Savage x Fenty opened its doors at the Westfiled Culver City Mall in February 2020.
Haniff Brown’s AR-powered apparel match platform, FIT:MATCH, may be the answer to all your problems. This new type of technology matches you perfectly to clothing that needs to be spot on, like lingerie. We talked with Brown, the CEO and founder of FIT:MATCH, about his partnership with Savage X Fenty and how this company operates.
FIT:MATCH, an AR-powered apparel match platform, is partnering with Savage X Fenty to launch its first patented body shape technology. What can customers expect to see from FIT:MATCH at the new Savage X Fenty store in Los Angeles?
Customers can expect a quick and easy contactless experience that matches them with the best-fitting Savage X Fenty products. A store associate will walk around the customer, taking a body shape scan using a smartphone in just a few seconds. Our FIT:MATCH technology will then analyze the body shape data captured by the scan to recommend the Savage X Fenty sizes and styles that will best fit the shopper, based on her unique body shape.
Rihanna attends the Savage x Fenty store opening.
Savage X Fenty is a lingerie brand founded by Rihanna. Why do you think Savage X Fenty was the perfect first brand for this platform to partner with?
Savage X Fenty is our perfect first brand partner because it’s one of the most innovative and inclusive brands on the market and one that focuses on a product category—lingerie—where fit is an extremely important factor in the overall purchase decision. The brand is committed to making sure customers can shop for and wear its products with absolute confidence. It offers an extensive product assortment, which makes eliminating the fit question and identifying the right size for customers even more important.
You’re the CEO and Founder of FIT:MATCH. Can you tell us a little more about the platform and how it works?
FIT:MATCH is the only B2B tech platform that uses body shape data, rather than standard apparel measurements, to match customers with the product sizes and styles that will fit them best. We license our patented shape technology to brands that specialize in hard-to-fit categories that include lingerie, bras and activewear. Fit is a crucial factor in the overall purchase decision for these categories.
FIT:MATCH’s patented software was developed at Cornell University over many years and we build a unique size-shape database for each of our brand partners by gathering body shape data and accurate sizing information from the brand’s existing shoppers through a proprietary process. To capture an individual shopper’s 3D body shape, we leverage AR and lidar-powered smartphones. In seconds, our platform generates a personalized avatar for the shopper and then provides product recommendations based on that avatar. We don’t record or store any pictures or video in the cloud, so privacy is assured. In the new Savage X Fenty stores, a store associate scans a shopper and the technology instantly provides the best matches from the brand’s assortment based on the shopper’s 3D avatar.
Your business is the first of its kind. What inspired you to start up this business and put your ideas into action?
Prior to launching FIT:MATCH, I spent almost a decade in the retail and consumer investment industry working as an analyst. I had an insider’s view into some of the challenges that keep retail businesses from achieving their full potential — and the difficulty of matching consumers with the clothing items that fit them best was one of them. The 2D-scanning technologies and apps that were on the market all recommended products based on measurements, but didn’t factor in body shape data, which meant that shoppers were still being presented with items that wouldn’t fit them correctly. Shape is the ultimate determinant of fit and it’s extremely difficult to accurately predict through surveys and measurements.
So, we decided to build a better B2B technology platform that used body shape data to identify the best-fitting items and then partnered with Savage X Fenty, one of the most innovative brands on the market, to launch it.
What were some of the obstacles you had to face while striving to get your business off the ground?
We faced the same obstacles many tech startups deal with, including developing and patenting our technology and finding the right investors and innovative brand partners to work with to launch and grow our business. We also needed to attract the right talent and build the right team internally. And, of course, we’ve dealt with all the complications that COVID-19 has presented to businesses, no matter their size or stage of growth.
Also, we started by tackling the hardest-to-fit apparel categories, the ones that present particular fit challenges for customers. Lingerie and intimates, especially bras, are categories that consumers find especially difficult to shop for when it comes to fit because the products may match a shopper’s standard measurements, but not her unique body shape and curves.
Your company is fairly new. What are some long-term goals you have for this business?
We’ll continue to roll out our technology in Savage X Fenty brick-and-mortar stores as they open across the country and then expand across the brand’s other selling channels. In addition, we’re forging partnerships and licensing our patented body shape technology to other innovative enterprises, manufacturers and brands. Our initial focus is on brands that specialize in the hardest-to-fit apparel categories—intimates and bras in particular, and activewear—as proper fit is a crucial factor in the purchase decision with these garments. Over time, we’ll strategically expand within these categories as well as into swimwear, denim and a range of other categories.
See also: Tyler, the Creator and Converse Announce Collaborative Sneaker Launch Date
Photography by: Courtesy FIT:MATCH
