A few months ago, British fashion retailer ASOS started using Switch Model augmented reality (AR) from Israel’s Zeekit to show customers how each item looks on 16 models – not avatars — of different shapes, ages and ethnicities.

ASOS calls this feature See My Fit, and it was a hit. “It got a lot of love from customers from the moment it came out,” Zeekit CEO and cofounder Yael Vizel tells ISRAEL21c.

Then, when coronavirus rules kept models from coming to the ASOS studio for daily shoots of new merchandise, ASOS realized it could use the sophisticated Israeli AR instead.

All that’s required is a picture of the model. The patented image-processing technology maps the image into thousands of segments. Clothing is processed in a similar manner and the equivalent points of the two are re-mapped into one final simulation.

Tim Carey, senior content manager at ASOS Studios, told Computer Weekly: “We are fortunate enough to have been experimenting with Zeekit’s AR technology for a while, which has meant we could scale this tech up at short notice. It’s a great tool for us to have at our disposal, helping us drop new items on site each week and provide customers with realistic product images in a studio setting, while protecting the wellbeing of our models and staff.”

Vizel reports that Switch Model is soon going live on Adidas, Bloomingdale’s and many other fashion websites as well. They can use it to display their entire catalog of merchandise on actual models without live photo shoots.

“We’ll continue providing those capabilities after corona because brands see the power of digitizing items,” says Vizel. “Companies are looking more closely at Zeekit’s advanced technology for so many purposes.”

Zeekit already has clients such as Macy’s and Tommy Hilfiger using its interactive fitting room and personalization products.

The video below shows how ModCloth uses Zeekit’s “Be Your Own Model” in stores so customers don’t have to use fitting rooms – something people may be avoiding for some time to come.