The Revolve Group Inc., in partnership with Zelig, an AI-powered fashion platform, has launched “Build a Look,” an interactive feature on its website enabling shoppers to mix and match items from different brands to build outfits.

Executives from both firms said Build a Look lets shoppers mix-and-match thousands of items listed on Revolve’s e-commerce site to create looks that within a couple of seconds appear on digital models, leading to increased sales and reduced returns.

Another key feature of the new technology is a “digital closet” which shoppers have on Revolve’s site to house items and outfits purchased, or those being considered for purchase. The digital closet generates data on purchases and outfitting preferences, creating a profile of the shopper’s personal style and wardrobe preferences, leading to improved personalization and product recommendations online.

Zelig’s technology renders garments on avatars and shows fabric textures and how the fabrics drape, fold and bunch on models of different heights, sizes and proportions, using thousands of proprietary data points. Zelig combines advanced GenAI, computer vision, and information from stylists.

“Revolve has always focused on serving the next generation of fashion consumers, who expect seamless, digital experiences every time they shop online,” Mike Karanikolas, Revolve’s cofounder and co-chief executive officer, said in a statement. “Zelig’s AI-powered styling brings our vision to life, enabling our customers to create an endless array of complete looks with confidence, which makes fashion discovery easier than ever.”

Without providing specific numbers, Revolve indicated that early data shows shoppers interacting with Zelig’s technology were on the site three times longer, were converting at three times the rates of other consumers, and that there was a double-digit reduction in returns. Revolve has been beta testing the technology with a limited number of Revolve shoppers for months and officially debuted Build a Look on Thursday.

Here’s how Build a Look works: Once a shopper selects a style, such as a jacket or pant, a complete outfit pops up on their screen. Then through the Build-A-Look widget, shoppers can scroll through many items across categories, to change the outfit in different ways. Zelig’s AI-powered filters are informed by celebrity stylists, said Sandy Sholl, CEO of Zelig, and also enable shoppers to tailor selections on their screen by occasion or season.

Build a Look can be accessed on Revolve’s individual product detail pages, or a dedicated Build a Look product listing page.

“Right now shoppers can mix and match 10,942 items, which is a lot and which creates millions, almost a billion different options for try-ons, which is a very advanced technology,” Sholl told WWD.

“When you first select an item, the technology will always give you a recommended look on that first item. Once you’ve been shopping, you have a closet and an ID number, so we’ll be able to customize and personalize that first recommendation very differently, as a returning customer. But as a first-time customer, we just recommend an outfit; from that moment we start the algorithm and start learning your taste and preferences. It’s tracking your click-throughs.”

Sholl maintained that the data gathered through Build a Look is superior in certain ways to data other websites and technologies gather. “Brands and retailers can always know what the customer bought and what they clicked on, but they never knew how their customers put things together — and that says a lot about personalization and learning about what an individual’s style is all about,” said Sholl.

With the digital closet, Sholl added, “users have the ability to save their favorite looks to this feature, which provides them with a personalized digital catalog of items.”

Zelig has been working to make the virtual models on Build a Look appear more lifelike, utilizing multiple photo shoots on real models, relaxing the poses, and changing hairdos. “So when you’re changing up your outfits, you’re not always looking at the same avatar,” said Sholl. Zelig will continue to iterate the avatars over the next few weeks, so as Sholl said, “Fashion is theater, and we want to evoke emotion from shoppers so that they can connect with the experience and product.

“While we’re recommending items to make styling easier, what’s really great is that we’re putting AI into the hands of shoppers and they feel like they have their own stylist,” said Sholl. “And the main thing is, what’s on brand for us is speed, efficiency and taste.”

Sholl said Revolve does not have exclusive use of Zelig’s technology, and that she hopes to get other e-commerce websites to use it. Customers would be charged a minimum plus additional charges based on conversion rates and other metrics.

Zelig was founded by Sholl and her son Adam Freede. Zelig recently raised $15 million in series A funding led by Hilco Global to accelerate growth and innovation. Another $10 million was invested by others, including Sholl. Zelig has about 30 employees including those involved in AI, machine learning, infrastructure engineering, and computer vision. Sholl is also chairperson of MadaLuxe Group, which distributes premium brands to retailers.

On a recent earnings call, Revolve’s Karanikolas said, “We are also continuing to leverage AI to refine our shopping experience and personalization capabilities. Virtual styling is a powerful use case for AI technology that we believe has the potential to elevate product discovery, increase consumer engagement and loyalty and advance our efforts to reduce product returns.”

Revolve, which focuses on Millennial and Gen Z consumers, offers on its website 110,000 apparel and footwear styles, as well as beauty, accessories and home products. The company has reported that last year it generated $1.1 billion in sales — 82 percent at full price — and $49 million in net income. The average order value was $302.