In this exclusive interview for Fashionpress.it, Swan’s founders reveal how their AI-powered fitting room is reshaping eCommerce, solving fashion’s most persistent pain point, and bringing personalisation and precision back to the heart of the shopping experience.
From academia to industry disruption: what convinced you that a solution to fashion’s fit crisis could truly come from your lab?
While countless start-ups have attempted to tackle online sizing, few have broken through the noise. What made you believe Swan could be the one to genuinely change the narrative — and the industry?
Honestly, we weren’t convinced it had to come from us but we were certain the way the problem had been approached for years was fundamentally flawed.
Every previous attempt tried to solve fit by proxy. Survey-based sizing asks a few questions and gives you a probability but people aren’t probabilities. Everyone has something they want to highlight or downplay, whether it’s broader shoulders, a smaller waist, or a specific silhouette they’re aiming for. The same goes for virtual try-ons with “similar-sized” models; it was never really you.
We believed the only way to truly crack this was to make it genuinely personal, not statistically personal. By approaching it from first principles, and using scanning to capture body measurements without bias or prejudice, we could build something grounded in truth. That insight, combined with technical breakthroughs in computer vision, gave us an edge in accuracy and in belief.
You’ve created a product that requires no brand integration, no app, no downloads — just a photo and a link. How did this radical simplicity become your greatest strength?
Was it a technological constraint or a strategic design choice to bypass the slow adoption cycles that have plagued previous fit-tech attempts?
We recognised early on that one of the biggest hurdles in previous fit-tech solutions was the complexity of integration and the slow adoption cycles on the brand side. While many believe enterprises are quick to adopt new tech, the reality is that when it comes to consumer-facing innovations, there’s often a higher burden of proof and a much slower pace.
A crucial point is that most attempts to solve these issues haven’t truly trusted the shopper. They’ve focused on post-purchase optimisations; faster shipping, simpler returns; or financial incentives like free returns and BNPL. What we’re doing differently is trusting that shoppers know what they want, if they can just discover it.
By enabling that discovery before the decision, we create a more efficient sales process for brands and a far better experience for shoppers.
Getting the product directly into users’ hands without barriers empowers shoppers and demonstrates the value to brands through real-world usage. After all, everyone in a brand is also a shopper. This trust in the user’s ability to know what they need, and our commitment to meeting them where they are, is a cornerstone of Swan’s strategy.
Swan unites precision body scanning, instant sizing, outfit building, and visual comparisons — all powered by AI. Where does the human experience still matter most in a digital fitting room?
And how do you ensure the emotional richness of fashion isn’t lost in the pursuit of technological efficiency?
The ability to see a garment on yourself, interact with it in real time, and receive individualised sizing suggestions based on your unique measurements transforms e-commerce from a transactional experience to a personal one.
The more powerful the technology, the more it fades into the background, letting the shopper’s individuality shine. Fashion is emotional. It’s about self-expression. By making it easy and intuitive for shoppers to visualise and interact with clothing on their own terms, we restore the emotional richness that’s been missing from e-commerce for decades.
With Swan, shoppers can see themselves, share looks with friends and family, and make confident choices. This human-centric approach ensures the technology serves the user, not the other way around, making the experience both efficient and emotionally fulfilling.
You’ve said that fashion eCommerce has treated everyone the same, ignoring the diversity of real bodies. Can AI finally make fashion truly inclusive — or is inclusivity still a cultural challenge beyond code?
How do you navigate the line between algorithmic precision and the nuances of personal identity, self-perception, and representation?
Yes, for the first time, we can truly make fashion more inclusive. AI enables inclusivity not just in taste and discovery, but in accommodating different body shapes.
One of our customers creates zero-waste, zero-inventory 3D-knit dresses. To buy one, you scan your body, and they produce a garment tailored precisely to your measurements all within 45 minutes. That level of precision eliminates the need for standardised sizing, which has never really been standard.
Swan also unlocks freedom of expression. With Swan, people feel more confident exploring styles they might’ve avoided not because of taste, but uncertainty around fit. That freedom enhances both expression and representation.
While cultural change will always play a role, AI gives us tools to bridge the gap between identity and fashion in a way that’s never been possible before.
Returns have long been accepted as a necessary evil in fashion retail. Are we reaching a tipping point — economically, environmentally, and culturally — where the industry can no longer afford to get fit wrong?
And if so, is Swan the catalyst the industry has been waiting for, or the disruption it still resists?
Returns have become almost ritualistic in fashion retail but there’s no inherent reason they should be. They’ve been accepted as a way to close a sale, but in reality, they’re a costly, inefficient stand-in for true discovery.
Most returns aren’t because something’s broken they’re because it didn’t fit. Younger generations in particular are aware of the waste and don’t want to participate in a system that’s so clearly broken.
With Swan, shoppers can see and size garments digitally before they buy. That means fewer returns, better experiences, and more sustainability for shoppers and for brands.
We’re definitely at a tipping point. Consumers want simplicity and sustainability. Brands want to reduce costs without sacrificing sales. Swan does both by putting the shopper first. That’s why it’s not just the disruption the industry’s been waiting for it’s the solution that makes sense.
Swan was born in Dublin, far from Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. Has being based in Europe shaped your approach to privacy, user trust, and ethical AI in ways that might give you a competitive edge?
And what role do you think European tech — especially fashion-tech — can play in defining the next global standards for digital commerce?
Being based in Europe means we adhere to some of the strictest privacy regulations in the world. Since privacy has been such a critical topic, we’ve built deep encryption and robust data protection measures into Swan from the ground up. Even though we handle a lower level of biometric data, trust is paramount. We never resell data and only use it to enhance the user experience making Swan a tool people can trust and rely on.
This approach isn’t just about compliance; it’s about our values and how we build the company. Europe is experiencing a tech renaissance. And while we may have lagged in previous waves, the companies emerging now are grounded in strong values: beauty and trust.
BIO
Eoin Cambay studied Business & Economics at Trinity College Dublin. Post-graduation he built a research team within the Adapt Centre in Trinity to apply computer vision to e-commerce, specifically targeting sizing. That project grew into Swan.
Credits: © Courtesy of Swan
