Skip to content

press release

autoRetouch Debuts Ghost Mannequin AI – Industry-First Automates Merging and Editing for Fashion Product Images in Minutes

November 23rd 2020

  • Next-generation AI powered image editing technology now fully available globally for fashion, significantly reducing image manipulation time
  • Early look at first bulk editing technology to seamlessly merge two raw images while removing physical bodies for effort-intensive neck joint/ ghost mannequin effect

STUTTGART, Germany, November 23, 2020 — autoRetouch – the AI-powered image editing platform – expands access out of beta globally for incredibly fast bulk product image editing. Powered by artificial intelligence more sophisticated than other leading image editing software, autoRetouch is available for fashion brands, retailers, photographers and creatives, speeding up the effort-intensive and often creatively unrewarding process of editing product photography. Further, autoRetouch has released a first look at its patent-pending Ghost Mannequin feature; the first one-click photography manipulation technology that merges two images, both product and inlay shot, while digitally removing all unnecessary background within the images.

Non-creative image editing effort reduced from hours to seconds

By 2023, global growth in e-commerce is expected to reach $6.542 trillion. Physical retailers have taken a drastic hit to in-store shopping as a result of the pandemic, forcing all brands to lean into ecommerce. Speeding up digital photography processes for entire SKUs has become an imperative. Editing software has advanced only so much– all commercial image editing software currently available are still mostly built around individual image workflows and cannot process multiple images at once.

  • Current image editing softwares are great– but they’re two years behind where they should be for today’s quickturn retail needs. When working with hundreds of products, brands wait days to weeks on editing- meaning lost revenue from potential sales.Previously bottlenecked ROI due to reliance on outdated image editing technology can easily be avoided by using autoRetouch ad hoc for instant bulk image editing whenever needed. What used to take 5-15 minutes in manipulation work per image, from background removal to basic skin retouch, can now be done in seconds.
  • Alex Ciorapciu, autoRetouch’s co-founder & CEO

With autoRetouch, anyone from tech novices to photo editing experts are able to simply define workflows (the automated process sequence in which images are edited) and automatically retouch any kind of fashion product images in bulk. In a workflow, they can define their image editing components to create an end-to-end editing sequence that can edit hundreds of apparel images at once. autoRetouch’s smart components are customizable and the software offers an industry-leading PSD export functionality that allows users to always retain full control of the final image outcome.

The deceptively difficult invisible model/mannequin photo effect

25% of fashion retail images are ghost mannequin shots, meaning the model’s or mannequin’s body which the product is displayed on has been digitally edited to be invisible or transparent. An industry first, autoRetouch’s patent-pending Ghost Mannequin AI component will allow users to upload two images of the same product (product and inlay shot), automate the removal of physical bodies while retaining the shape for a completely transparent figure, and merge the two shots seamlessly thanks to the powerful AI. The ghost mannequin feature offers automation of complex editing that was never before possible, across any platform, without any significant amount of manual effort.

  • Manual ghost mannequin manipulation typically takes at least ten to twenty minutes of expert manual editing. Multiply that by 500 sets of images, you end up with at least 83 hours of work. autoRetouch is the first and currently only software in digital image editing that automates that process, creating turnaround in minutes.
  • Alex Ciorapciu, autoRetouch’s co-founder & CEO

The Ghost Mannequin feature is currently available as a demo and will be generally available for customers in early 2021. 

Customers can create an autoRetouch account for free and try the service with up to 10 images. To process additional images, credits are available for purchase on a pay-as-you-go basis. The price to process one image is currently €0.10 +VAT. For more information please visit www.autoretouch.com or find updates and tips on, Twitter, Youtube, and LinkedIn.

About autoRetouch:

autoRetouch is expanding the possibilities within digital image editing. For more information, visit www.autoretouch.com