AI is becoming an ever more important partner in managing companies’ growth and development. Two recent examples show how established fashion holdings can profit from it by engaging their consumers when shopping, for instance, as recently disclosed by OTB, or within a company’s common training project, as just started by the Capri Group.
Al-powered hyper-personalized shopping is the new must for OTB Group and Google Cloud
OTB Group, the parent company of brands including Diesel, Jil Sander, Maison Margiela, Marni, and Viktor & Rolf, and Google Cloud have started a strategic collaboration to launch a new personalized shopping experience using Google Cloud’s virtual try-on API.
The initiative marks a significant step in OTB Group’s innovation strategy. The project will initially launch with Diesel and Jil Sander across the United States and Europe and will expand in the coming months to Marni and Maison Margiela, followed by a rollout to additional markets.
OTB Group designed this service as a premium clienteling tool, enabling advisors to share curated, hyper-realistic visual previews with selected customers, offering a 360-degree view of the product.
Thanks to Google Cloud’s portfolio of AI products, including infrastructure, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, and Gemini models, they will offer new solutions tailored to the specific needs of different markets and brands.
The new initiative leverages Virtual Try-On, a generative AI API on Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform. This technology allows customers to visualize exactly how specific items will look and fit on them with a high degree of realism, creating a personalized shopping experience that bridges the gap between digital browsing and the physical fitting room.
By offering this technology to its client advisors, OTB Group provides a sophisticated, high-touch service that transforms standard interactions into highly customized experiences at scale.
“I have always believed in technology as a strategic lever to enhance human talent, at the service of people and creativity,” said Renzo Rosso, Chairman and Founder of OTB Group.
The project aims to bridge consumers’ physical and digital journeys using high-quality AI visuals and encourage in-store appointments to experience the products firsthand. Beyond the virtual fitting, customers can use AI image editing and place themselves within Diesel’s and Jil Sander’s latest campaigns or fashion events and then bring those images to life with video generated by Google’s video creation LLM, Veo.
“In this context, AI represents an extraordinary opportunity to make the customer experience more advanced, engaging, and personalized. Together with Google Cloud, we have implemented a Virtual Try-On solution that introduces a new personalized shopping experience and provides our teams with more effective tools to deliver outstanding service and build closer relationships with clients,” he added, underscoring how the newly disclosed project brings to life a vision they have been nurturing for over three years but could only make possible by collaborating with Google and thanks to expertise in AI.
“I am confident this is the natural direction for the evolution of e-commerce and clienteling and a key driver of growth for the future of the fashion industry,” he said.
Capri Group starts AI training project with the University of Naples Federico II
Capri Group, the Italian company that owns the Alcott and Gutteridge brands, has launched a major training initiative focused on AI in collaboration with the University of Naples Federico II.
This strategic, cross-functional project will involve the entire company—from ownership to IT teams—to develop shared skills, foster a culture of innovation, and integrate AI into the decision-making and operational processes of the Alcott and Gutteridge brands.
The initiative will take place directly within the company and will involve all areas of the group—from ownership to management, down to the operational and IT teams. Among its objectives, it aims to build knowledge in the field of innovation and guide the company through the evolution of organizational and decision-making processes through the informed use of AI.
The training program will provide a common foundation of knowledge on AI, increasing awareness of its potential and limitations within the corporate context. The goal is to frame AI not only as a technological tool but also as a genuine managerial skill to support decision-making, useful for improving operational efficiency, process quality, and analytical capabilities.
They will focus particularly on establishing a common language across the various company departments, thereby fostering more effective communication and greater integration between technological expertise and business functions.
Throughout the program, they will explore the key concepts and fundamental principles of AI, with an overview of today’s most relevant technologies—from machine learning to natural language processing and large language models—and their potential practical applications within business processes.
The program will also include practical case studies and examples of cross-functional AI use within the company to foster an immediate understanding of the opportunities these technologies offer in daily, productive, and decision-making activities.
Through this program, the company also aims to gain greater familiarity with AI tools, achieve increasing autonomy in their operational use, and define a roadmap for future in-depth exploration and project development.