Some brides love the boutique experience, complete with racks of lace and tulle, champagne toasts and fawning mothers-in-law. Others have a specific vision for their perfect bridal gowns—and they’d rather design them from the comfort of their own homes.
For to-be-weds in the latter camp, custom wedding dress startup Anomalie has unveiled (pun intended) an AI tool that leverages machine learning to help make their dreams a reality.
The company’s new DressBuilder program uses a questionnaire to walk brides through the design of their custom gowns. The survey showcases different silhouettes, necklines, fabrics, lace designs and beading motifs, and asks users to choose between photo options. Brides are offered highly specific decisions about draping and necklines, and are able to create and edit multiple dress options at once.
At the end, a sketch is generated and brides are able to work with an in-house stylist to bring the design to life. Sample fabrics are sent out physically, along with digital lace recommendations. Once every small detail is resolved, the design is sent to the company’s dressmakers for production.
Brides-to-be can check in on their dress’s journey on the DressBuilder page, which offers status updates, visuals, measurements and final sketches, giving brides a bird’s-eye view into the production process.
Anomalie leveraged the expertise of its in-house dressmakers, stylists, technical designers and data scientists to create 4 billion possible dress options for the tool’s users. Roughly 30,000 hours went into the creation of the platform, which Anomalie claims is “the most robust consumer customization engine released in any fashion category.”
Since 2016, nearly half a million brides have used Anomalie to create their custom bridal gowns, and since the DressBuilder tool’s beta launch, 1,000 prospective brides are completing the survey each day. A vertically integrated supply chain and data-dependent tech tools enable Anomalie to smooth over pain points in the design and ordering experience, the company said.
“The words we hear most frequently from beta users of our DressBuilder is ‘mind-reading,’” Anomalie chief experience officer Marcy Zelmar said.
“Our goal is to bring a store of four billion options to the bride, with a knowledgeable and empathetic stylist team guiding them through the process to select their perfect gown,” Zelmar added. “It’s been so exciting to see our beta users engage with the DressBuilder to create multiple sketches to discover their perfect dress.”