2020 10 Evangelista

Artificial intelligence in fashion:
how consumers and the fashion system are being

impacted by AI-powered technologies
Politecnico di Milano
Master's Degree in Design for the Fashion System
Patricia Nicole Evangelista

Academic Year 2019/2020
School of Design
Artificial intelligence in fashion: how consumers and the fashion system are
being impacted by AI-powered technologies
Supervisor: Prof. Elena Marinoni

ID Number 912579

Special thanks to
The Invest Your Talent in Italy scholarship, supported by the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and International Cooperation, ICE - Italian Trade Agency and Uni–Italia,
that made possible my academic path in Politecnico di Milano.
Professor Elena Marinoni for the advising and insights.
Robson Evangelista and Dilceia Evangelista for the continuous love and support.
Johannes Keiten for always believing in my research and pushing me to keep

going.
And to my loved ones Rafael Evangelista, Maria Ligia Freire Guilherme, Ceci
Freire Evangelista, Loraine Meister, Flavia Villatore, Luiza Medeiros, Luisa
Wandscheer.
table of contents
Introduction p. 14
1. Artificial Intelligence p. 16
1.1. definition and history p. 17
1.1.1. human intelligence p. 19
1.1.2. machine intelligence p. 19
1.2. how to make machines intelligent p. 20
1.2.1. understanding data p. 20
1.2.2. machine learning p. 21
1.2.2.1. supervised and unsupervised learning p. 22
1.2.2.2. deep learning p. 22
1.2.3. computer vision p. 23
1.2.4. natural language processing (NLP) p. 24
1.2.5. robotics p. 25
2. Fashion and AI p. 26
2.1. concept and design p. 29
2.1.1. design thinking p. 29
2.1.2. trend forecasting p. 30
2.1.2.1. AI-powered trend forecasting p. 31
2.1.2.1.1. case studies p. 33
2.1.3. generative design p. 37
2.1.3.1. case studies p. 38
2.2. materials p. 44
2.2.1. artificial intelligence in natural fiber production p. 46
2.2.2. artificial intelligence in textile production p. 50
2.3. production p. 55
2.3.1. production and human labour p. 56
2.3.2. manufacturing robotics p. 57
2.4. logistics and distribution p. 60
2.4.1. warehouse robotics p. 60
2.4.2. demand forecasting p. 65
2.5. retail p. 69
2.5.1. e-commerce p. 70
2.5.1.1. conversational commerce p. 70
2.5.1.2. virtual style assistants p. 75
4 Artificial Intelligence in fashion: how consumers and the fashion system are being impacted by AI-powered technologies
2.5.1.3. virtual try-on p. 85
2.5.2. brick-and-mortar p. 90
2.5.2.1. smart mirrors p. 90
2.6. artificial intelligence and ethics in the fashion industry p. 94
2.7. AI in fashion as a partner in the covid-19 crisis p. 96
3. Field Research p. 98
3.1. hypotheses p. 100
3.1.1. level of exposure to AI-powered solutions p. 100
3.1.2. privacy concerns regarding AI powered solutions p. 101
3.2. methodology p. 102
3.3. data analysis p. 103
3.4. findings p. 104
3.4.1. level of exposure to AI-powered solutions p. 105
3.4.2. privacy concerns regarding AI powered solutions p. 109
3.5. considerations p. 116
3.5.1. quality of AI tools for retail p. 117
3.5.2. notes on social media p. 118
4. Final Thoughts: Techlash and Implications p. 120
Conclusion p. 125
References p. 126
Annexes p. 136
Artificial Intelligence in fashion: how consumers and the fashion system are being impacted by AI-powered technologies 5
list of figures
1. Artificial Intelligence
Figure 1.1. Artificial Intelligence and some of its fields. p. 20
Figure 1.2. Examples of different types of data and their nature: internal/external p. 21
and structured/unstructured (Adapted from Wilson, E., 2019).
Figure 1.3. Machine learning and its approaches of supervised and unsupervised p. 21
learning and deep learning.
Figure 1.4. Neural networks composition, with layers and data flow. p. 22
Figure 1.5. Machine learning and its approaches of image recognition and image p. 23
processing.
Figure 1.6. Example of how computer vision can recognize specific features in an p. 24
outfit in details, developed by the startup Glisten.
Figure 1.7. Natural language processing and its approach of conversational p. 25

