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From the new Apple AR glasses to in-store AR mirrors, technology is changing the way fashion brands do business. On 6 June, Vogue Business, in partnership with EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and Shopify, hosted an exclusive breakfast at La Suite Girafe in Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower to discuss the future of digital commerce and more.
After opening remarks by Pierre Beaufils, EY global business consulting and business transformation leader, Vogue Business Paris correspondent Laure Guilbault interviewed Alexandre Fauvet, CEO of French skiwear brand Fusalp. Fusalp grew from €6 million in turnover when Fauvet purchased the brand in 2014 (together with Sophie and Philippe Lacoste, grandchildren of Lacoste founder René Lacoste) to €50 million in 2022. Fauvet notably spoke about the new Fusalp flagship, slated to open on Avenue George V in Paris in September. It will feature AR mirrors developed with fashion AR try-on company Zero10. The mirrors will allow customers visiting the Parisian store to virtually try on snowsuits in a mountain setting.
Then, Benoit Pagotto, who co-founded digital fashion startup Rtfkt in 2020 and sold it to Nike in December 2021, spoke about the new Apple AR glass named Apple Vision Pro. On the eve of the Vogue Business breakfast, he watched Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). “They totally nailed it by positioning it as a mixed reality device,” he said, stressing the genius of addressing the “dystopian” aspect of the headset with the “EyeSight” feature, which reduces the impression of isolation.
“Rtfkt has always been dreaming of a mixed-reality future, where worlds of real and virtual merge. Our content has always been anticipating this future, showcasing how creativity could explode in such an XR world. We are very excited to get our hands on a dev kit and execute some of our vision with this device alongside our creative community,” he said.
Pagotto also praised Nintendo’s new Zelda video game, which he called a great example of opening intellectual property, resulting in players posting lots of creative and funny content on TikTok. To that end, on Tuesday, Rtfkt announced that it had signed a deal with talent agency CAA to build out film and television projects based on the company’s IP. “To stay culturally relevant, brands need to open their IP to the creativity of the internet,” he said.
