AI modeled on ‘my body type’ gets dressed and moves... Nine & Company develops video-based shopping platform

[Financial News]

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the online fashion industry is evolving beyond product recommendations and image-based virtual try-ons to let shoppers try on clothes in videos that reflect their body types and then proceed to purchase them. Nine & Company, which has built up body-type data through its plus-size women’s clothing business, is also applying generative AI technology as it moves to tap the personalized shopping market.
 Industry sources said on the 8th that Nine & Company had signed an agreement with Studio X Lab, a generative AI video production company, to jointly develop a hyper-personalized AI service platform.
 The key is to apply AI to around 600,000 customers’ data and body-type-specific fit information gathered through its existing fashion business. The fact that Nine & Company has data on around 600,000 customers was also disclosed recently during a restructuring of its business.
 The development approach differs from existing image-centered virtual try-ons. It involves creating a “twin AI”—a virtual person whose appearance reflects a user’s body type, measurements and style preferences, and who wears and moves in various outfits on video. The company is also considering a feature that recommends styles based on factors including the weather, the occasion, clothes the user already owns and current trends.
 The company is also developing a feature that lets users purchase products they see in videos. The system would link recommended outfits to items actually for sale, check sizes, prices and stock, and help users make purchases. In effect, AI would be involved throughout the shopping process, from product recommendations to virtual try-ons and purchases.
 To make this work, it is important to ensure that the person’s face and body shape, as well as the clothes’ colors and patterns, remain consistent even as the person moves in the video.
 Kim Se-in, CEO of Studio X Lab, said, “The ability to consistently render people and the features of a variety of products in generated videos will determine how polished the shopping experience is.”
 Studio X Lab is a company that worked on AI video production for cultural performances at the welcome dinner of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, held in Gyeongju last year, as well as on projects for CJ ENM.
 The data accumulated through its existing fashion business is behind Nine & Company’s move into AI shopping. Its predecessor, Gongu Woman, had directly managed everything from product planning and production to online sales, focusing on plus-size women’s clothing. The company believes it can use the data for personalized recommendations, having built it up while targeting a market where fit and size vary more by body type than in mainstream fashion.
 The need for new growth drivers also appears to have played a role. Last year, Nine & Company’s revenue was 45 billion won and its operating profit was 6.8 billion won, down 9.7% and 16.0%, respectively, from the previous year. After Singapore-based private equity firm CCGI became its largest shareholder last June, the company changed its name from Gongu Woman to Nine & Company and has been stepping up business diversification.
 Last month, it also announced plans to expand its fashion-centered business structure into a lifestyle business spanning beauty, content and investment. The AI platform is part of this broader business restructuring. The company plans to expand its applications beyond fashion into beauty, where users can virtually try makeup and cosmetics based on their faces.

[email protected] Kim Hyun-cheol Reporter