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.
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.
Valentino faces backlash for “disturbing” AI visuals; Perplexity debuts rapid photo-based virtual try-on for realistic fit checks; and Lovable-backed Lumoo raises €550K to scale its VTO platform - three snapshots of how AI is reshaping fashion’s creative and commercial stack.
Target brings conversational shopping into ChatGPT; Topshop readies an AI-powered shoppable catwalk; and Verity AI delivers instant image-based authentication for resale. Three signals of a retail world shifting to real-time, AI-driven discovery and trust.
Oriane gives brands search over untagged social video; Ponda’s wetland-grown BioPuff moves toward commercial adoption; M&S pushes suppliers into renewables with its RE:Spark decarbonisation programme.
Google and Golden Goose fuse AI with artisanal sneaker customisation; BoF & McKinsey warn fashion’s volatility is now the norm; and Apple’s $230 Issey Miyake iPhone Pocket sells out.
Stella McCartney & Eva Mendes reimagine live shopping with Bambuser; Mango maps 40M garments on the blockchain; and Goddiva launches a GPT-5 shopping assistant.
