At the start of 2024, we predicted a year of fashion-tech practicality and that brands would put pressure on new ideas and technologies to generate not only buzz, but results. That largely came true, with diversified strategies focusing on the here and now — not the hypothetical future.
But the fashion industry is still not immune to tech hype cycles. This year, predictably, was all about artificial intelligence. While the tech world buzzed about generative AI — with fashion’s uses spanning personal assistants, expedited image-making and more efficient copy writing — startups and big-brand data scientists saw an opportunity to latch onto the momentum with more established uses.
We saw device launches from Apple, Amazon and Meta that presented ‘wearable tech’ through a new lens, literally: eyewear and headsets demonstrated new ways to add a digital layer to the physical world.
And what about Web3 and the rush to the metaverse and NFTs? The roller coaster’s not over, but it’s still an uncertain ride. Again, practicality became the guiding principle. Forward-thinking brands maximised the requirements introduced for digital product passports (DPPs), startups linked the familiar with the fantastical (yes, it’s still a ‘phygital’ strategy) and gaming became more closely linked with shopping.
Here’s what mattered and what we learnt in fashion-tech in 2024.
The first generation of fashion-tech innovation — e-commerce marketplaces — saw major change in 2024, with consolidation and closures dominating headlines.
Saks Fifth Avenue parent HBC acquired rival Neiman Marcus Group’s Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman to form Saks Global, with investment from Amazon and Salesforce (pending approvals). Saks Global CEO Marc Metrick says the plan is to use tech to focus on personalising each customer’s individual experience. Mytheresa announced plans to acquire Yoox Net-a-Porter from Richemont to form a multi-brand, global digital luxury platform. Matches, meanwhile, was shuttered by new parent company Frasers Group.
While the aim is to create efficient, large-scale conglomerates, so-called white-label tech reached the end of its road. Both Farfetch Platform Solutions and YNAP’s white-label e-commerce business announced plans to cease operations, meaning the under-the-hood services that once powered others’ websites and fulfillment services are no longer available. Now, retailers and brands are focused on replatforming through other providers (as is the case with Harrods) or leaning on their parent companies (as is the case with Stone Island). Monobrand websites are now seen as ground zero for rich brand storytelling, with LVMH North America CEO Anish Melwani saying that Gen Z is seemingly discovering websites for the first time.
Consolidation — in the US at least — has limits. A proposed deal for Coach’s Tapestry Group to acquire Michael Kors’s Capri Holdings was denied, extinguishing what would have been the US’s answer to European giants like Kering and LVMH.
An AI renaissance is upon us, with retailers, startups and big tech seeing huge potential for personalisation and efficiency. Google and Amazon are changing their shopping experiences with AI-created product summaries and personal recommendations. Meta is making it easier for advertisers to use generative AI in their ads. Meta and Amazon also see AI assistants as a key lever in pushing the adoption of smart glasses, with Meta enabling its assistant to provide style advice. (Already, people are using ChatGPT as their ‘dermatologists’.)
Meanwhile, former Stitch Fix and The Yes executive Julie Bornstein is hard at work using her $50 million investment to build a startup that harnesses AI to help consumers discover products from brands and retailers around the globe.
Many legacy brands are treading lightly with customer-facing uses, perhaps conscious that AI-generated works in the public sphere can be tricky (just ask Collina Strada and Baggu, who used AI-generated prints in a bag collaboration, to the apparent disappointment of some fans). This is even before the passing of imminent governmental regulations to dictate disclosures of AI use.
Kering has paused its experimental recommendation chatbot ‘Madeline’, and LVMH has a policy in place to avoid obvious customer-facing uses of AI. Instead, it has developed an internal model that is akin to its own answer to ChatGPT, which employees can use to shortcut the time spent on menial tasks. So has Estée Lauder Companies, having forged relationships with OpenAI and Microsoft to build a range of tools for internal use.
The reaction to smart glasses and mixed reality headsets — a key milestone in the Web3 timeline — has been mixed. Meta debuted both tech and design updates to its smart glasses created with Ray-Ban, which proved even more popular than Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg could have predicted. While he’s pushing the AI element (computer vision enables the glasses to ‘see’ and interpret what the wearer sees), the immediate draw for customers has been their ‘normal-looking’ form as well as hands-free audio and photos.
Apple’s long-awaited mixed reality headset, which emphasises immersive digital experiences, made a major publicity splash. Those including Gucci, Balenciaga, Mytheresa and Syky all dove in, hoping to capture the wealthy early adopters drawn to the device. At first glance, the device seems to not have captured the public’s imagination quite as quickly.
What about the metaverse, often thought to be waiting in the wings for mixed reality’s heralded arrival? It was more ‘wait’ than ‘see’ as augmented reality and digital goods strengthened their tethers to the physical world. Syky, aiming to bridge the gap between digital design and traditional fashion, found firm footing in phygital drops, while brands and retailers brought metaversal experiences to solid ground. Gaming and shopping for physical goods became more clearly linked on Roblox, Drest and standalone virtual stores.
In a surprising about-face, augmented reality on smartphones had a quiet year, with Meta even closing its AR studio while it builds a new system for its experimental AR glasses.
NFT hysteria is officially in the rearview mirror, and developers no longer have to labour through technical explanations (as much). While crypto is climbing back to previous highs, collectibles are not seen as lucratively as they once were. In perhaps the ultimate example of hype fatigue, Nike-owned Rtfkt — once seen as the gold standard for successful, fashion NFT communities — announced that it was ceasing operations.
But just because NFTs aren’t as visible doesn’t mean that progress has stalled. Major players including OTB Group, LVMH and Prada Group are now attaching many of their goods to digital product passports, enhancing products with digital extras. Authentication and transparency, powered by the Aura Blockchain Consortium for those companies, are tangible drivers to adoption, even though implementation remains a complicated task.
There are other uses. Hugo Boss is now linking its loyalty rewards club to the blockchain, while Syky’s brand collaborators and Mmerch see opportunity for a made-to-order model. Balenciaga is making accessories for collectors (through a Ledger collaboration), while Louis Vuitton is still making some products exclusively available to its intimate group of Via members — about half of whom are first-time NFT holders.
Not all DPPs are NFTs, of course. Coach and Reformation, along with other brands, are using them to enable “instant resale”, making it easier for customers of the secondhand fashion economy to list and authenticate their pre-owned goods on platforms including Poshmark and The RealReal.
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