Zeekit is taking the fitting room experience up a notch with new technology.
The company launched its first virtual fitting room app for consumers and retailers Thursday. After receiving $9 million in funding during a Series A round, Zeekit is partnering with Rebecca Minkoff for its public debut at New York Fashion Week.
“We’re creating a new shopping experience by making both online and in-store shopping fun, social, simple and risk-free,” Zeekit CEO and co-founder Yael Vizel said. “Our first-to-market technology is unlike any other visualization technology that exists in the market.”
Zeekit (“chameleon” in Hebrew) was developed by Vizel, an Air Force captain in the Israeli military’s reserve corps. While working as a Technion-trained electrical engineer, Vizel created an advanced solution for aircrafts, which involved rendering 3-D maps over 2-D images. With this concept in mind, Vizel and his Zeekit co-founders Nir Appleboim and Alon Kristal, developed image processing technology that enabled fashion images to be layered onto human body images based on fabric, figure and body dimension.
With the app, consumers can virtually “try on” apparel before purchasing online or in-store. First, consumers upload a full body picture to Zeekit. Once their photo is available, consumers can tap an item they see online, in a magazine or in store and see how it fits on their actual bodies. A virtual closet is also included on Zeekit, so consumers can mix and match favorite items from retailers, share products with friends and purchase clothing through a special link. For retailers, the company is offering a Zeekit button, where brands can incorporate the tool in their mobile, online and physical stores.
At New York Fashion Week this month, Zeekit is teaming up with Rebecca Minkoff to bring its innovative solution to the luxury market. Consumers now have the ability to instantly view runway looks at the brand’s show, on its website and through the Zeekit app, where consumers can try on products and purchase them.
“Our partnership with Zeekit developed very organically and was a prime example of the best kind of integration,” said Uri Minkoff, CEO and co-founder of Rebecca Minkoff. “To be able to virtually try on a garment and give our girl the chance to access the feel of our product with immediacy—technology like that is made for the Rebecca Minkoff girl—for the millennial consumer.”