Ali comes from a Sudanese-Canadian background and has a comprehensive understanding of digital fashion that allows her to work with fashion tech to create a highly immersive digital experience for a diverse audience. With her recent invention, Ali has introduced a futuristic fashion pod that would go from town to town (very much like an animal-drawn carriage from the 1800s) and introduce people to the latest designs of their favorite brands.
But the story of this revolutionizing pod doesn’t stop here. It will do more than just showcase branded designs to the locals. It will come equipped with AI-based tools that will allow customers to immerse themselves in a digitized shopping experience.
Design and development of EOO8 hybrid pod
Ali explained her inspiration for the creation in an interview with Gulf Today stating: “What influenced me is my passion for fashion and the encouragement the UAE leaders give to all of us in the areas of innovation and digitalization. I mixed both as I have always been fascinated by the traditional trailer truck concept that brings exclusive brands into town to give the local community some exotic retail experiences.”
The pod is 9 by 3 meters in size, big enough for customers to walk in. The exterior of the pod will remind you of a Tim Biskup painting–the abstract geometrical design takes the form of a human face.
The EOO8 pod connects to the main vehicle that drives it around. Ali wants the pod to drive around town and stop by different locations to help people find brands and shop without having to step into an actual retail store.
The pod is fully equipped to help customers find designs, try those designs, and then purchase them.
Here’s how it does it.
The designs are displayed through holograms so customers can see how they would look if they choose to buy them. Next, there is a Magic Mirror that ensures that whatever your customers buy will fit them perfectly. The Magic Mirror essentially is the dressmaker or the tailor who ensures that the customer’s measurements have been taken into account before the dress is delivered to their doorstep.
Customers don’t have to try on the clothes, which solves the big problem many brands are facing today after covid 19. The EOO8 gives your customers the choice to have a digital experience with the exact clothes they want to buy so they can have a contactless fitting.
To use the Magic Mirror, customers will click on the magic mirror and a menu will be displayed from where they will be able to select designs, have them fitted, and buy.
Leaping towards a futuristic retail
Image via Campaign Middle East
More and more fashion brands are leaning towards an augmented reality future where contactless fitting can be possible. This will reap two major benefits:
First, with contactless fittings, you can ensure that your customers are safe from deadly diseases like covid 19.
Second, It will reduce the possibility of returns as customers will be buying well-fitted clothes.
With the magic mirror, the clothes will be created according to the exact customer’s size, so there would be fewer returns. This would not only reduce the hassle that the customer and your brand have to go through in dealing with the returns, but also reduce the Co2 emissions associated with transporting the returned goods.
So, this would be a highly efficient way to reduce carbon footprint.
These pods could help your brand contribute towards a greener fashion industry.
Currently, the brand is only available for the retail sector with plans to expand its reach to others. The idea is to help you utilize unique ways to engage with customers and deliver products based on demand. The company hopes to redefine customer delight through an impactful, seamless, and efficient digital experience.
Give your customers a new-age retail experience
Through touch sensors, social media filters, magic mirrors, augmented reality, motion mapping, holograms, and projection mapping, the company hopes to offer in-depth and insightful analytics regarding your customer preferences, which can help you develop better products and build strong customer-brand relationships.
Ali’s other AI inventions include two high-tech mannequins who assist with contactless fitting. Your customer only needs to point their phone to a mannequin, and it will wiggle until it displays an outfit to help your customer understand how it would look on them. The mannequins are capable of showing fashion articles in different colors to give users a wide range of choices.
Next, learn about Addidas’s new Stan Smith concept.