Sweden’s Virtusize, one of a plethora of startups trying to solve the problem of how to “try on” clothes online, is rolling out in Japan via a partnership with Japanese online fashion retailer Magaseek. As of today, its “Fit Visualiser” solution is available on 20,000 items on Magaseek’s online store, so customers can better understand the size and fit of items before they make a purchase.
It follows a similar tie-up with the UK’s ASOS earlier this year and also paves the way for Virtusize to make the claim to being the largest virtual fitting solution in terms of availability — though I suspect a number of competitors may dispute that definition. I’m also told the startup is on track to break even this fall.
Differing from Fits.me’s 3D modeled approach, which uses robots, or something like Metail that enables a shopper to upload and see a 3D visualisation of themselves in order to virtually dress up in potential purchases, Virtusize lets customers compare specific measurements of an item they are looking to buy with a similar item they already own. The startup says that by displaying and overlaying 2D silhouettes of both garments, customers can more accurately compare sizes and, ultimately, choose the item that would fit them best — an approach that has obvious cost savings over the up front work involved in 3D visualisation of a retailer’s entire catalog.