Zara vs Alta Virtual Try-On

First Impressions: Zara takes over 6x as long to generate

Zara made a splash earlier this year with their virtual try-on experience, a first for a retailer of their size and scale.

But how accurate and high quality are Zara avatars? We put Zara's technology to the test, and noticed key qualities when compared to Alta's avatar model. On first glance, both models are able to render Zara's catalog decently. One immediate observation: Zara avatars take over 2 minutes to render, while Alta consistently takes around 20 seconds.

Face Variation and Likeness

Zara's avatar faces feel a bit stiff and robotic, with a very limited range of expressions. Alta's avatar faces feel more natural and lifelike, with a wider range of expressions.

Given the above input picture, Zara's virtual try on generated the following avatars:

Alta's avatar faces feel more natural and lifelike, with a wider range of expressions. The following are examples of Alta's avatar faces:

Here is another example with a female user:

Zara avatar faces:

Alta avatar faces:

Layering & more complex outfits

Zara's avatar try-on can only handle simple outfits, with up to 4 items at a time. Alta's avatar try-on can handle more complex outfits, with up to 8 items at a time, including layering, and supports categories like Tops, Bottoms, Accessories (hats, sunglasses, scarves, etc), Outerwear, Dresses, Bags, Shoes.

Zara avatars are unable to try-on key categories like Accessories and Bags, which often complete a look.

Here are examples of simple Zara avatar outfits with 4 items, while Alta can handle more complex outfits with jeans layered underneath, jackets draped on top, as well as belts, crossbody bags, scarves and jewelry added to make the finished look much more stylish.

Example of Zara's outfit creation UI (with 4 items max) vs Alta's outfit creation UI. You can add many more layers in Alta. The layers underneath are also not always visible on Zara avatars.

Similar example, with Womenswear:

This can feel extremely limiting when shoppers want to style a dress versus just putting the dress on, as a single or double item try-on. Notice how much nicer dresses can look on avatars when styled and generated by Atla:

Alta bonuses: poses, props, runway and more

Alta's avatar try-on supports a wide range of poses, props, runway-to-avatar try ons, and more. Alta is also focused on diverse body types, skin color and hair.

Alta avatars can support a variety of poses, which are extremely popular on the Alta app:

Similarly, Avatar props are also extremely popular on the Alta app:

Alta can support try-ons for even the most distinctive couture looks fresh off the runway:

And finally, as fashion becomes more gender fluid, Alta avatars can try on both Menswear and Womenswear:

Overall Comparison between Zara and Alta avatar try-ons

Avatars and virtual try-ons are still in their early stages, but are sure to become key cornerstones of the fashion and e-commerce going forward. Customers will expect AI experiences and assistance in their shopping journeys.

Alta is an industry leader in avatar try-on technology

Alta is an industry leader in avatar try-on technology, with a focus on accuracy, naturalness, and versatility. Alta is also focused on diversity in body shapes, skin color and hair, and supports a wider range of categories and poses.