What is AI in fashion? A complete guide to AI across the fashion value chain
From design and planning to wholesale, supply chain and e-commerce: what artificial intelligence really does in fashion today, what data it needs and where its limits are.
Strategy, Data & Regulation · Explainer
EU AI Act: what do fashion companies need to know in 2026?
The EU AI Act is in force, and the Digital Omnibus has moved the high-risk deadlines. What already applies to fashion brands and retailers, what comes next and where the real exposure lies.
Wholesale & B2B · Guide
AI in B2B fashion wholesale: the complete guide
Where artificial intelligence creates real value between brands and retail partners, what data it needs, how buyers already use it and where the limits are.
Guides
Where fashion meets artificial intelligence.DesignThe complete guide to AI in fashion design and product developmentMerchandisingThe complete guide to AI in fashion merchandising and buyingWholesaleThe complete guide to AI in fashion wholesale and B2BCommerceThe complete guide to AI in fashion e-commerce, marketing and retailSupply ChainThe complete guide to AI in the fashion supply chain and sustainabilityStrategyThe complete guide to AI strategy for fashion companies
Case studies
How leading fashion companies use AI: documented deployments, reported results and the lessons for everyone else.
AI by roleWhat AI changes for buyers, merchandisers, designers, sales teams, e-commerce, finance, IT and supply chain.AI by segmentHow AI plays out in luxury, sportswear, fast fashion, footwear, denim, resale, mid-market brands and basics.Monthly reviewThe month's most relevant AI news for the fashion business, verified, sourced and explained.
Strategy, Data & Regulation
Strategy, data foundations, ROI, teams and the EU AI Act.
How to start with AI in a fashion company: a 90-day plan
A practical three-month plan for fashion companies: choosing the first use cases, checking the data, running a pilot that proves something and deciding what to scale.
Strategy, Data & Regulation · Guide
How to build an AI strategy for a fashion brand
Strategy, Data & Regulation · Guide
Data strategy for AI in fashion: what to fix first
Strategy, Data & Regulation · Analysis
How to measure the ROI of AI in fashion
Strategy, Data & Regulation · Analysis
Build, buy or partner? How fashion companies should source AI capabilities
Design & Product
AI from first sketch to finished product data.
AI in fashion design: how design teams actually use it
Generative AI has moved into the design studio, but mostly as a fast sketchpad and visualisation tool. Here is where it helps designers, where it falls short and what teams need before they rely on it.
Product Development
AI in fashion product development: from brief to sample
TrendsAI trend forecasting in fashion: how it works, what it sees and its limits
3DAI, 3D and virtual sampling: fewer samples, faster decisions
FitHow does AI improve fit and sizing? From size advice to better patterns
AI IN ONE SENTENCE
AI agentAn AI system that can plan and carry out multi-step tasks, using tools and data, with limited human instruction.Demand forecastingPredicting future sales of products using historical data, trends and other signals, increasingly with machine learning.LLMLarge Language Model: an AI model trained on large amounts of text that can understand and generate natural language.Generative AIAI that creates new content such as text, images, video or designs based on patterns learned from training data.GlossaryMerchandising & Buying
Forecasting, assortments, allocation and the numbers behind them.
How does AI inventory optimisation reduce deadstock and stockouts in fashion?
Fashion stock is perishable: too much ends in markdowns, too little in lost sales. Here is how AI models balance the two, what evidence exists and what they need to work.
Merchandising & Buying · Explainer
How does AI allocation and replenishment work across stores and channels?
Merchandising & Buying · Explainer
What is size curve optimisation and how does AI help buy the right sizes?
Merchandising & Buying · Guide
How can AI support range and line planning in fashion?
Merchandising & Buying · Explainer
What is demand sensing and how does it work in fashion?
Topic hub
Wholesale & B2B
AI between brands and retailers: showrooms, orders, re-orders.
Wholesale & B2B · Explainer
How do AI re-order prediction and automated replenishment work for retailers?
Wholesale & B2B · Guide
How can AI help fashion sales reps prepare, sell and follow up?
Wholesale & B2B · Explainer
How does AI change the digital showroom in fashion wholesale?
Wholesale & B2B · Explainer
How does AI customer segmentation work for wholesale accounts?
AI IN FASHION IN NUMBERS
Verified figures on how the fashion and apparel business is adopting, funding and governing artificial intelligence, each linked to its original source.35%+
More than 35% of fashion and luxury executives surveyed for the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2026 report said their companies were already using generative AI in areas such as online customer service, image creation, copywriting, consumer search or product discovery.
McKinsey & Company and The Business of Fashion, The State of Fashion 2026: When the rules change, 2025
73%
73% of global fashion executives surveyed for the State of Fashion 2024 Executive Survey said generative AI would be a key priority for their businesses in the following year.
McKinsey & Company, Gen AI is so hot right now (chart based on the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2024 Executive Survey), 2024
62%
62% of fashion leaders in the same State of Fashion 2024 survey said their companies already used generative AI, for example for online shopping assistance and writing product descriptions; this is a different survey wave and question from the 2026 figure above.
McKinsey & Company, Gen AI is so hot right now (chart based on the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2024 Executive Survey), 2024
34% / 28%
In the State of Fashion 2024 Executive Survey, marketing and copywriting was the most cited generative AI use case (34% of respondents), followed by design and product development (28%).
McKinsey & Company, Gen AI is so hot right now (chart based on the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2024 Executive Survey), 2024
The Long Read · Strategy, Data & Regulation
Fashion technology trends 2026: what is real and what is hype
AI shopping assistants, agentic checkout, virtual try-on and enterprise agents: a sober look at which fashion technology trends are delivering in 2026 and which are still mostly promise.
Supply Chain & Sustainability
Sourcing, quality, circularity and product passports.REGULATION TRACKER
EU rules affecting fashion products, verified against official sources.
- 18 July 2024
- 1 August 2024
- 2 February 2025
- 2 August 2025
- 16 October 2025
- 19 July 2026
- 20 July 2026
- 2 August 2026
- 27 September 2026
- 2 December 2027
- 2027 Q4
- 2028 04
Supply Chain & Sustainability · Guide
How is AI used in the fashion supply chain?
Supply Chain & Sustainability · Analysis
Can AI make fashion more sustainable?
Supply Chain & Sustainability · Explainer
How does AI detect defects in fabrics and garments?
Supply Chain & Sustainability · Explainer
