Valentino links with Farfetch's Wanna for virtual try-on pilot

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 13, 2023

Farfetch continues to forge ever deeper relationships with luxury brands and this week it announced that Maison Valentino has linked up with it on a virtual try-on (VTO) pilot.

It’s happening through the Farfetch-owned augmented reality (AR) technology company, Wanna, with Valentino becoming the first luxury brand to offer ready-to-wear VTO in the Wanna demo app. 

It addresses one of the big issues that online luxury RTW brands face online — the inability for the shopper to try things on before committing to buy.

Wanna said: “VTO helps to bridge this gap by providing a digital experience for customers to visualise how the apparel would look on them, helping to overcome the limitations of online shopping and providing a more immersive and interactive user journey. It empowers users to experiment with different styles and colours and confidently determine the best options that suit their preferences and personal style". 

On offer via the pilot project is a curated selection of “men’s upper-wear pieces from the Valentino Urban Flows Fall 2023”. Customers will also be able to try on the ValenTie (from the Black Tie Fall/Winter 2023-24 collection), which is now available for exclusive pre access on Valentino’s e-commerce. 

“The ValenTie is a special item that enriches the VTO to experience the sartorial accessory in a new punk and contemporary connotation,” Valentino said. 

Wanna’s CEO Sergey Arkhangelskiy added that the tech “not only enables brands to showcase the apparel with the utmost realism, but also provides users with a novel experience of trying on clothing items before making a purchase online. It is a second-generation VTO experience designed exclusively for e-commerce use, which is highly realistic, and targeted at luxury brands. With the launch of the new virtual try-on category, we want to continue to help customers to make informed shopping decisions and increase customer confidence to purchase”.

The company tells us that Wanna’s proprietary algorithms “help to achieve a high level of realism in textures and materials. The precision of fitting and tracking technologies is enhanced when using selfie mode”.

The Wanna Wear app is a free download on the App Store and allows users to make the most of any iPhone position. “Use a rear camera to get a full view of the virtual outfit in the mirror, use the camera in selfie mode and observe every detail of the clothes,” the company said. 

There’s also the option to visit Valentino’s website and the detail page of the selected product.