New Virtual Try-On Tools Emerge for Luxury E-Commerce
AI-powered virtual try-on technology is advancing with new brand-led implementations. Designer Kate Barton has unveiled the “Fiducia” tool on her e-commerce site, allowing customers to use digital avatars for fitting. Concurrently, platforms like Beyond the Runway are offering SaaS-based fit-tech to luxury brands, aiming to increase conversion and reduce returns through personalized digital styling.
- Designer Kate Barton’s “Fiducia” tool was developed for her New York Fashion Week presentation in partnership with IBM and Fiducia AI, using the IBM Watsonx platform to power a multilingual AI agent that offered photorealistic virtual try-ons. The system also functioned as a data collection tool, tracking which pieces garnered the most virtual interactions to inform post-show production decisions. - The global virtual try-on market was valued at over USD 15 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach approximately USD 48 billion by 2030, with some forecasts predicting it could exceed USD 108 billion by 2034. North America accounted for the largest revenue share in 2023, holding nearly 31% of the market. - A primary driver for luxury's adoption of fit-tech is the high cost of e-commerce returns, with online apparel return rates hovering between 30% and 40%. Implementing virtual try-on solutions can reduce those return rates by an average of 20-30%. - Strong consumer demand, particularly from younger demographics, is fueling the integration of these tools; one 2025 report indicated that 92% of Gen Z shoppers want AR features integrated into their e-commerce experiences. - Beyond try-on tools, luxury houses are integrating AI more broadly. Dior uses AI for personalized customer relationship management in its boutiques, while Louis Vuitton has partnered with AI start-up Heuritech for trend forecasting. - The technology often combines several AI disciplines. Barton’s NYFW activation used a computer vision model to identify garments in real-time, which was matched to a detailed image database, while a conversational AI layer handled guest questions in multiple languages. - For Barton, the use of AI is an extension of her creative exploration of illusion and reality. Her SS26 show, also in collaboration with Fiducia AI, opened with a projected digital model wearing the first look before dissolving into a live model in the identical ensemble.
