It’s proven now. Augmented Reality (AR) is not a fad, but a major disruption in the fashion & beauty segment. Fashion & beauty are like twin sisters- matching & contrast, in taste,& in temperament! Both of them together take on the world with an elan, very sophisticated, and form an integral part of women’s life. However, from business perspectives, the industry is facing a mixed reality amidst the current pandemic that has changed consumers’ behavior (not their love for fashion & beauty) when it comes to shopping – in-store &online. Fashion retail is the buzzword but we are covering here how Augmented Reality is helping consumers and businesses alike. Let’s walk this journey together and see how Augmented Reality is reshaping the fashion world!

Reset in the Fashion World

Post lockdown, countries are coming back to business, reopening economies, people, companies are resuming their work. Except for the beauty & fashion industry where consumers are wary to step out and shop and indulge like the pre-pandemic era. There’s a remarkable shift in the behavior- pattern, preference, and mindset towards beauty & fashion brands. There is a huge surge in online shopping and this is where Augmented Reality is driving sales and business, both. So, we see, it is not the RESTART but the RESET of the fashion world. Thanks to technology, thanks to e-commerce, thanks to Augmented Reality!

Magic Mirror with Virtual Shopping

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Queen Ravenna had asked the magic mirror. That mirror had dark magic.

 Back to today! AR magic mirror is not less than magic itself but with a touch of beauty & glamour. It augments the whole appeal and enhances customer experience.

Let’s understand the concept of AR-based MAGIC MIRROR and how it works in letting you try make-up virtually before buying a product-

Challenge – Normally, in-store,  how do you shop a make-up kit consisting of lipsticks  (various shades), eye-shadows(multiple shades *color), eye-liners, foundation cream, concealer, etc.? Start trying each of them, one by one(of-course, make-up testers).Red lipstick? Which Red? Crimson Red or Cherry Red or Burgundy Red? Try one by one, 25 shades of a Red. Poor tester and POOR YOU! You are drained of the whole energy in trying and the enthusiasm of buying one. Imagine how to bear again if you are deciding to try shades of eye-liner or an eye shadow. Rubbing one by one, testing one by one! Even sales executives are testing their patience(they are attending you and other customers in one go) and they might soon rethink a career change!

We call this experience a predicament – for both, customers and retailers.

Solution – Augmented Reality arrives for your rescue- The magic Mirror! It gives you the fabulous online-make-up try-on tools. Facial mapping via magic mirror is the cutting edge technology that is ruling the beauty landscape. Heard of MODIFACE? A leader in the AR technology for beauty- an app available on mobile, web, and in-store. Using your camera, focus on the product you choose and see how it looks on you-all in a flash of seconds! All from the comfort of your sofa or couch. You have a virtual style assistant, too. Make-up try on software is the magic mirror smart technology. The result is, you get a real-time experience. And, the press button on the purchase option gets you the work done! So simple!

GLAMlab, an American e-tailer, has been using this virtual positioning as an alternative to an in-store due to pandemic. All kinds of beauty products, from eye-makeup to lip make up to false eye-lashes, GLAMlab is offering all via Augmented Reality online make-up tool.

Hi-tech T-shirts via AR Apps

Marks & Spencers, a famous clothing & apparel brand, has come up with a creative idea using an Augmented Reality app, to enhance the images on T-Shirts for kids(yes, even kids form a part of the fashion world). T-shirts become alive –  the monkeys on them start swinging and there are bears scaling skyscrapers, even they leap out of trees– AR effect, 3-D effect. Although this app is not quite new and was launched for in-store, M&C ‘s latest digital Sparks App has already crossed a  million downloads the world over, ever since its launch two months back, on 30th August 2020.

 CONVERSE – a novel E-Commerce platform

This is one of the newest AR apps for i-phone users. This app allows you to virtually try on trainers. The method incorporates thus – Point your phone camera at your legs and virtually try various sizes, colors. You can order that one pair you selected.No need to leave your home.

Try on Clothes- Without Wearing them

The British brand TOPSHOP started this trend a while back for in-stores. Today, virtual styling & shopping has picked up using more advanced technology tools including AR apps and AI at the backdrop.

The real-time, 3D virtual fitting is the latest trend amidst the virtual retail scenario.

You don’t have to go for physical measurements in physical mode. A 3D mirror can measure your body statistics, does your 3D body scanning. It detects your feature points like shoulders, chest, waist, legs, and capture the entire body measurements in its memory. Not only this, you don’t have to fret about which costume, which style, which size you should decide.There exists an inbuilt product recommendation engine within AR app, that becomes your own style guide! It detects your attributes like your age group, gender, your current outfit you’re wearing now, and then based on them it will suggest the most suitable style and fitting to your personality.

If you are brides-to-be!       

Make Augmented Reality (AR) a part of your lifetime memory –  your wedding moments. The hassle of hunting that special ‘dream gown’ or ‘dream lehenga’ is no more a mental stress but an exciting moment! You have 50-100 unique designs bearing unique silhouettes, fabric, necklines, embellishments, etc. that match your preferences and style quotient. The AR backed ‘Try-On’ virtual app makes you try all these outfits in your time and at your place. Finally, You select your dream outfit.

Sometimes, life gives you the opportunity of a lifetime. Don’t miss it. Try this AR experience right away!

Realizing the current trend

Digital shoppers are facilitating a big shift in the retailing domain. The fashion/beauty brands, big or small, are taking this into cognizance and adopting the technology to remain in business. Augmented Reality (AR) is creating a storm in the beauty & fashion industry. It started with a choice based in-store moments but has become a necessity now, a survival tool for businesses across the world. This is going to stay for a long, long time because you never know how long this pandemic is going to hover around us. The latest news is being the revival of the second lockdown in England till December this year. So, the economy is going to depend on technology,and its immense power backed capabilities such as Augmented Reality.

