Carly Bigi is the CEO of Laws of Motion which is an online clothing retail platform with the goal of making clothes for women that fit perfectly using data science. The company says its styles are modern takes on timeless silhouettes and they rely on data to help their customers find their ideal fit and reduce the impact of textile waste in fast fashion. Let’s meet the woman behind the brand and learn how she puts technology and data to work for her fashion brand.
Carly Bigi – Her Fashion Background
The idea to put tech at the core of the company can be seen as a natural progression for Bigi. She grew up in Houston which is a city with deep ties to NASA thanks to the Space Center Houston. In an interview with Entrepreneur, she stated that she learned to view “the present as a springboard for what could be possible in the future. [It] helped me embrace the mindset that rules are suggestions.” She added “that just because something was done a certain way before does not mean that’s how it needs to be done going forward.”
Bigi started her professional career in management consulting where she learned how to build a team as well as run it. Her ability to define and solve complicated problems has served her well at Laws of Motion as the company continues to address the waste issues facing the fashion industry.
Laws of Motion and the Use of AI to Fight Waste
When asked about the use of AI at Laws of Motion, Bigi shared, “Fundamentally revolutionizing the apparel industry means revolutionizing the role of precision data within the apparel industry. And so, Laws of Motion AI technology blends proprietary and complex computer visioning and learning tech with a very simple user interface to increase data precision and reduce friction in the buying experience.”
The use of AI technology might sound complicated but the use of it on the website is actually quite simple. The body scanning technology is genderless as the customer takes two pictures that will be uploaded to the company website. Then, a 3D mesh of the body is generated, and a million data points are predicted “that are then used to map your perfect fitting size while fueling ongoing sizing R&D as a whole.”
Once the data points are predicted and the 3D mesh is created, any piece of clothing that is added to the cart of the customer is then available in the perfect microsize. Customers also have the option to do a 60-second fit questionnaire, but the results will be the same. Bigi says both technologies have the ability to predict measurements to more than 99% accuracy. In addition, the data is mapped to 1260 precision sizes that are designed to be inclusive when it comes to the height and shape of a person.
Laws of Motion – How They Lessen Waste and Inventory
Since every clothing item is created according to the specific order of the customer, Laws of Motion is able to be a zero-inventory and zero-waste company while producing the items using a supply chain that is American-based. In addition, the company has been able to achieve a return rate of 1%, generating a 70% higher profit margin than other brands that deal direct-to-consumers, and they have increased their size inclusivity by a total of twenty times.
Laws of Motion also predicts they will be able to eliminate more than 4.425-million tons of CO2 emissions in the next five years (almost a third of what United States apparel brands are currently producing).
Laws of Motion – Effort to Redefine Fast Fashion and Size Identification
Fast Fashion is a term that is used to define the practice of the clothing industry to replicate trends and designs seen in high fashion and on catwalks. The clothing is produced in mass quantities, at a low cost, so they can be delivered to retail stores when the demand for the clothing style is at its highest point.
Laws of Motion battles fast fashion since the clothing is produced on-demand. They also make it a point to ensure the clothes they offer accurately reflect the wants and needs of their customers.
In addition to countering the practice of fast fashion, Laws of Motion is trying to change an industry that has conditioned its female customers to identify with a certain size. Bigi feels this practice is baseless and also contributes to “toxic societal norms.” She added, “it doesn’t matter what size or shape you are – what matters is that each product feels like it was made to fit you perfectly, because it was.”
Bigi noted that precision data enables consumers to enjoy inclusivity, personalization, and sustainability. While industries such as healthcare and beauty have changed over the years to fulfill those desires, the fashion industry is still behind in this mission. “We envision a world where women of all shapes, heights and weights have equal access to perfect-fitting apparel that is specifically made for them using zero waste. And we won’t stop until that’s the norm across the entire industry.”