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.
Aesthetic collapses inspiration and checkout with FindGPT’s AI shopping agent; Nike Vision bets on optical engineering; and By Rotation teams with Uber to make rental as fast as e-commerce - all pointing to a race to remove friction, not add novelty.
Prévoir raises $750K to bring AI into merchandising workflows; BeSpoke AI bets on wardrobe-aware AI to fix fashion decision fatigue; and Meta faces a smart-glasses patent lawsuit that could disrupt the category’s fastest-growing products.
VestiAi promises 95% cheaper fashion imagery through AI-generated models; WHOOP teams up with Samuel Ross to push wearables beyond gadget aesthetics; and AI stylist startup Alle shuts down after failing to sustain differentiation.
Lane Crawford debuts an AI stylist with AiDLab; VoCoVo exposes growing UK unease over in-store AI surveillance; and Khaqh builds a material intelligence layer from textile waste.
Li & Fung uses Make the Dot to shrink design cycles from days to hours; Zara deploys AI to rework campaign imagery with real models, decoupling shoots from production; DRESSX brings competitive digital fashion into Meta Horizon Worlds, turning styling into social play.
