With a number of clothing brands collaborating with tech innovators – it is clear that the benefits of augmented reality are catching on within the fashion industry.
Brands such as GAP have recognised a need for change in the industry, and have released augmented reality apps allowing consumers to virtually try on an item of clothing and assess its size and fit; being able to see it augment on their screen.
By adjusting the avatar model’s size, height etc – the consumer is able to get a better gist of what the item in question may look like on them, rather than having to guess based on the chosen model on the website. The concept removes the need for busy consumers to 1. Have to enter a store and 2. Have to return an item of clothing that fits poorly.
Working with ‘Avametric’ and Google (Tango) – GAP identified this issue and addressed it with a groundbreaking solution that is their ‘Dressing Room‘ app. Released in January 2017 – the app was a great step in the right direction, however with Apple’s release of ARKit in September 2017, the quality and accessiblity of augmented reality stepped up a gear.
‘Obsess’ and ‘Avametric’ are just two Digital Reality companies collaborating with global fashion brands on virtual experiences.
With the release of Apple ARKit, the luxury fashion retailer Burberry quickly caught on to augmented reality tech possibilities. The brand partnered with artist, Danny Sangra and released an app allowing users to overlay digital illustrations by Danny on to their own iPhone images through the use of the iOS camera. With a feature encouraging users to share their new masterpieces on social media – Burberry successfully used augmented reality to increase brand awareness without offering any direct e-commerce capability whatsoever.
Global Beauty conglomerate Coty, recently released an in-browser augmented reality ‘Try me’ feature for its makeup brand, CoverGirl. The feature allows visitors of the site to virtually try on certain ‘looks’ as well as listing prices and ‘Buy it now’ buttons to purchase the products needed to create the look below. All of this, without the need to download an external app first. By having fun with the augmented features – consumers can get a true-to-life image of what they would look like with certain CoverGirl products, and are able to purchase them with ease. This is another great example of fashion brands incorporating innovative tech such as AR, and utilising the fun elements it possesses and converting this in to a purchase.
Increasingly, influential fashion brands are adopting augmented reality tech within their marketing strategies – in order to develop ROI. This influx in demand further solidifies the legitimacy of augmented reality within the fashion and retail industry, for e-commerce especially.
More and more, consumers are wanting a seamless and simple digital experience and augmented reality is the ideal method of easing this experience during an online purchase process. With developers and fashion brands alike recognising this, the future of augmented reality in Fashion is exciting, as more brands catch on to the fact that an easier experience for the consumer, leads to an increase in motivation to purchase.
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