Italian luxury brand to allow customers to virtually try on shoes

New Delhi: Going out to malls or markets to shop for shoes will soon be passe!

Various start-ups have been, for some time now, using the cool technology of Augmented Reality (AR) to enable people to virtually try on stuff like clothes, spectacles, make-up and hair before actually making a purchase.

Recently, Italian luxury brand Gucci teamed up with technology partner Waanaby to launch the 'Try On', a groundbreaking AR function that allows people to "try-on" one of its Ace sneakers at any time and from anywhere with a simple push of a button, reported Venturebeat.com.

So to buy a shoe, a person using the refreshed iOS Gucci app can pick the Ace sneakers of their choice and point their phone's camera at their feet, after which they're prompted to try the shoes on virtually.

What's more? A built-in photo feature lets people capture themselves "wearing" the models that speak to them and share their snaps via text, email, or social media. While it is Gucci today, very soon other brands too could follow suit.

The Belarus based start-up Wannaby had earlier this year launched its own app Wanna Kicks where users can virtually try on 3D models from Nike, Adidas, Allbirds and others.

The app uses real-time machine learning algorithms that take into consideration colour, texture, and lighting variations, plus a fully equipped printing studio that Wannaby uses to create 3D sneaker models.

All designed to create a tracking technology that's robust enough to follow people's footsteps as their feet move and rotate.

Apart from shoes the start-up also offers Wanna Nails, an app that lets users "try on" nail polish from curated collections with real-time segmentation and re-colouring. Next on the start-ups agenda is jewellery and apparel.