interface.
Figure 1.8. Robotics and its approach of embodied AI. p. 25
2. Fashion and AI
Figure 2.1. The fashion value chain and the current AI applications to each p. 28
phase.
Figure 2.2. Actions of a design thinking approach to design projects (adapted p. 29

from Interaction Design Foundation, 2020)
Figure 2.3. Example of how artificial intelligence can analyze visually and p. 31
textually an Instagram post
Figure 2.4. DeepFashion's image labeling: "(a) Additional landmark locations p. 32

improve clothes recognition. (b) Massive attributes lead to better partition of
the clothing feature space." (Liu, Z. et al., 2016).
Figure 2.5. The NextAtlas methodology for AI-powered trend forecasting, p. 33

where the last step circles back to the first, in a cyclical discovery process
(NextAtlas, 2020).
Figure 2.6. The Heuritech methodology for AI trend forecasting for fashion and p. 34
luxury (Heuritech, 2020).
Figure 2.7. Stylumia's approach to fashion forecasting (Stylumia, 2020) p. 35
Figure 2.8. 8 by Yoox's first 2018 collection. The in-house brand used data- p. 36
driven trend forecasting based on social media and online magazines to inspire
the design team into creating the collection (Mau, D., 2018).
Figure 2.9. Example of how a generative adversarial network (GAN) model p. 37

works. Adapted from Luce, L. (2019).
Figure 2.10. The output of the GAN used by The Fabricant was a generated p. 39
image of an outfit without a clear shape or style. Amber Jae Slooten then created
her own interpretation of the given inspiration, which was developed in 3D and
became a digital garment (Cottrill, F., 2018)
Figure 2.11. The dressed avatars were then inserted in hyper-realistic landscapes, p. 39
mixing the real and the digital in a way that sparks confusion and curiosity on
the viewer. (Cottrill, F., 2018)
Figure 2.12. Example illustrating the method proposed by Yildirim, G. et al., that p. 40
can alter three clothing attributes - color, texture and shape - generating new
products (Zalando Research, 2018).
Figure 2.13. Results of Zalando's method for changing attributes of a generated p. 41

garment using GANs (Yildirim, G., et al. 2018).
Figure 2.14. The generation of a styled image by having a shape mask and a p. 42
style noise as inputs (Sbai, O. et al., 2018).
Figure 2.15. Best rated items by human evaluation on the following categories: p. 43
row 1, overall score; row 2, shape novelty; row 3, shape complexity; row 4,
texture novelty; row 5, texture complexity; row 6, realism (Sbai, O. et al., 2018).
Figure 2.16. Fibers classification by origin: natural or manmade (Adapted from p. 44

Sinclair, R., 2015).
Figure 2.17. Textiles classification by construction technique: knitted, woven and p. 45

assembled.
Figure 2.18. A team using Wadhwani AI's algorithm on pest traps through a p. 47
smartphone (Extracted from Nandgaonkar, S., 2019).
Figure 2.19. Green Cube's identification of plants through drone generated p. 48

image and projection of data in vegetation map (Green Cube Solutions, 2019).
Figure 2.20. Cognex Deep Learning identification of anomalies and defects on p. 51

the processes of weaving, knitting, printing and finishing of textiles (Adapted
from Cognex, 2020).
Figure 2.21. The result of an AI generated color tolerance (Datacolor, 2016). p. 52
Figure 2.22. The traditional knitting production process of taking a pattern, p. 53

