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How Tangiblee's Try On Solution Supports Size Inclusivity for Fashion

Tangiblee
Tangiblee
  |  
November 15, 2021
How Tangiblee's Try On Solution Supports Size Inclusivity for Fashion

Today's consumers have neither the time nor the patience for brands that tell them how they should look. They're interested in businesses that help them feel more comfortable in their own skin. The constant focus on delivering highly personalized and interactive shopping experiences has led to a new trend: size inclusivity.

Today’s companies must embrace diversity, equity, and inclusivity on more than a surface level. It's about moving beyond outdated notions of gender and beauty, and accepting people of every size and shape. Doing so requires extensive cultural and organizational changes. It requires that fashion brands rethink how they define their products, promote greater diversity amongst leadership, and embrace inclusivity in suppliers, contractors, and vendors. This isn't something that can be achieved overnight, nor can it be done without a clear, data-driven strategy. 

Size inclusivity has long been a challenge in online shopping. After all, sizing products across a diverse range of body shapes, sizes, and features isn’t easy. 

Read on to learn more about how Tangiblee’s Virtual Try-On solution is the ultimate tool fashion retailers need to support the size inclusivity movement.

Fighting for Diversity in Fashion

The concept of inclusive sizing is a crucial foundation of diversity. It's also one area in which fashion brands frequently fall short. This is due at least in part to the unrealistic standards under which the fashion industry has so long labored. 

People who don't fit the 'norm' established by fashion brands have traditionally had difficulty finding garments that accentuate their bodies. They've been forced to rely on specialized 'collections' that only further emphasize their otherness. The reality is that in order to truly embrace size inclusivity, brands must treat size as no more relevant than cut, color, or material

Alexandra Waldman, Co-founder and Creative Director of Universal Standard puts it best: 

The only right way to do plus-size is not to do plus size.

There are fashion brands that have successfully embraced this idea. Size-inclusive businesses such as Madewell, H&M, and Everlane are showing and selling clothing with diverse sizing. Although each of these brands is distinct, they all take a very similar approach to inclusivity: 

  • Expanding their range of sizes to include both larger and smaller individuals. 
  • Ensuring that garments are made to the same standards of quality regardless of size.
  • Featuring models of different sizes and proportions on product detail pages and in lifestyle imagery.

That last one especially is where many businesses run into trouble. 

The Struggle of Delivering on Size Inclusivity

Size inclusivity (by definition) means offering more variance in one's product photos. That's difficult and expensive enough if you're selling apparel like shirts or activewear. In our experience, finding immersive shopping examples online featuring diverse models trying on handbags is even more difficult.

But it's also necessary. A bag looks different on someone who's 5'8 and size 2 than it does on someone who's 5'2 and size 14. To make matters worse, most handbag retailers have yet to realize this. 

Traditionally, this would leave retailers with two options. Either they can use whatever product photos are immediately available to them, or they can pay out of pocket to create a series of expensive photoshoots. Neither is particularly attractive. 

Especially given that there's a better way. 

Say Hello to Tangiblee's "Virtual Try-On" Solution

At Tangiblee, our interpretation of inclusivity is a broad one. We understand that when purchasing a bag, each person has different needs and preferences in terms of fit and appearance. That's why our interactive Try On solution is designed so that customers of all sizes can see how a product might look and feel. 

Customers can change the size and shape of the model, and reposition the bag however they like. They can also directly interact with a bag to get a more tangible idea of how much space it provides.

 

In short, alongside Tangiblee's extensive gallery of lifestyle photography, our Try On solution provides your business with exactly what it needs to make its product catalog more diverse, inclusive, and compelling. 

Commit to Inclusivity with Better Technology

The days of restrictive beauty standards are far behind us. The fashion industry is moving fast towards inclusivity, and retailers are beginning to understand that all shoppers want to feel seen, heard, and valued. By onboarding Tangiblee's solutions, retailers can better demonstrate their commitment to that diversity.

Their commitment to making life easier for shoppers of all shapes and sizes, and making the shift from size-exclusive to truly inclusive.


Frequently Asked Qustions

No. Virtual try-on adds a visualization layer on top of a product; it doesn't replace accurate product data or existing imagery. In a quality-checked pipeline, the brand's existing product photo is actually the foundation the result is built from.

It places the brand's real 2D catalog photo of the item onto a hand, wrist, or ear from a reference photo, rather than generating a new image of the product from scratch. The item's proportions and details come from the actual product photo; the AI handles scale, angle, and blending onto the shopper's photo. This is different from older try-on technology, which mapped a manually built 3D or 2D asset onto the shopper using fixed geometric rules, and different from generic AI image generators, which typically synthesize the product rather than place a real photo of it.

We recommend supporting the launch with a dedicated email announcing the new feature, ideally featuring an animated GIF that demonstrates the experience in action and links to a category page with VTO-enabled products.

To build broader awareness, homepage visibility is also important. Banners or other prominent placements can help introduce the feature to more visitors and encourage trial.

We also suggest adding a short explanation of how the feature works. Even when the experience is simple, some shoppers may benefit from a little extra guidance before they feel comfortable using it.

Finally, we recommend promoting the new capability across social media and user-generated-style content so that more of your audience is exposed to it and encouraged to engage.

Bring Your Catalog to Life

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