“Clueless”-inspired app Alta is teaming up with brand Public School to start integrating design tools into websites

A lot has changed for Jenny Wang, the founder who brought “Clueless” fashion technology to life.

Last year, her company, Alta, It raised $11 million in the round Led by Menlo Ventures to allow users to create digital closets and try on their clothes using their virtual avatars. It’s a technology we’ve only seen before in movies, most notably in “Clueless,” where Cher designs and plans her outfits using computer technology. Alta is similar, allowing users to plan and design clothing using the latest AI innovations.

A slew of big names participated in Atla’s tour last year, including models Jasmine Tookes and Karlie Kloss, Anthropic’s VC Arm Anthology Fund, and Rent the Runway co-founder Jenny Fleiss.

TechCrunch caught up with Wang during New York Fashion Week to talk about it How is the company? It has expanded since that tour.

For starters, the product is officially live on the App Store; time and Vogue magazine Describing it as one of the best innovations of the past year, Wang said that more than 100 million outfits have been created on the platform since its launch in 2023. It has partnerships with Poshmark and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, with more partnerships to be announced soon.

“The Alta app also has thousands of brands that users can shop from,” Wang said.

She said the company is currently focused on building app and website integration experiences for brands, where customers can try on designer clothes using a personalized Alta Avatar. This week, the company unveiled its first integrated collaboration, In cooperation with the public schoola famous brand in New York City.

“Shoppers can design looks from the new collection on their Alta avatar,” Wang said.

She met the public school team — Dao Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne — through Poshmac’s founder, who is also an angel investor in both companies.

“Public school designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne were looking for an AI partner and a virtual experience solution, and Dao-Yi was himself an Alta app user,” Wang said.

Public School has actually been on hiatus for a few years, with this New York Fashion Festival marking its debut. When asked, the brand’s founders said they’ve rediscovered their voice and what they want to say.

“We have to look at technology as a business partner today,” Zhao told TechCrunch, adding, “It’s not 2015 anymore,” so the team wants to take advantage of the latest technological developments. “We want to be thoughtful about how we use technology and AI, not as a design tool but as a tool to expand our storytelling and a tool to engage with the consumer and have them experience the brand even if they can’t do it in person,” he continued.

Wang said this is one of the first cases where a designer has integrated a personal avatar and design technology into his website. Near the bottom of the public school product page, there’s a symbol written on it Alta style. Clicking on this will take the customer to Alta where they can then design their own avatars and test out what their public school apparel will look like, if purchased.

Standalone Alta app users can also access public school through the Alta app. The goal is for Alta to integrate more similar experiences into other brands and websites, so Alta users can try on clothes on other websites even while outside of the Alta app, Wang said.

“Currently, a user will have to add a potential purchase to their Alta wish list, then design the clothing and try on their avatar, versus being able to do so directly on the brand’s website.” (For every location except public school). “The goal is to bring their community on a new journey to engage with and shop with the brand.”

Many major fashion brands, such as Zara and Balmain, have already experimented With digital avatars. What makes Alta different here, especially compared to Zara, is that Alta’s avatars can wear at least 8 items within seconds, while Zara’s avatars can only wear four items and often take about two minutes, Wang said.

In general, the demand for virtual avatars has increased. Wang sees Alta as still being the “Cluless” technology it started with, as well as a digital avatar company.

“The consumer Alta app is a Clueless closet, while the enterprise Alta experience allows shoppers to design pieces and try on clothes on their pre-existing Alta avatar,” he said. Ultimately, Wang said she wants Alta to be “the personal identity layer for the future of consumer AI and shopping.”

For agent commerce to truly succeed, she said, “We need a data layer that understands a shopper’s style preferences, like their closet, past purchases, their avatar, their shape, and their body, which is Alta.”