Snapchat Buys Fashion Recommendation App Screenshop, Will.i.am Designs Tech Face Mask, More.

In fashion news from around the world this week, Snapchat buys fashion recommendation app Screenshop that provides clothing recommendation to users, Will.i.am designs a fashion tech face mask like none other, and more.

Snapchat Buys Fashion Recommendation App Screenshop

To advance its e-Commerce efforts, Snapchat has acquired fashion recommendation app, Screenshop. Screenshop is an app that scans your photos to identify your desired style choices, then provides clothing recommendations based on those findings.

According to reports by The Information, Snapchat wants to incorporate Screenshop into its border, AR-integrated e-Commerce efforts. This process will involve the Screenshop app scanning through images saved to your Memories, to highlight relevant products that may be of interest to you. 

Screenshop, which has been around since 2017 and is recommended by Kim Kardashian, has already integrated product recommendation from over 450 retail and brand partners, some of which include Nordstorm, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Selfridges.

This development makes perfect sense as AR has gained traction of recent. 

H&M Collaborates With Ethiopian Brand Lemlem For Capsule Collection

Ethiopian fashion brand Lemlem is collaborating with H&M to create a capsule collection. This is the brand’s largest retail collaboration and it will be featuring both Liya Kebede, Lemlem’s founder, and her daughter, Raee. 

Liya Kebede is a model and the founder. Of Lemlem which is a sustainable fashion label. Through her brand, she has worked to preserve the art of weaving in her native Ethiopia. She is also a UN ambassador and a maternal health advocate who founded the Lemlem Foundation which works in tandem with her clothing brand to connect female artisans in Africa to healthcare, education and jobs.

The capsule collection which will launch on May 6 stays true to Lemlem’s ethos. Outfits in the collection are made from sustainably sourced organic cotton and linen and recycled polyester to give the same feel Lemlem’s artisanal pises have. Some of the styles features in the collection include a striped maillot, a slip, a linings crop top and matching paper-based waist trousers, and a pencil skirt.

“The idea was to be able to reach more customers with this collaboration, and make it affordable also to more people,” Kebede says. “We went with the materials that H&M works with that are all sustainably sourced: organic linen, organic cotton, recycled poly. We even did jewelry and swimsuits, which was very exciting for us. When you’re doing a collaboration, it’s really fun to also try another category that we didn’t have.”

H&M will donate $100,000 to support the Lemlem Foundation. 

Will.i.am Designs Tech Face Mask With Jose Fernandez and Honeywell

In partnership with costume designer Jose Fernandez and manufacturing company Honeywell, entrepreneur and music mogul Will.i.am has designed a futuristic face mask called XUPERMASK. The $299 XUPERMAN face mask describes itself as Modern Tech For The Modern World.

The face mask which will launch in 2 versions is aimed at reshaping how we interact with one another when wearing a mask and how the mask interacts with the wearer. XUPERMAN is quite unlike any other face mask as it has features that surpass that of a smartwatch. 

This fashion tech product comes with a complimentary XUPERKIT, with gear that adds convenience to the design. The kit contains a carrying case, a three-month supply of HEPA filters, a USB-C charging cable, and an extra mask made from fabric. The face mask also features LED lights, 3-speed fans, Bluetooth 5.0, magnetic earbud docking station, noise-cancelling headphones, and a noise-reducing microphone. 

In a world where wearing a mask is now a necessity, Will.i.am believes it should be done in style. “Rather than looking “medical”, regular people wanted to keep safe and also try to look a bit stylish, a nod to being fashionable and functional,” Will.i.am said.

XUPERMASK launched in the U.S., Canada, UK, and EU on April 8, 2021.

To advance its e-Commerce efforts, Snapchat has acquired fashion recommendation app, Screenshop. Screenshop is an app that scans your photos to identify your desired style choices, then provides clothing recommendations based on those findings.

British Fashion Council To Support Students With Deadstock Fabrics

The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced that it is launching the Student Fabric Initiative. This initiate aims to support fashion students across the UK in the face of the pandemic while reducing waste across the industry.

The BFC stated that the initiative will support students at 33 colleges as they complete their BA fashion degrees. It will also help colleges bring sustainability to the forefront of fashion education in the UK. In lieu of this, they have mobilised London designers to donate their deadstock fabric or unwanted materials to the cause. This project is a continuation of the Burberry Initiative the BFC started with Burberry earlier this year. 

Over 20 brands and retailers have joined the initiative and donated dead stock and unwanted fabrics including Paul Smith, Victoria Backham, and River Island. 

“We are delighted to work with some fantastic brands to meaningfully support the pipeline of creative talent here in the UK with the support of our incredible colleges network,” said Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the BFC. “One of the British Fashion Council‘s priorities is to encourage the industry to move towards a circular fashion economy while supporting excellence in fashion design. Being able to help students in need while managing to offset waste is an important example of the power of industry-wide collaboration.”

This initiative will help support the sustainability move the fashion industry has been longing for. It’ll also help reduce the amount of fashion waste that end up in landfills. 

Saks Stops The Sale Of Fur

Saks Fifth Avenue is taking animal fur clothes and accessories off its shelves. It will become the latest fashion brand to do so. The announcement was made on Wednesday. 

The retailer stated that this move was made due to customer preferences, societal shifts and the fact that the sale of fur remains a significant social issue. The brand said that it would out products made with fur from wild animals or animals raised for their fur. The store plans to keep selling leather, shearling, goatskin, down, feathers and faux fur products.

In recent years, numerous fashion houses have gone fur-free including Gucci, Chanel, Burberry, and Prada.