MILAN — OTB, the Italian fashion group parent to brands including Diesel, Jil Sander, Marni and Maison Margiela, is teaming with Google Cloud to enhance the shopping experience via an AI-backed virtual try-on solution.
Kicking off this month for Diesel and Jil Sander across the U.S. and European markets, the technology was envisioned to foster clienteling and strengthen the relationship with key customers.
In an attempt to bridge the physical and digital shopping experiences, sales associates will be able to leverage the technology for remote touch bases with their clients, sharing hyperrealistic, 360-degree visual previews of selected products, which clients can try on virtually. The tool is expected to trigger customers to book in-store visits.
OTB said it plans to extend the service to Marni and Maison Margiela in the coming months, and roll it out in additional markets.
“I have always believed in technology as a strategic lever to enhance human talent, at the service of people and creativity. In this context, AI represents an extraordinary opportunity to make the customer experience more advanced, engaging and personalized,” said Renzo Rosso, chairman and founder of OTB Group.
The technology leverages Google’s Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and Gemini models.
“Together with Google Cloud, we have implemented a Virtual Try-On solution that introduces a new personalized shopping experience and provides our teams with more effective tools to deliver outstanding service and build closer relationships with clients. This project brings to life a vision I have been nurturing for over three years, made possible thanks to Google’s best-in-class expertise in AI. I am confident this is the natural direction for the evolution of e-commerce and clienteling, and a key driver of growth for the future of the fashion industry,” Rosso said.
The Jil Sander Virtual Try-On backed by Google Cloud’s AI-enhanced technology.
Courtesy of OTB Group
“Technology is at its best when it solves real-world challenges for the customer,” said Matt Renner, president and chief revenue officer of Google Cloud. “This collaboration demonstrates how Google Cloud’s AI can elevate the role of the retail team beyond automating tasks. By integrating Google Cloud’s Virtual Try-On, OTB Group is pushing past standard transactions to provide client advisers with the AI tools needed to deliver deeply personal, confident shopping experiences at a global scale,” he said.
As part of the partnership, in addition to the virtual try-on experience, OTB’s participating brands will offer their customers access to AI image editing and video creation tools through Google’s Nano Banana and Veo platforms. Using the technologies they will be able to virtually place themselves within Diesel’s and Jil Sander’s ad campaigns and fashion events.
The Diesel Virtual Try-On backed by Google Cloud’s AI-enhanced technology.
Courtesy of OTB Group
The OTB Group, which also comprises Viktor & Rolf, production arms Staff International and Brave Kid and holds a stake in Amiri, has often been at the forefront of fashiontech, for example having set up an e-commerce site as far back as the ‘90s.
In 2021 OTB joined the Aura Blockchain Consortium as a founding partner alongside LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Prada Group, Compagnie Financière Richemont‘s Cartier brand and Mercedes-Benz Group. As reported, Stefano Rosso, chief executive officer of Marni and president of Maison Margiela, was appointed chairman of Aura last month, succeeding Prada’s Lorenzo Bertelli in the role.
In 2025, OTB leveraged the blockchain solution to provide digital certificates of authenticity for the entire offering of Jil Sander, Maison Margiela and Marni, with products registered on the platform totaling 2 million units.
The group also started a pilot project for the implementation of the digital product passport ahead of the European regulation to be enforced in 2027. It was presented last March in London during a private session of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Fashion Task Force, which was launched by the then-Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, during the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in 2020, and is chaired by former Yoox Net-a-porter chairman and CEO Federico Marchetti.
In 2021, OTB Group also set up Brave Virtual Xperience, or BVX, a new company to help brands across its portfolio develop projects, products and initiatives intended for the metaverse. The company has since evolved into an OTB corporate unit to support IT and technological advancement across the group.
