Planning to buy a new outfit, but feel just too lazy to roam through all shops and malls. So you finally convinced yourself to go to the shops because you really needed a new outfit, let’s say for your bachelor graduation ceremony. After waiting for minimum 15 minutes in the queue for the dressing room with your 10 clothing items you are the next one in line, but the shop assistant had to disappoint you by telling you that you can only bring 6 items with you in the dressing room. Now what? Lucky for all of us, the possibility to fit and purchase your outfit right at your house might be just around the corner.
Gap recently released an app called the DressingRoom, which allows customers to try on clothes anywhere and anytime they want using the Augmented Reality technology. The app enables customers to choose an outfit and their body type, then a mannequin of the chosen body type will appear wearing the chosen outfit. Customers can adjust the mannequin to see the outfit from different angles. Currently, DressingRoom only offers customers to choose from five different body types. This limits the customer experience. Customers can’t get the feeling of them actually wearing the outfit, because all they see is a mannequin that might or might not have the same body type as them wearing the outfit.
The 3D body scan technology by Body Labs could possibly elevate customer experience one step higher. With this technology, the exact body conditions of customers would be scanned into the systems and a 3D body model that replicates all your body details including body fat and wrinkles would be created. Combining this with the Virtual Reality technology for example, customers would be able to experience an exact replica of themselves trying on different clothing in the virtual reality world.
The future seems to be not so far ahead at all. In fact, Amazon recently acquired Body labs for about 70 million dollars. It is still unclear in what way Amazon will make use of the Body labs’ technology. Perhaps incorporating the technology with Amazon’s new device Echo Look could be interesting.
References:
Amazon has acquired 3D body model startup, Body Labs, for $50M-$70M
Body Labs Raises $8 Million To Create Ultra-Realistic 3D Body Images
How Echo Look could feed Amazon’s big data fueled fashion ambitions
Amazon’s new Echo Look has a built-in camera for style selfies
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0186JAEWK?enableAutoPlay=1&ref=pr_shrturl_1_ods_aucc_hx
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4089338/Gap-reveals-new-app-lets-virtually-try-clothes-home.html
https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/30/gap-augmented-reality-dressing-rooms/
Hi Jessica, I buy a lot online and every shop has its own fit. It would be nice to see how clothing looks like before ordering it. Sometimes I see a cute top online and when I finally get it and wear it…. I look like a potato -.-. Nice to know that they are going to fix my potatoo problem with technology. Great article!
Kind regards,
Stephanie