Amazon Makes Fashion Advice ‘In Vogue’ For Echo

In Amazon’s Echo Look’s first partnership with a publication, Condé Nast’s Vogue and GQ magazines have teamed up with Amazon to provide fashion recommendations in the device’s companion app. The feature will launch on Feb. 19, TechCrunch reported.

As the Echo Look doesn’t have a screen, the recommendations will only be available on its companion app. There, users can store their photos and videos and get advice from personal fashion stylists.  According to Digiday, the app will offer “fashion, celebrity or service content” from Condé Nast titles — and some of that content will be shoppable. Condé Nast can generate revenue from the content, receiving a cut of a sale if an Echo Look owner decides to buy an item.

The launch could serve as a test to see if fashion recommendations from an Alexa-powered device can increase sales. If that turns out to be the case, Amazon could later bring the feature to other Echo devices that do have screens, such as the Echo Show or Echo Spot.

While there could be over 30 million Alexa-powered devices on the market, the Echo Look is estimated to be a small number of those devices. It has a niche appeal and, in some ways, served as an experiment to test a camera paired with Alexa. Going forward, perhaps Alexa — and the Echo Look — will incorporate celebrity voices, if a humorous Super Bowl Alexa commercial is any indication of the future. Already, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey is available to “review” your food through Alexa.

Debuting in 2017, the Echo Look from Amazon responds to verbal commands by taking photos or videos of the current outfit people are wearing. It can also take photos of two different outfits and post them to an online Amazon judging panel to select the best look.

Through its companion app, Echo Look owners can see live previews from the camera, take pictures, survey outfits in their closets, tag favorites and compare styles.