Alta Partners with Public School to Bring AI-Powered Virtual Styling to E-Commerce

Alta, the fashion tech company bringing the 'Clueless' digital closet to life, is taking its technology to the next level by partnering with Public School, a celebrated New York City brand known for its innovative designs. This collaboration marks Alta's first integration of its virtual try-on technology directly into a brand's website, allowing customers to style outfits from Public School's latest collection on their own personalized Alta avatars. The move signifies a growing trend of leveraging AI and virtual reality to enhance the online shopping experience.

Founded by Jenny Wang, Alta gained significant traction last year, raising $11 million in a funding round led by Menlo Ventures. The company's core offering centers around a mobile app that allows users to create digital closets, experiment with different outfits, and visualize how clothing would look on their virtual avatars. Alta has already seen impressive adoption, with over 100 million outfits generated on the platform since its launch in 2023, and has secured partnerships with Poshmark and the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

The partnership with Public School was facilitated through a connection with the founder of Poshmark, who is an angel investor in both companies. Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, the designers behind Public School, were seeking an AI partner to enhance their brand's storytelling and customer engagement. After a hiatus, Public School's re-debut at NYFW highlighted the brand's renewed commitment to innovation and leveraging technology.

“We have to look at tech as a partner in the business today,” Chow told TechCrunch, emphasizing the importance of embracing technology to interact with consumers, even when in-person experiences are not possible. This vision aligns perfectly with Alta's goal of becoming the "personal identity layer for the future of consumer AI and shopping."

The integration works by embedding a "Style by Alta" icon on Public School's product pages. Clicking this icon redirects customers to Alta, where they can style their avatars and visualize how Public School clothing would look on them. This seamless integration eliminates the need to switch between apps, offering a more convenient and immersive shopping experience.

While other fashion brands like Zara and Balmain have experimented with digital avatars, Alta differentiates itself through its ability to handle a larger number of items simultaneously (up to eight) and with greater speed. This improved efficiency and personalization positions Alta as a leader in the rapidly evolving virtual styling space. Wang envisions Alta as the foundation for "agentic commerce," a future where AI agents understand shoppers' style preferences, purchase history, and body likeness to provide highly personalized recommendations and styling assistance. This collaboration with Public School serves as a crucial step towards realizing that vision.