SINGAPORE – In the global race to rapidly digitize retail, the fashion and beauty industry has turned to technological innovations.
Brands have been striving to make shopping a more seamless and sustainable experience for consumers. And in an age of contactless pandemic, virtual and augmented reality (AR) is now the new frontier for many.
Sportswear giant Nike has a feature in its Nike Fit app that can determine a customer's shoe size just by pointing the camera at their feet.
Luxury fashion houses are also up for grabs. Dior has launched an AR filter on Instagram for users to virtually try on sunglasses. Burberry has an AR shopping tool that lets you Google a Burberry item on a smartphone and then view a scaled AR version.
In March, Louis Vuitton presented a live fashion show in Singapore that employed augmented reality elements and set it against a green backdrop that acted as a green screen for the home to project stunning images for online viewers.
The concept is also growing in beauty. Instead of trying on products in stores for hygiene reasons, brands are turning to AR to help makeup lovers with their purchasing decisions.
Companies like Laura Mercier, Nars, Mac Cosmetics, L'Oreal Paris, and beauty retailer Sephora have launched virtual experimentation tools that use AR and real-time facial-tracking technology.
Accessible via smartphones or webcams, some don't even require apps, they allow customers to digitally experience products ranging from basics to color cosmetics.
Others have taken the virtual makeup experience a step further. In April, Chanel launched Lipscanner, a mobile app that identifies lip color, which some have dubbed "Lipstick Shazam." Shazam is an applicative app that identifies music played remote form.
Lipscanner can select colors from five color families (natural, pink, red, orange, and plum) from social media, a magazine page, objects, and even real people's lips.
Point the camera to scan your desired color and the app's AI-powered algorithm will scan Chanel Beauty's extensive lip library to recommend a product, in multiple finishes, in the exact shade. The app's virtual try-on feature lets you allows you to experience the recommended lippie in real time.
It's not just fashion and beauty brands that are launching AR products.
Last month, social media platform Snapchat announced it would add more virtual experimentation and AR capabilities to its purchasable technology in markets outside of Singapore, a year after launching an AR shoe-fitting filter in conjunction with Italian fashion house Gucci. .
Using 3D body-tracking technology and voice recognition, the new features allow Snapchat users to try on items such as clothes, glasses and bags. Fashion partners on the scrambling board include Prada and Farfetch.
In Singapore, a handful of fashion companies are helping spark a digital revolution in the industry.
Fashion tech startup Pixibo launched the Find Your Fit service, an algorithm-based size recommendation tool, in 2018. It is used by online fashion retailers, including regional retailer Zalora and South Korean department stores. Shinsegae.
Co-founders Rohit Kumar, 39, and Karthik Srinavasan, 38, founded Pixibo in 2016 to use software, data and technology to help online fashion brands overcome the challenges of standardization and size.
In February this year, the company launched a Try Before You Buy service, which offers fashion brands to let their customers buy items without paying up front. They then try the items in a physical store before deciding whether to buy.
Women's clothing brand Lily & Lou allows customers to make their own bespoke outfits, choosing their preferred colors, styles, sleeve lengths, etc.
Founder Ng Yan Ling's work processes are digitized, including sampling, design, and the use of virtual models.
