Using AI for the perfect fit

Ever leave a dressing room feeling defeated after not a single item works? Yeah, you’re not alone.

Even two people who typically wear the same size can be proportioned much differently. Plus, sizes have become increasingly meaningless over time and can vary dramatically across brands.

TrueToForm, an AI/machine learning startup founded by sisters Janice and Margaret Tam, creates personalized avatars for designers and shoppers alike to achieve the perfect fit.

How it works

TrueToForm’s app (currently available for iOS) takes torso and full-body scans to make a digital avatar of a specific person. It can be shared with or used by:

• Businesses that create or find clothes for individuals (e.g., made-to-measure, custom suiting, costume designers, personal stylists)
• Activewear brands, which can use scans of fit models to produce new collections
• Shoppers, who can use TrueToForm’s forthcoming search platform, Fitsearch, to find and purchase clothes across brands

“When you take a scan, we automatically track over 40 different measurements that we’re using as part of the matching algorithm, so your search [becomes] a lot more precise and personalized,” CEO Janice Tam told The Hustle.

Why it matters

Tech like this can have lasting impacts on inclusivity and sustainability, two issues common in the fashion industry.

• Users enjoy a personalized shopping experience and can discover brands that design for their body type.
• Students designing digitally don’t have to cut samples and waste fabric.
• Design can be done remotely (e.g., an NYC costumer can fit an LA actor without one of them flying across the country).
• Americans return 24.4% of apparel purchased online; 53% of returns are due to size or fit. That eats into companies’ profits and isn’t great for the environment either.

TrueToForm’s B2B platform is up and running here. To get on the waitlist for Fitsearch — expected to launch this fall, starting with women’s denim — click here.