What once seemed a far-fetched expansion may now be the perfect addition to one technology company’s portfolio.
Perfect Corp, a publicly traded software company that specializes in the use of artificial intelligence for the beauty industry, announced in December that it has agreed to acquire virtual-try on company Wannaby from e-commerce company Farfetch.
Up until now, Perfect has not ventured into the fashion, apparel and footwear spaces. Its efforts have all been funneled toward using AI to help beauty companies like Aveda, Mac, Clinique and Benefit increase their traffic, conversions and revenue. It does so with proprietary tools that enable clients to allow their online consumers to scan their face or hair and receive product recommendations, match makeup shades or analyze facial features.
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Alice Chang, Perfect’s founder and CEO, said the acquisition will usher in a new era for the company, broadening its reach to new industries.
“By welcoming Wannaby’s capabilities into our portfolio, we are poised to enrich our digital solutions and reinforce our presence in the fashion tech landscape. This expansion into new fashion categories such as shoes and bags demonstrates our commitment to innovation and our ability to deliver exceptional value to clients across diverse sectors,” Chang said in a statement.
More than 30 brands, including Lululemon, Allbirds, Loewe, Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana have already used Wannaby’s technology. The system is powered by neural network technology, computer vision, machine learning and augmented reality (AR).
With that mix of technology at play, Wannaby’s system continues to learn from consumer interactions on a variety of e-commerce sites. Its system can be used on footwear, clothing, purses and bags, jewellery and watches and homeware items, and the company claims it can be integrated onto any applicable website in just one hour.
To date, one of the most major issues with virtual try-on technology has been keeping up with real-time movement; that is to say, some virtual try-on systems use a still image of a consumer and overlay items onto their body, giving a “paper doll”-esque effect to the results. Wannaby’s technology is instead able to track real-time movement, which means that consumers can see how the item might look from different angles, with different outfits without taking and submitting multiple static photos. The digital overlay of the products is designed to “align seamlessly with user movements and real-world conditions,” the company said in a blog post.
The companies did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, but Farfetch acquired Wannaby in 2022 for $24.5 million in cash and $5 million in shares. Once the deal closes, Farfetch—which uses Wannaby’s technology for its own retail site—will continue to leverage the system. According to Perfect’s release, the company believes that “[reflects] a shared vision for the future of fashion technology.”
The acquisition has not yet closed, but Perfect expects it to be finalized within the next few months.
