny digital fashion project named Rookie Awards Runner-Up

Uncanny: Look At Me was created by Doha Park, an MA Digital Fashion student, who asked herself: why do people sometimes choose to play uncanny characters in computer games? As players pushed customisation toward the unsettling, Doha wondered, while browsing these player-made characters, why they tended toward the uncanny.

Doha said: “I was able to push digital fashion beyond media art and into the interactive realm using technologies like Unreal Engine and TouchDesigner. Being named a runner-up in the Rookie Awards feels like a deeply fulfilling reward for all that hard work, and it is a validating moment that shows my vision has taken a meaningful first step.”

 

She explained: “As children lying along in the dark, we have all felt that someone was watching us. The shadows seemed to move. Was it a dream or was it real? This project grows out of that feeling. It let me bring the uncanny into a full digital pipeline – what should have stayed hidden is now looking back.”

Doha was influenced by her research into what ‘uncanny’ meant, leading her to Freud’s essay The Uncanny (1919).

“For Freud, the uncanny is tied to repression and repetition, the return of something familiar that was meant to stay hidden. This became the conceptual spine of the whole piece,” explained Doha.

For the MetaHuman, Doha used dismemberment (unnaturally exposing internal organs) and the repetition of a hand motif to create her transforming dress. She added leather-like-flesh textures rather than fabric, further blurring the line between garment and body. The concept was inspired by Hussein Chalayan’s collections and garments that change and reconfigure. 

Doha added: “I imagined a dress where what is hidden inside spills outward, so that the act of revealing itself becomes the source of the uncanny.”

For the environment, she drew on the horror film ‘Lights Out’ (2016), creating a bright room and a dark room to contrast the atmosphere. In the bright version, the room reads as ordinary, while the dark version reveals what was hidden. This shift is what Doha builds the whole piece around.

“The dog's head turning into a hand was inspired by shadow play,” said Doha. “I wanted that reversal where a familiar dog's shadow turns out to be a human hand, the comfort of a childhood game becoming something unsettling.”

To create her character and make the garments, Doha used MetaHuman and LiveSync, developing them in CLO3D, with Adobe 3D Substance. The environment was created using Procreate, Nomad Sculpt, Adobe Illustrator and Blender, all brought together in real-time using Unreal Engine.

“I wanted to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to my Programme Director and Technical Tutor. Without their unwavering support and dedication, I would not have been able to complete this project. They constantly gave me the courage to take on new challenges, provided advice to keep me focused, and brainstormed solutions with me whenever I faced technical roadblocks,” Doha said.

Get inspired by more MA Digital Fashion projects by visiting the UCA Epsom Postgrad Show 2026, on till Tuesday 22 September at UCA Epsom, KT18 5BE.

Or view UCA’s Online Showcase.

To learn more about studying MA Digital Fashion, visit the course pages.