introducing it to a machine to generate the textile versus the AI model that
provides the pattern based on an inserted photo (Kaspar, A. et al., 2019).
Figure 2.23. The process of garment manufacturing step by step (Adapted from p. 55
Nayak, R., Padhye, R., 2018).
Figure 2.24. SoftWear's Sewbot working on a fabric (Hasan, S., 2018). The p. 57
robot's arms are able to handle the fabric, position it properly and perform the
sewing.
Figure 2.25. Sewts' robots are designed to perform advanced textile handling p. 58
for different tasks. (Otto, A., 2019)
Figure 2.26. SoftWear's Sewbot working on a fabric (TRT World, 2018). The p. 62
robot's arms are able to handle the fabric, position it properly and perform the
sewing.
Figure 2.27. One of Covariant's robots picking and placing on the workline p. 62
objects of different sizes and shapes (Adapted from Covariant, 2020).
Figure 2.28. Kindred's AutoGrasp technology in action: the robot identifies the p. 63
objects through computer vision and then place them in the right bins, completing
the sorting out process (Kindred, 2020).
Figure 2.29. The field of predictive analysis includes demand forecasting, a p. 66

branch that aims to predict customer demand for a product or service. Artificial
intelligence can be a technique to achieve unlimited data source demand
forecasting through the use of machine learning.
Figure 2.30. Amazon Forecast uses historical and related data to, through p. 67
machine learning, predict demand of a product or service (Amazon Web
Services, 2020).
Figure 2.31. Different sales channels in the fashion industry (Adapted from p. 69
Iannilli, V., 2019).
Figure 2.32. Interactions with Michael Kors' Facebook Messenger chatbot. p. 72

