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Amazon’s Echo Look taps into Vogue and GQ for style help

The device has gotten smarter, too.

Magazines are constantly looking at ways to bridge the gap between their paper-based and digital audiences, especially with an ecommerce slant, which has demonstrated its potential in a number of innovative areas, including augmented reality. Now, Condé Nast fashion bibles Vogue and GQ are experimenting with content on the exclusive Amazon Echo Look, which is basically Alexa with a camera (and is only available to purchase by invitation at this stage). From February 19, readers can take a selfie with the Look, send it to the app and get a host of celebrity and fashion content in return, some of which they can buy through the app, with Condé Nast getting a cut of the sale.

The content will be updated once a week by Condé Nast and Amazon employees, and while it's not clear how many customers the glossy titles hope to reach through the project, Vogue's digital director Anna-Lisa Yabsley revealed that the experiment was prompted largely because more and more readers are asking for help in choosing products. Plus, Condé Nast has previously identified ecommerce as a key growth area for 2018. Rob DeChiaro, GQ's digital manager, added that if trials are successful, the title may end up making content specifically for Look users.

The curated content joins a number of other new features in the Look's latest update. New voice recognition abilities can differentiate between multiple users, while a new Collections tool lets users organize their catalogue by color, item or occasion, as well as create customized lists. The Look has gotten smarter, too, automatically creating collections for favorites, seasons and even the weather, which is handy if you're the type to be caught short by a rain shower.