Much has changed for Jenny Wang, the founder who is bringing “Clueless” fashion tech to life. Last year, her company, Alta, raised 11 million dollars in a round led by Menlo Ventures. This technology lets users create digital closets and try on clothes with their own virtual avatars. It is a tech once seen only in movies, most notably in “Clueless,” where Cher styles and plans her outfits using computer technology. Alta is similar, allowing users to plan and style outfits using the latest AI innovations.
A number of prominent investors participated in Alta’s funding round last year. These included models Jasmine Tookes and Karlie Kloss, Anthropic’s venture capital arm Anthology Fund, and Rent the Runway cofounder Jenny Fleiss.
Since that funding round, the company has expanded significantly. The product is now officially in the app store. It was named one of the best innovations of last year by both Time and Vogue. Wang stated that more than 100 million outfits have been generated on the platform since its launch in 2023. Alta has also formed partnerships with Poshmark and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, with more partnerships to be announced soon.
Alta’s own app features thousands of brands that users can shop from. Currently, the company is focused on building app and website integration experiences for brands. This allows customers to try on a designer’s clothing using a personalized Alta Avatar. This week, the company unveiled its first integration collaboration, teaming up with Public School, a storied New York City brand.
Shoppers can style looks from the new Public School collection on their own Alta avatar. Wang met the Public School team, designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, through the founder of Poshmark, who is an angel investor in both companies. Chow and Osborne had been looking for an AI partner and virtual try-on avatar solution, and Chow has been an Alta app user himself.
Public School had been on hiatus for a few years, with this New York Fashion Week marking its grand re-debut. The founders of the brand said they rediscovered their voices and what they wanted to say. Chow stated that technology must be seen as a partner in business today. He emphasized that the team wants to take advantage of the latest technological developments thoughtfully, using AI not as a design tool but as a tool to extend storytelling and interact with consumers.
Wang said this is one of the first instances of a designer embedding personal avatar and styling technology into its own website. Near the bottom of Public School’s product page, an icon says Style by Alta. Clicking that takes the customer to Alta to style their avatars and test how Public School clothing would look on them. Users on Alta’s standalone app can also access Public School through Alta’s app.
The goal is for Alta to integrate more experiences like this into other brands and websites. This would allow Alta users to try on clothes on other websites even while outside the Alta app. Wang explained that currently, a user must add a potential purchase to their Alta wishlist to style it, except on the Public School site. The goal is to bring communities on a new journey to engage with and shop the brand.
Many major fashion brands, like Zara and Balmain, have already experimented with digital avatars. Wang said what makes Alta different, especially compared to Zara, is that Alta avatars can put on at least eight items within seconds, whereas Zara avatars can wear only four and often take around two minutes.
Overall, demand for virtual avatars has increased. Wang considers Alta both the “Clueless” technology it started with and a digital avatar business. The consumer Alta app is the “Clueless” closet, while the enterprise experience allows shoppers to style pieces and try outfits on their pre-existing Alta avatar.
Eventually, Wang said she wants Alta to be the personal identity layer for the future of consumer AI and shopping. For agentic commerce to truly work, she explained, there needs to be a data layer that understands the shopper’s style preferences, closet, past purchases, avatar, likeness, and body, which is what Alta provides.