Allure Systems

Allure Systems, established in 2017 by Gabrielle Chou and Jeremy Chamoux, developed a cloud-based virtual media platform for clothing retailers. The company utilized artificial intelligence and computer vision to generate on-figure garment images, enabling e-commerce clients to display apparel on various models and sizes without traditional photoshoots. This SaaS solution addressed the high costs and scalability issues of conventional fashion photography by allowing brands to create unlimited images from a single photo of a garment.

Founder Gabrielle Chou is a serial entrepreneur with a background in technology startups and a doctorate in Intellectual Property Law. Her previous ventures include ChinaLOOP, an intelligent database management firm sold to ACXIOM, and MOOD BY ME, a custom fashion brand. This experience in data, e-commerce, and on-demand fashion directly informed the creation of Allure Systems. The company was initially founded in Shanghai in 2015 before relocating to Paris in 2017 to be closer to European clients and securing approximately $3.57 million in seed funding from investors like CapHorn Invest and Calao Finance. Allure Systems also participated in the Y Combinator accelerator program in Winter 2019.

The company's business model centered on providing a catalogue management solution that substantially reduced the cost-per-image for online retailers. By virtualizing models, the platform could produce diverse, high-quality images at scale, which helped to increase shopper confidence and conversion rates. The technology was designed to create content that was also ready for future augmented reality (AR) and 3D applications. On December 1, 2021, Allure Systems was acquired by Farfetch, a global luxury fashion platform, for a reported $21.7 million. The acquisition was part of Farfetch's strategy to enhance its customer experience and operational efficiency through the digitization of the luxury industry.

Keywords: virtual model, on-figure visualization, generative AI, fashion tech, e-commerce imagery, apparel visualization, computer vision, digital assets, virtual photoshoot, catalogue management, SaaS, Farfetch acquisition, Gabrielle Chou, Jeremy Chamoux, Y Combinator, AI in fashion, product visualization, augmented reality fashion, e-commerce personalization, digital merchandising