The bot starts asking where the customer is from, and then offering different
features accordingly. In these screenshots, the interaction led to a video of the
Fall 2020 runway show backstage content.
Figure 2.33. Interactions with ASOS' Enki chatbot (Gilliland, N., 2018). Besides p. 73
customer support, something more common in other chatbots, Enki is able to
provide style recommendations through voice, text or image activation.
Figure 2.34. Amazon Echo Look technical details, including LED lighting, camera, p. 76
microphone and speakers (Mallis, A. 2018).
Figure 2.35. Amazon Echo Look's Style Check tool that compares and rates p. 77
different outfits based on fit, color, styling and current trends (Koifman, V.,
2018).
Figure 2.36. Style by Alexa's advice based on the user's outfit analysis and data p. 78
like the weather forecast (Amazon, 2020).
Figure 2.37. SnapStyle trying to identify a denim jacket, mistakenly confusing p. 79
with a fur coat (Halzack, S., 2019).
Figure 2.38. SnapStyle trying to identify a long sleeve, white blouse with puffy p. 79
shoulders. The tool showed a lace blouse (even though that was not the fabric
from the original photo) and even knitted blouses and sweatshirts.
Figure 2.39. In this case, SnapStyle analysis of the image was pretty accurate p. 80
in identifying the floral printed midi skirt and recommending similar products.
Figure 2.40. Stitch Fix's Shop Your Looks tool, in which the algorithm recommends p. 82
products that go with items the client already has, creating a style card and
personalizing the shopping experience (Alcedo, M., 2020).
Figure 2.41. An example of how a human - in this case, a stylist called Sophie - p. 83
hand picks products of a particular style for a client with the help of AI (Cook,
J., 2017).
Figure 2.42. The Nike Fit feature allows for customers to photograph and scan p. 86
their feet in order to, through the use of artificial intelligence, get the most
accurate size recommendation.
Figure 2.43. FaceCake released in 2020 a sneak peek video of their new feature p. 87
Augmented Realism. In the video, it's possible to see sunglasses and a pair of
earrings being worn, and as the models move their heads, the products also
move and capture different reflections from the environment (FaceCake, 2020).
Figure 2.44. Zeekit's algorithm divides the clothing and the user's images in p. 88
80,000 segments that are later combined to fit the item over the body (BBC,
2020).
Figure 2.45. MemoMi's Memory Mirror allows the user to try different colors of p. 91
the same dress (MemoMi, 2020).
Figure 2.46. The voice interactive mirror placed in H&M flagship store allows p. 92
customers to take selfies and share them on social media, get special discounts
and get outfit inspiration that can be purchased on the spot (Ombori, 2018).
Figure 2.47. The relationship between the growth of the discussions around p. 97
coronavirus and the visibility of luxury products on Instagram can be a sign that
consumers are more cautious and sensitive to the crisis, and over consumerism
can be seen as morally questionable (Heuritech, 2020).
3. Field Research
Figure 3.1. The correlation matrix (Annex 3) with all correlation coefficients, p. 103
differentiating positive and negative correlations by color (being green for
positive and red for negative) and strengths by shades (darker being stronger
and lighter being weaker).
Figure 3.2. Composition of the respondents regarding age and region of origin. p. 104
The regions of Africa, Asia and Oceania are not shown on the graph due to the
low number of participants (0,7%, 1,7% and 0%, respectively).
Figure 3.3. Percentage of consumers that have used AI-powered solutions for p. 105
retail by each specific product.
Figure 3.4. Percentage of consumers that have used AI-powered solutions for p. 106
retail by region of origin. The regions of Africa, Asia and Oceania are not shown
on the graph due to the low number of participants.
Figure 3.5. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between p. 107
age and occurence of use of AI-powered solutions. Although there is mostly
a negative correlation, the coefficients are so low that there is no relevant
relationship between the two variables.
Figure 3.6. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between p. 108
frequency of online shopping and occurence of use of AI-powered solutions. A
low to almost moderate positive correlation was identified.
Figure 3.7. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between the p. 109
confidence that brands keep and process personal data safely and occurence
of use of AI-powered solutions. Most of the coefficients are so low that no
correlation is found.
Figure 3.8. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between the p. 110
importance of personalized shopping assistance and the openness to share
personal data in order to get that type of assistance. The correlation coefficient
is a moderate positive, meaning that when one variable grows, the other does
as well.
Figure 3.9. Table with the results of the survey concerning the willingness to p. 112
share image-based data by age group. The total numbers show a resistance to
hand out data of this nature, with a high number of strong disagreements to the
questions asked.
share non image-based data by age group. The total numbers show a lower
resistance to hand out data of this nature, with a lower number of strong
disagreements to the questions asked in comparison to image-based data. The
number of strong agreements is also significantly higher.
Figure 3.11. Table with the results of the survey concerning the willingness to use p. 114
virtual try-on by giving webcam access by age group. The total numbers show
a high reluctance to adopting this kind of feature, with more than half of the
participants strongly disagreeing with the statement.
use virtual try-on by using Instagram filters by age group. The total numbers
show more acceptance of adopting this kind of feature, with a decrease of 26
points of respondents that strongly disagreed with the statement.
list of annexes
Annex 1. Questionnaire “Consumer Behavior in Apparel Retail” p. 136
Annex 2. Correlation matrix p. 142
abstract
Artificial intelligence and its many subfields are powerful tools that can be applied to every
