OTB rolls out Google Cloud's Virtual Try-On across Diesel and Jil Sander as a clienteling tool; Hockerty adds VTO to its made-to-measure configurator to kill the bespoke leap of faith; Bezos, Zuckerberg and Meta buy Met Gala tables as Big Tech pays for cultural cache.
Google Photos turns your camera roll into an AI-generated wardrobe; the Bezos Earth Fund commits $34m to next-gen textile fibres from bacteria, gene-edited cotton, and spider-silk-inspired biopolymers; Victoria Beckham launches AI Twin try-on with DressX, claiming 10x conversion lift.
Clarks launches its first UK marketplace with 100+ brands including Nike and Adidas; Nike cuts 1,400 roles in its second layoff round of 2026, mostly in technology; Google Shopping enlists Stanley Tucci and Simone Ashley to push AI try-on into the mainstream.
Allbirds sells its brand and pivots to AI computing; Meghan Markle invests in shoppable celebrity-style platform OneOff; zero-waste pattern cutting proves scalable; The Little Loop raises £750k for resale infrastructure; Zalando trains designers to grade across every size.
UBS data shows AI quietly lifting productivity and margins across fashion; Foot Locker taps DoorDash to meet demand for instant retail; rising mistrust of AI-generated content forces brands to rethink how trust, authenticity, and credibility are built in social commerce.
Gap embeds AI fit and prepares for agent-led commerce; Kalypso finds brands stuck turning tech into outcomes; smart fabrics with rare earth tech.
Meta winds down Horizon Worlds as AI takes priority; H&M backs Rubi’s CO₂-to-fibre tech to rethink material sourcing; Walmart drops in-chat checkout after weak conversion, reinforcing that AI may drive discovery, but brands still own the sale.
Zalando posts €12.3bn in sales as AI drives growth across its platform; Catches launches physics-based RealFit with Nvidia and Amiri; John Lewis bets on AI assistants and TikTok Shop.
Meta trials conversational product discovery inside its AI chatbot; adidas rolls out its 3D-printed CLIMACOOL LACED globally using Digital Light Synthesis; venture capital firms increasingly funding AI startups.
Gucci faces heat for AI campaign imagery as Kate Barton bets on IBM-powered virtual try-on. Meanwhile, Croissant raises $28M to bake resale value into checkout.
True Fit launches an agentic AI fit assistant powered by 20 years of data; ASOS debuts hybrid virtual try-on with AIUTA, blending real photos and AI avatars; EU Court confirms fashion designs don’t need artistic originality to qualify for protection across the bloc.
Brussels threatens TikTok’s growth engine under the DSA; Sparxell raises €4.2m to scale plant-based structural colour; and ASOS embeds generative AI into core design workflows.
