Playing Matchmaker
Building the Hugo Boss outfit creation app.
How does the global lifestyle brand Hugo Boss maintain the viability of its range of suits in a world where increasingly “casual is king”? The key is to break the perception of the suit as formal wear, suitable only for a small subset of occasions. Show off its versatility, flex with new combos and display how a jacket or trousers can be paired with any number of looks.
The key is to offer consumers the ability to mix and match outfits to explore new combinations. All the while providing a series of curated suggestions to not only inspire but help increase confidence in their choices and ultimately lead to purchase. This makes "Customisation" a fast growing goal of pretty much every fashion brand. Of course, this isn’t a new idea..
The Hugo Boss’ digital transformation team approached INDG creative with a simple request: Build an experience for users to mix and match curated new looks while maintaining a premium feel. The design team went to work building a number of prototypes and exploring various UX models. The aim was to make the shopping process as fluid as possible.
The user cycles through a number of predefined looks arranged from casual to formal. All looks are available for immediate purchase. Specific garments of interest can be tagged (or anchored) and a look recommendation engine reconfigures the resulting outfit suggestions based on the new selection.
The finished concept was meant to have the feel of a interactive fashion look book with a series of dynamically generated style configurations.
Adding to the overall experience was the development of “2 and a half D” CG imagery. Using digital pattern cutting data as a starting point, garment patterns were digitised, stitched then run through a cloth simulation. The resulting mesh was sculpted and refined to add fine details. Product photography was then projected on the 3D model and integrated into a background.