Sandy Sholl and Adam Freede are seasoned veterans in the world of fashion, having steered MadaLuxe Group, a luxury distribution platform for fashion and accessories, since 1990. Their latest venture, Zelig, introduces AI-driven virtual try-on and styling technology into the mix. Today, the duo unveiled Zelig, offering a personalized experience that will eventually empower shoppers to visualize how apparel, footwear, and accessories complement their unique body type through uploaded photos while shopping online. At its launch, consumers can select from over 40 models representing diverse body types, skin tones, and hair colors.
The technology harnesses a blend of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision to achieve this feat. Zelig users can curate various outfit combinations and store them in their profiles, even sharing them before making a purchase.
The notion of virtual try-on is not novel, with corporate giants such as Walmart, Google, and Amazon already investing in similar technology. Furthermore, several venture-backed startups like Dia & Co., AIMIRR, and Revery.ai aim to provide insights into how specific clothing items might fit while also reducing return rates.
Sholl informed TechCrunch that Zelig distinguishes itself as the pioneer of a “hyper-personalized online shopping experience,” designed to replicate the sensation of trying on clothes in a physical store. She emphasized that nowhere else can a shopper visualize their entire shopping journey as they can with Zelig.
Sholl explained that during their user experience testing, many shoppers lost track of why they initially selected certain styles by the time they completed their shopping journey, making hyper-personalization a crucial factor for success today and a necessity for tomorrow.
She likened Zelig’s potential to that of enterprise customer relationship management tools like Snowflake and Salesforce, describing how they extract data for future reporting. Zelig, however, advances this technology into a visual reporting tool, which Sholl believes is the future in the coming decade.
While Sholl and Freede had privately funded Zelig for the past three years, they have now announced a Series A funding round of $15 million, valuing the pre-revenue company at $100 million. The round was led by financial services firm Hilco Global, with participation from global luxury investor Bezikian Zareh.
Jeffrey Hecktman, CEO of Hilco Global, expressed his confidence in Sandy Sholl and Adam Freede, noting their expertise in the luxury fashion industry. He stated that Zelig is founded by fashion experts who understand the retail industry’s significant challenges.
Zelig intends to allocate the capital to further develop its personalization capabilities and expand its feature set.
Although Sholl did not disclose any specific brands partnering with Zelig at the launch, given MadaLuxe’s representation of renowned brands such as Versace, Gucci, and Cartier, it is reasonable to assume that these brands, or the large department stores where they are sold, may consider joining the platform in the future.
