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Fashion buyers have long acted as the industry\u2019s quiet tastemakers, the people who can sense desire before it\u2019s formed. But now, facing tighter margins and the pressure of precision, they\u2019re meeting these demands with the help of AI.<\/p>\n
With the ability to process vast amounts of previously siloed data \u2014 search behavior, click patterns, regional preferences, and product performance across markets \u2014 AI is rapidly moving beyond simple sales forecasting. Buyers and merchandisers say it\u2019s now reshaping how they build, refine, and scale assortments, as decisions become more data-led than ever.<\/p>\n
Instead of relying solely on past sell-through or personal intuition, buyers can access real-time signals about what shoppers are searching for, clicking on and saving globally. \u201cAI is more of a tool that extends their reach,\u201d says Rich Shepherd, VP of product at Lyst. \u201cThe best buyers still lead with instinct \u2014 AI just gives them a clearer view of where that instinct might resonate most strongly.\u201d<\/p>\n
From luxury groups to global e-commerce platforms, a new model is emerging: AI-powered recommendation systems and pattern-surfacing tools that analyze data, while human buyers interpret those insights and make strategic decisions. The balance between the two is becoming a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
Tapestry, parent company of Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman, uses AI behind the scenes, helping buyers to make smarter decisions about what to order, how much to stock, and where to allocate inventory.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always understood that to digitalize this process and scale fast, we had to build a capability to host and share data easily across the business,\u201d says Fabio Luzzi, chief data and analytics officer at Tapestry. The company invested in building a centralized data repository \u2014 what Luzzi calls its \u201cproprietary data fabric\u201d \u2014 which makes it easy to model data around customers, locations, and supply chains. \u201cIt makes the digitization of processes very easy, as well as the ability to use AI across multiple steps in the value chain.\u201d<\/p>\n