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Now, you can virtually try on dresses using Google’s virtual try-on tool. The tool’s generative AI shows details such as wrinkles, shadows, and draping.
Following the launch of its virtual try-on tool for tops last year, Google has expanded the feature. Now, dresses are available to try on from hundreds of brands across Google’s Shopping Graph, including Boden, Straud, SIMKHAI, Maje, and more.
To get started with the virtual try-on, search for dresses and click on a style with a “try-on” badge. Customers can see what dresses will look like on a diverse set of real models in sizes ranging from XXS to XXXL. Select a model whose body type resonates with you, and if you like what you see, click through to the retailer’s site to purchase the item.
The tool uses generative AI technology created specifically for virtual try-on (VTO) using a technique based on diffusion. This generates each pixel from scratch, creating realistic images of clothing on models.
Generative AI for VTO Challenges
Creating this tool wasn’t without its challenges. Because dresses cover more of the body and have more details than a top—from draping to length and features such as ruffled collars or all-over prints—they can be tricky for VTO AI models.
Google’s existing model used for tops lost critical details of dresses. Hence, the research team developed a “progressive training strategy” where diffusion starts with low-res images and gradually trains in higher resolution. This ensures every print, pleat, and finer detail remains visible.
Google also realized that because dresses cover more of the body when they “erased” and “replaced” the dress, it often smudged the model’s features or obscured body details.
To prevent this, it developed the VTO-UNet Diffusion Transformer (VTO-UDiT) to isolate and preserve important features. This provides a virtual “stencil” that re-trains the AI model on the person, ensuring their face and body details are not lost.
New York Fashion Week Virtual Try-On Available
This month, models will take to the runway for New York Fashion Week. Following SIMKHAI’s September runway show in New York, Google is giving shoppers the opportunity to virtually try on select dresses from the collection and pre-order them from the brand. Shoppers can search for “SIMKHAI dresses” on Google and look for the “try-on” icon to get started.
