Aesthetic launches to revolutionise social media shopping with AI technology

A new player in the field of social media commerce has emerged with the official launch of Aesthetic, a platform designed to transform how users shop for fashion through integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning. The brainchild of LJ Northington, founder and CEO, Aesthetic utilises its proprietary fashion AI/ML algorithm known as Alma to deliver a bespoke shopping experience for users interacting with fashion content on social media.

This innovative venture is part of Google’s Cloud artificial intelligence start-up programme and can be likened to “Shazam”, but for fashion. It functions by allowing users to engage with their favourite fashion looks directly from the social media content they encounter, broadening the scope of in-app commerce. The platform has already sparked significant interest, with around 80,000 eager users having signed up to its waitlist after a series of viral moments on social media.

Having launched on Instagram, and with integrations for TikTok and other platforms soon following, Aesthetic is appealing to a wide array of users who are looking for immediate shopping capabilities seamlessly interwoven into their social media experiences. The platform is designed to work without the requirement of downloading additional apps, making use of the existing user engagement on popular social media platforms.

Users interact with the platform by sending their desired fashion inspirations — ranging from videos and reels to image carousels — as direct messages to the Alma bot. Within moments, they receive a link to shop for similar items directly via Instagram’s browser extension. Furthermore, the platform boasts impressive engagement statistics from its 1.5-month beta testing phase, where 25% of users completed a purchase and 90% engaged multiple times weekly.

Northington, who previously honed his skills at Jada Pinkett and Will Smith’s entertainment venture Westbrook Media, conceptualised the project based on his long-standing interest in personal aesthetics and fashion. His vision for Aesthetic is a profound one: to “map the entire human style genome.” This mission is achieved by interpreting users’ style influences and assisting them in translating this into actual purchases, despite potential limitations like price or sizing.

A key aspect of Aesthetic is its dual appeal to both consumers and fashion tastemakers — stylists, creators, and designers, who can monetise their influence through the platform. The company offers revenue-sharing opportunities, where tastemakers receive a share of profits generated when users are inspired by their content, and not only for direct purchases but also for purchases of similar items.

By maintaining a catalogue that spans over 10,000 brands, Aesthetic allows these tastemakers to fully monetise their content, providing a unique take on affiliate programming. It effectively enables tastemakers to receive compensation when their style influences consumer behaviour, whether through direct purchases or when their aesthetic preferences trigger the algorithm to recommend similar products.

Reggieknow, known for his previous work as a brand head for Yeezy and Off-White and for his collaboration with Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, serves as Aesthetic’s creative director. He, along with a cohort of industry veterans in fashion, tech, and investment such as Victor Herrero, Tyler Henry, and Rob Magliano, guide the strategic direction of the company.

Aesthetic’s financial backing includes investments from Slow Ventures and notable figures like Adam Lin of iSeed VC, as well as Jeanine Suah from Zeal Capital Partners under the auspices of the Barclays Black Formation Investments programme. Despite not disclosing financial terms, these strategic investments reflect the confidence investors are placing in the potential of Aesthetic.

Devain Doolaramani, founder of talent management firm Friends in Reality, expressed his enthusiasm for Aesthetic’s transformative mission, highlighting the platform’s potential to revolutionise how creators interact with and monetise fashion. Jeanine Suah spoke to the platform’s ability to define identity and facilitate self-expression through AI-powered technology.

Aesthetic’s launch marks a significant development in the realm of social media commerce, suggesting a future where personal taste and style become a central, monetisable component of users’ online interactions.

Source: Noah Wire Services