Here's how the fashion industry is using AI to predict the next big trend

"Predicting what matters in fashion was once an elite sport, the province of those who attend those big runway shows in New York, Milan, London, and right now Paris, like the editors of influential magazines. (A line from 2006's The Devil Wears Prada, about Miranda Priestly, a tyrannical fashion editor, conveys the idea succinctly: "You still don't get it do you? Her opinion is the only one that matters.") While elite opinions continue to carry weight, the trend prediction game has expanded enormously over the past decade. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest are redefining how trends spread. According to a report from the data company Launchmetrics, more than 40% of global consumers purchased apparel and accessories at least three times via social media in 2024."

""There is more information available, certainly," said Amy Sullivan, vice president of buying and private brands at the online fashion retailer and styling service Stitch Fix. "And I think the trends because of social media move faster." With so much data floating around, fashion industry players are leaning on AI in order to remain competitive. Sullivan said AI recently helped her team decide whether to go with a red or blue stripe shirt for next Spring. "In the past, to answer that question, you either make a spot decision without really looking at it, or you're requesting samples from vendors overseas that could take weeks and cost a lot of money," Sullivan said. "But when this happened a few weeks ago, we just put it into AI and you can actually see it in a full on-body image and make the right decision." They went with the blue. How AI is used to make predictions AI algorithms are helping the fashion industry on a number of fronts including the creation of personalized customer experiences, such as allowing customers to "try on" clothes virtually, supply chain management, and image generation. Its use in figuring out what's likely"

Fashion trend prediction shifted from elite gatekeepers at runway shows to widespread influencer-driven dynamics on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest. Social commerce drove purchases, with Launchmetrics reporting over 40% of global consumers buying apparel and accessories via social media at least three times in 2024. Brands and retailers increasingly use AI to analyze abundant data, accelerate trend decisions, personalize customer experiences, enable virtual try-ons, and manage supply chains. AI-supported visualizations allow teams to preview garments on full on-body images before ordering costly samples. Retailers use AI insights to choose product variants and streamline design-to-market decisions.

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