IT FOR FASHION
—GBS BINDRA Founder & CEO, Charmboard
Describe in detail how AI and related smart technologies can help the fashion industry to grow in India and across the world.
These are exciting times for fashion as we see transformational change on so many levels. In particular, we see an increasing convergence between fashion design and technology, resulting in innovations in fabric design, colours, movement, aesthetics and the ultimate discovery of it by consumers.
Companies across the world are able to leverage AI, smart technology and sophisticated algorithms to help people dress up as per their aspirations, something that wasn’t possible in past.
India has its own diverse indigenous aesthetic trends in fashion. How much are they being integrated into the new age smart technologies in the fashion industry?
AI does not distinguish between type and kind of aesthetics. As long as we can train the model with enough data and annotations, it is able to make sense of it, whatever be the sensibilities. In our case, our AI models can successfully distinguish between a gown and a saree, though from a silhouette, they look very similar. Similarly for a long skirt and a lehenga. They are trained that way. However the western AI models, which may not have been trained to distinguish between Indian ethnic wear and western wear, could definitely struggle.
What is the extent of acceptance and popularity of smart technologies and the fashion industry and what is the growth rate? Any statistic, figures, charts etc.?
The technology is being adopted around the world. Identifying brands not found online is easily done through the use of technology, enabling one to serve a niche market.
Many companies are introducing virtual in-shop catalogues and fitting rooms are other ways of introducing an immersive fashion experience for shoppers. With ever-increasing competition and a landscape that is in a constant state of flux, this technology is certainly a great enabler.
Identifying ways in which technology can be integrated into the front-end, in our case streaming video and back-end cataloguehelps overcome any lag and gives businesses a leg-up in boosting sales.
What is the trajectory to remain updated in the fastgrowing Smart technologies of today in the fashion industry? Does it require regular training of platform builders and possible collaborations with other organizations?
Yes, in the interconnected world of open innovation companies, researchers and universities collaborate with each other. They share data-sets, algorithms and models so that innovation can diffuse quickly. It is precisely because of this openness that technology has made so much progress in the last two years. Many of these artefacts have been open sourced and that leads to even faster adoption.
What is the marketing strategy of such a Smarttech enabled platform - are there any retailers, marketing collaborators, franchisees and how are they managed?
Yes, retailers and technology companies work together to create new possibilities for the consumers. Taking an example, Charmboard works with both digital first retailers such as Myntra and offline first retailers such as W and FBB. Both kinds of companies are able to see value from what we bring on the table.
What is the process for becoming a marketing partner for such a Smart-tech enabled platform?
The partners have to approach the platform. The platform will on-board the marketing partner, provide them with requisite training so that the offering can be taken to the end-consumer.