ASAP54

ASAP54 was a fashion technology company established in London in April 2013 by Brazilian-born entrepreneur Daniela Cecilio. Cecilio's background includes being a founding member of the luxury fashion marketplace Farfetch.com and having her own clothing label in Brazil. The idea for ASAP54 stemmed from her frustration with text-based online shopping, desiring a more visual and intuitive search method.

The company's core product was a mobile application often described as the "Shazam for fashion". It allowed users to take a photo of a clothing item, and the app's visual recognition technology would search for that exact item or similar pieces available for purchase online from its partner retailers. The technology analyzed attributes like color and pattern to generate search results. Recognizing the limitations of automated technology, the service was augmented with a human touch; if the automated search failed or provided unsatisfactory results, users could submit the query to a team of in-house personal stylists who would manually find the item. The app also incorporated a social component, allowing users to follow others, see what they were searching for, and draw inspiration from a community of fashion enthusiasts.

ASAP54's business model was primarily based on affiliate marketing. The company earned a commission, reportedly averaging around 6%, on sales generated through referrals from the app to its retail partners. The company also planned to introduce future revenue streams, including turning the personal styling service into a subscription, selling trend information to brands, and advertising. The startup launched at TechCrunch Disrupt Europe in Berlin in 2013 and eventually expanded its focus to international markets like China, Japan, and Russia. In 2018, it was reported that Farfetch acquired Fashion Concierge, another luxury shopping app founded by Daniela Cecilio, for $2 million.

Keywords: visual search, fashion discovery, fashion tech, mobile commerce, personal styling, affiliate marketing, social shopping, image recognition, fashion app, Daniela Cecilio, Farfetch, clothing recognition, online retail, style finder, shoppable photos, fashion community, trend discovery, e-commerce, outfit finder, mobile shopping