Dive Brief:

• A new app from Israeli startup Awear Solutions allows people with the Awear app to identify clothing or accessories that they see out and about on the street.

• Using their phones, users can scan a coveted item outfitted with an Awear chip and buy it immediately through the Awear app. 

• Slonimsky has connected with DKNY and aims to have 20 retailers adopt her technology, which could have implications for authenticity and advertising as well as for e-commerce.

Dive Insight:

It’s unclear whether this technology will fizzle or take off. An Awear app user has to be pretty close (within 30 feet) to the item embedded with Awear chips in order to snag its data. While inventor Liron Slonimisky developed the app because a stranger wouldn’t tell her where she got her stylish bag, many strangers are actually happy to share when admirers want to know about what they're sporting.

Plus, street etiquette ultimately may not allow people to start aiming their phones in other's personal space. Still, the technology could have interesting applications beyond street-level curiosity. This is an interesting one to follow and see how things turn out.