The images are created by 60 photographers in 55 studios, long rows of square black boxes in another Yoox complex. Here straight-on but still seductive product shots for yoox.com and the many mono-brand sites are cranked out with martial efficiency. Brand representatives come and go to make sure that their precious product is being shot exactly as they would like (one of the many complexities of partnering with 37 of the most controlling brands in the world). Still, at peak times 15,000 pieces are shot each day. In another part of the warehouse Fun-Tom, an automated system using 41 moving Plexiglas mannequins, can shoot 200 outfits in an hour. Yoox has also developed its own software, Turn-Oh, which can stitch together 30 shots to create 360-degree animations. There are separate warehouses for folded items and hanging items; another is being built just for shoes.
From Nick Compton’s excellent Telegraph article on Yoox and its founder, Federico Marchetti.
-Pete