‘Clueless’-Inspired App Alta Partners With Public School to Integrate Styling Tools Into Website

A lot has shifted for Jenny Wang, the founder, working to bring “Clueless”-style fashion tech into the real world.

Last year, her company, Alt. A raised $11 million in a round led by Menlo Ventures to help users build digital closets and try on outfits using their own virtual avatars. It’s the kind of technology that once felt like something you’d only see on screen — most famously in “Clueless,” where Cher uses computer tech to style herself and map out outfits. Alta follows a similar idea, giving users a way to plan and style looks using the latest AI-driven tools.

Several notable names joined Alta’s funding round last year, including models Jasmine Tookes and Karlie Kloss, Anthropic’s venture arm Anthology Fund, and Rent the Runway cofounder Jenny Fleiss.

To start, the product is now officially available in the App Store.e; Time and Vogue named one of the best innovations of last year, and Wang said the platform has generated more than 100 million outfits since launching in 2023. Alta has also built partnerships with Poshmark and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, with additional partnerships expected to be announced soon.

“Alta’s own app also features thousands of brands that users can shop from,” Wang said.

At the moment, the company’s main focus is building brand integration experiences across apps and websites, Wang said — allowing customers to try on a designer’s pieces through a personalised Alta Avatar. This week, Alta announced its first integration collaboration with Public School, the longtime New York City brand.

“Shoppers can style looks from the new collection on their own Alta avatar,” Wang said.

Wang said she met the Public School team — Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne — through the founder of Poshmark, who is also an angel investor in both companies.

“Public School designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne had been looking for an AI partner and virtual try-on avatar solution, and Dao-Yi has been an Alta app user himself,” Wang said.

Public School went on hiatus for several years, and with New York Fashion Week this season, the label is making what the founders describe as its grand re-debut. When asked about the comeback, the designers said they had rediscovered their voices and clarified what they wanted to communicate.

“We have to look at tech as a partner in the business today,” Chow said, adding, “It’s not 2015 anymore,” so the team wants to take advantage of the latest technological developments. “We want to be thoughtful on how we use tech and AI,” he continued, “not as a design tool but as a tool to extend our storytelling and a tool to interact with the consumer and have them experience the brand even if they can’t do so in person.”