Hublot worked with FancyTech when it launched on e-commerce platform Tmall in China. “The headache is that they needed to produce 80 videos for their 80 SKUs in a very short period,” Mao says. “It would be almost impossible using the traditional way for the production.” Hublot provided FancyTech with a script to describe the kind of videos they wanted to achieve. Its language model understood the script and wrote the prompt using the Python coding language, and then could replicate the script into different SKUs to make the videos. The process took two weeks, and Hublot’s Tmall flagship store now includes multiple videos created using FancyTech.
FancyTech, which also won in the Immersive Digital Experiences category, is based in Shanghai and employs 200 people, with offices in Singapore and New York. The startup will be onboarded at La Maison des Startups LVMH, the luxury group’s business acceleration programme within Paris incubator Station F, for a year beginning in September. “This will be a very good start to be looking for even more collaborations with different brands,” Mao says.
LVMH awarded a separate prize for the most compelling use of data, AI and generative AI to Blng, an LA-based generative AI and virtual studio specialising in jewellery. Unlike FancyTech, Blng uses the technology to convert physical sketches into visualisations. A recent proof of concept for Tiffany features a digitally generated hand, in which all aspects can be altered — from skin colour to nail shape.
“Before [we had artificial intelligence], creatives had to wait days to be able to preview their ideas,” says Blng CEO Valerie Leblond, who drew on her movie background in digital effects. “Now they can do it in seconds, which leaves them more time to design, experiment and collaborate with others.”
The LVMH Innovation Prize, now in its eighth edition, recognises the technology companies shaping the future of the luxury and fashion industries. Last year’s winner was repair platform Save Your Wardrobe (SYW), a London-based startup that connects store representatives with tailors, cobblers and restorers to fix clothing, shoes, jewellery and bags.
Some 1,545 startups applied for this year’s award, up from 1,300 last year; they represented 89 countries, and more than 40 per cent were founded by women. These were narrowed down to 18 finalists competing across six categories, all of which are invited to join La Maison des Startups and potentially collaborate with LVMH houses.