Whenever the term “fashion tech” is brought up in front of Nicole Reader, she notices conversations veer toward 3D printers that can produce clothes or wearable devices like the Apple Watch.
But the CEO of Vancouver-based tech startup the Modern Mirror wants investors to start associating that term with blurring the line between technology and apparel that is actually fashionable.
The Modern Mirror is developing a platform allowing luxury boutique shops such as Burberry to scan customers’ bodies and project a 3D image of them wearing the outfits sold at the store.
Reader said retailers are much more likely to make a sale if they can get a customer into the fitting room. But that’s the challenge – a lot of people dread stepping into the fitting room, which is why she sees a market for this fashion-tech solution.
The system she’s developing requires a scanner, a holographic projector, a motion capture system and a software platform allowing people to choose the clothing they wish to try on virtually through an avatar that actually looks like them and shares their exact dimensions.
“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel with these technologies. What we’re trying is to integrate and advance it further,” Reader said, adding the high cost of the system (the scanner alone retails for $300,000) is why the Modern Mirror is focusing on luxury shops.
Although Reader said it’s important that the Modern Mirror remain a Canadian company, she admitted Vancouver is not exactly the fashion capital of the world.
She had to travel to New York City in late November to meet with venture capitalists and said the company will eventually open a satellite office there or in London to keep up with the fashion world.
Matt Friesen, CEO of Vancouver-based fashion search engine Wantering, faced a similar issue after launching his own tech startup in 2011.
The company’s development team is based in Vancouver but he opened a satellite office in New York City last fall for the sales and marketing division.
“It’s a totally different conversation if you’re viewed as a tourist versus someone who is in one of the fashion capitals of the world and are down the street. There’s that level of trust that’s totally different,” Friesen said.
Wantering launched a new extension for its search engine on the Google Chrome browser in early November – a task made somewhat challenging by the geographical divide between the company’s teams on opposite sides of North America.
But Friesen said the biggest challenge has been bridging the gap between technology that is “programmatic” and practices that require more of a “human touch.”
He said fashion, art and home design have all been underserved by technology since the 1990s, which is why Wantering is expanding its services and locations beyond just Vancouver and New York.
In June, the company acquired Los Angeles-based StyledOn, a social media site that produces and shares content for the fashion-inclined.
“We are blending big data with editorial and fashion content to give fashion search a human touch,” Friesen said.
“As we expand globally, we’ll continue to build out those satellite offices, but headquarters will always be Vancouver.”