Interested to know which AR model suits your retailing business? Learn how we can customize your requirement, for more information visit – www.fusioninformatics.com

Read Also – Top Mobile App Development Companies in India

No individual living in the 21^st century can claim that they are unaffected by technology. The influence and interference of technology in the daily lives of every single individual is staggering in the least. For the largest part, technology has helped in making services and products extremely personal and customised to the specific needs of the individual buying or investing in them. The digitisation of every aspect of our lives has led to a point where each every device we own are connected, providing a network that never actually leaves us. The connected devices has helped in the easy access and sharing of data. This connectivity is termed as Internet of Things (IoT). The principle purpose of IoT is to collect real time data that can be analysed and shared to every connected device within a very miniscule time period. With all the hand-held devices already able to connect with multiple devices around them, the world is now moving towards wearable technology. The first stage of this endeavour were the smart watches and Fitbits. These devices are equipped with the ability to monitor heart rates, body temperatures, workout or exercise undertaken by the wearer, and alert them whenever an anomaly is identified. The next step from here is the advent of smart clothing.

The current crop of smart clothing are apparels that are designed with various sensors embedded within the design and sewn in various parts of the apparel. However, we are already moving towards a future where textiles mills will be weaving smart fabric. The expectation lies that these smart fabrics — while looking and acting like any normal fabric — would be able to collect data from the wearer and the surrounding environs; and react accordingly. These forms of fabric will be weaved from a material that is electrically conductive; and that can be combined with microprocessors and miniaturised sensors. The smart textile industry is on the rise and it is now the responsibility of retail fashion industry to understand these developments — and transform themselves accordingly. The apparel industry, most likely and eventually, will have to move to a point where the products are not one-off garments but are devices that make the apparel a ‘platform’.

Customisable Apparel

Apparels and fashion is a way for the wearer to express their unique personality. Therefore, in a future where the clothing industry would be essentially manufacturing hardware, organisations will have to ensure that they maintain the essence of fashion in all their products. Apparels can never cease to become diverse, emotional, and expressive. The fear of uniformity in the design of smart clothes might keep the fashion industry away. Amalgamation of fashion and technological hardware would have to be of its essence more than the physical product. Smart clothes will have to find the way in which can remain comfortable in their apparel throughout the day. A complete acceptance of smart clothes will require a drastic change in the populace. The behavioural shift will only be made easy if the new-age apparels are designed to empower them instead of constricting their daily activities. Therefore, the smart clothes will not have to be customised to match style, emotion, and personality; but also an individual’s body heat mechanics, daily activity level, and the usual environment they exist in. For example, smart clothes for a teacher will be different from those of a reporter, which in turn will be starkly different from those manufactured for those working in heavy industries. Successfully achieving this extreme level of diversity while remaining functional is one of the biggest challenges that the smart textile industry will face going forward.

Transformed Retail Outlets

The retail space will have to go through dramatic changes once smart clothes become the norm. It will then be unlikely to find retail outlets with thousands on apparels in display and in store. The crux of the smart clothes technology will be customisation. This would require that every apparel to be tailor-made for the wearer from the scratch. Consequently, the entire concept of store-bought, ready-to-wear clothes becomes a thing of history. Brick-and-mortar retail stores will shrink in size and their principal duty will be to showcase latest styles and patterns, which will be customised for the customer.

The technology is posed to develop to point where wearer can change every aspect of the clothes they are buying. The stores would eventually develop smart mirrors. The smart mirrors would allow the customers to try different pieces of clothing, and make virtual changes — such as length, size, colour, design, and patterns — in real time before placing the order for their customised smart clothes. The technology will help customers to create custom-built pieces that are unique and truly an expression of themselves.

Another point in favour of smart clothing will be the speed of manufacturing. The time between trying the clothes, customising the various pieces, tailoring them, and delivering to the customer can be reduced to hours as technology develops. The idea that unique pieces of clothing can be brought to life in such short periods of time is an added advantage that the present fashion industry fails to provide.

What the Future Might Look Like

With the exponential growth of technology and ingenuity of the human mind it is a safe bet to assume that smart clothes will develop the currently inapprehensible technology of dynamic fashion. The future promises us of a world where clothes will have the ability to transform through the day from work wear to casual wear. The technology will allow the wearer to choose a style that they need to wear for an event that the apparel will modify instantly to mirror that particular style. Imagine going from tailored shirts and trousers for the office to breezy casuals for an evening with friends, without having to physically change into different clothes.

Conclusion

The future is promising and exciting for the fashion industry with the growing capabilities of smart fabrics. The cocoon of technology that wraps our daily lives will transform every aspect of our existence and clothing is not an exception. However, it is to be realised that fashion industry is a factor of consumer demands — therefore, consumer behaviour and the technology’s ability to cater to the emotional needs of a fashion enthusiast would be paramount in ascertaining the success of smart clothes.

About Fusion Informatics

A huge array of technology that we expect to take over the world in future might be in its nascent stages right now, or might even be just a germ of idea in a teenager somewhere. The dynamic nature of science and transformative ability of engineering is not easy to navigate. The road is unknown and often filled with unexpected twists. At Fusion Informatics, our duty is to explore the world of technology and identify the trends that are likely to change human civilisation. We, then, bring these technologies to our clients in a manner that is not overwhelming, but definitely metamorphic.