You may have heard about “colour theory” or “colour matching.” Istituto Marangoni alumna Luisa Lombardi turned this interest into a business, precisely an app allowing users to go for more personalised shopping according to their body shape and facial features.
We had the chance to discover Cromos App through Luisa Lombardi’s eyes and have her tell us some interesting facts from her school days at Istituto Marangoni. Enjoy the reading!
Istituto Marangoni Alumna Luisa Lombardi at the school's San Babila (Milan) campus
Colour Analysis: a whole world to explore. Could you tell us how you found this passion and turned this “dream” into a job?
First, I need to explain what the Colour Theory means. It is related to analysing essential traits, such as colour undertone, contrast, temperature, and intensity. Then, based on the combination of these features, users can fall into one of the four categories called “seasons”: Winter, Summer, Autumn, and Spring. Every season has a colour palette that best matches every person’s natural traits. I discovered colour theory by coincidence. A friend of mine asked me to attend a book presentation with her. The book was related to image consulting: at that moment, a light went on in my head. Thanks to my study path in Istituto Marangoni, I became passionate about market dynamics, customers’ psychology and the supply and chain trend in the fashion system: in 2019, I realised that image consulting, specifically colour theory, could become a trend. Well, it happened! After my graduation, I spoke to Dario (Golizia, Istituto Marangoni Programme Leader in Fashion Business, Ed.) about Cromos: he just told me, “Do it”. These simple words helped me go for it and develop my idea. We started with a business plan and then worked with fashion insiders to develop the initial project. That’s how we opened the company and started setting the app up.
From a simple picture to a customised purchase: this is how Cromos works. Could you go deeper into the process?
It’s all about several algorithms developed using Artificial Intelligence, created for analysing the picture taken by the user via the App to discover their season and shapes. You just take a picture of yourself and answer a few questions; in the meantime, our AI analyses the pic and gives a result in a few milliseconds with the related user’s season, face and body shape. We use the same technology, a bit reworked, to process products for our clients’ catalogues to know the season of every product they have; this way, we can make a “perfect match”, which means offering the right product to the right client.
You are a Fashion Business and Management graduate from Istituto Marangoni. Could you share how your academic path helped you reach this significant achievement?
What I appreciated most is that besides theory in your academic path, you get to practice directly with Companies’ real case studies. This enables you to increase your skill set to face possible future work challenges. And it goes without saying that IM helped me learn about time management: I still remember the pressure I felt to deliver my exams on time! When starting a business, you must deal with different aspects, from finance and administration to marketing & communication. Thanks to a complete Fashion Business and Management Course, I think I have built the right mindset for managing the different sides of Cromos. I still remember professor Rozzi (Morena, Istituto Marangoni Senior Lecturer in Fashion Business, Ed.) teaching me leadership skills, which I’ve discovered are crucial in my daily work today.
Alumna Luisa Lombardi discussing her Cromos App at Istituto Marangoni Milano
Cromos: we are curious to know more about the platform’s behaviour and technology. How did you implement these two aspects while providing a unique experience to the user?
During my academic journey at Istituto Marangoni, I worked a lot in teams, which prepared me to work perfectly with my partner and co-founder. Because he’s an “IT” guy, he takes care of practical aspects while I oversee the creative side, so we are the perfect match. Our collaborations translated into our App, which merges the most advanced technology with a simple, user-friendly experience. Since our goal is to give users an “on-pocket” image consultant, we made it in the simplest way possible, offering an easy-to-use platform with useful features only, such as the colour theory test and the shopping section.
Offering men's and women's fashion, Cromos has already caught the attention of about 200,000 users in Italy, 82% of which are women. What are your goals for 2023?
The main goal is to reach 1 million users with our Cromos App. Now, we are implementing new features, which I cannot disclose, but let’s say that Cromos will become more “social” in the future. We also plan to expand in the EU Market with specific campaigns for each country. The UK proved to be the most responsive market, and we also discovered that colour theory is very popular there, so we will start from this country.
What would you advise students willing to open their businesses? Which are the main challenges to consider?
You must be aware that your project could take many days, weeks, or months before seeing the first results. The main challenge is to stay focused on the goal and be ready to change things according to market needs. I also want to underline the importance of building a strong team: you should be able to surround yourself with experts in different fields who believe in your project as much as you do!
‘Last but not least’ question: what is your dream for the future?
Seeing Cromos in every e-commerce around the world, aiming to provide a better, personalised, and conscious shopping experience, also thanks to our AI. If people started shopping according to their colours and shapes, there would be many happier customers!
Istituto Marangoni Alumna Luisa Lombardi at the school's San Babila (Milan) campus