step of the fashion value chain - from concept and design to the source of materials, production,
logistics and retail. It can bring improvements such as speeding and scaling up processes, handling
amounts of data that humans can't and offering to consumers new ways of experiencing retail.
This document aims to explore how artificial intelligence is changing the fashion industry, by first
defining basic concepts of computer science in order to understand how they relate to fashion,
such as the difference between human intelligence and machine intelligence and a walk through
the history of AI development. Then, specifics of AI were described, including machine learning,
computer vision, robotics and natural language processing. Every part of the fashion’s value chain
was analyzed in order to find the current applications and possibilities, as well as the startups and
innovators that are shaping the field with examples of case studies. In addition, a field research was
conducted through the application of a survey, designed in order to evaluate the level of exposure
of the end consumer to AI-powered solutions for retail, as well as how they perceive and trust them.
The results were analyzed in order to uncover all the layers and correlations of data that can help
identify hurdles and barriers that can present challenges for these technologies to be adopted in a
wider way, such as privacy concerns and quality of the solutions. At last, the findings of the field
research are contextualized in the framework of the so-called techlash, the feeling of animosity
towards digitalism in a world that relies heavily on technology.
estratto
L'intelligenza artificiale e i suoi numerosi sottocampi sono strumenti potenti che possono
essere applicati ad ogni fase della catena del valore della moda - dal concetto e dal design alla
fonte dei materiali, alla produzione, alla logistica e alla vendita al dettaglio. Possono apportare
miglioramenti quali la velocizzazione e l'aumento di scala dei processi, la gestione di quantità di
dati che gli esseri umani non possono gestire e l'offerta ai consumatori di nuovi modi di vivere
l'esperienza della vendita al dettaglio. Questo documento mira ad esplorare come l'intelligenza
artificiale stia cambiando l'industria della moda, definendo prima di tutto i concetti di base
dell'informatica per capire come si relazionano con la moda, come la differenza tra l'intelligenza
umana e l'intelligenza delle macchine e una passeggiata nella storia dello sviluppo dell'intelligenza
artificiale. Poi sono state descritte le specifiche dell'IA, tra cui l’apprendimento automatico, la
visione artificiale, la robotica e l'elaborazione del linguaggio naturale. Ogni parte della catena del
valore della moda è stata analizzata per trovare le applicazioni e le possibilità attuali, così come
le startup e gli innovatori che stanno cambiando il settore con esempi di casi di studio. Inoltre, è
stata condotta una ricerca sul campo attraverso l'applicazione di un'indagine, progettata al fine di
valutare il livello di esposizione del consumatore finale alle soluzioni basate sull'IA per la vendita
al dettaglio così come il modo in cui le percepisce e si fida di loro. I risultati sono stati analizzati al
fine di scoprire tutti i livelli e le correlazioni di dati che possono aiutare a identificare gli ostacoli
e le barriere che possono presentare sfide per l'adozione di queste tecnologie in modo più ampio,
come le preoccupazioni sulla privacy e la qualità delle soluzioni. Infine, i risultati della ricerca sul
campo sono contestualizzati nel quadro del cosiddetto techlash, il sentimento di animosità verso il
digitalismo in un mondo che si affida fortemente alla tecnologia.
introduction
introduction
Some may think that artificial intelligence can be disruptive and
intelligence is the future of fashion - but actually, empowering, but also unpredictable and
it is already the present. AI entered in almost can pose challenges such as exacerbating
every part of the fashion value chain biases, inequalities and discrimination.
(Luce, L., 2019), but it’s still not being The research tackles ethical issues such as the
applied on a bigger scale. Innovators in replacement of garment factory workers by
the market already understood the power of it, sewing robots and how this could negatively
but there are a lot of opportunities available to impact countries that have their economies
be explored. greatly based in this industry. It also discusses
In concept and design, AI is being a concern that has been emerging in the last
used for data-driven trend forecasting and years: the protection of privacy. Especially in
generative design, helping designers and retail, personal data is being collected
companies in the creative process. In materials, and processed by companies to offer a
AI is seen improving the farming of natural personalized shopping experience, but
fibers as well as serving as a tool for quality the lack of knowledge on how this data
control and helping production of knitted is being treated is concerning for many
and woven textiles. In the production step, consumers.
the groundbreaking manufacturing robots are After the desk research and the analysis
being developed to speed up processes and of the current scenario, this research aims
bring garment production back to western to investigate the consumer's perspective
countries, while in logistics and distribution and understand the level of exposure to the
robots can aid the process of warehousing. current AI-powered solutions in retail and
Another important part in which artificial also concerns and points of reluctance that can
intelligence is being used is for demand impede someone from using such solutions.
forecasting, predicting consumer demand for a Understanding these barriers is fundamental
product or service, allowing companies to plan to analyze how to deal with the techlash trend
the amount of goods to be manufactured and that brings a more pessimistic approach to new
avoid overproduction. In the final step of the technologies and the Big Tech - which are the
fashion value chain, AI is being applied in retail giant companies that dominate the tech world -
through conversational commerce - or chatbots as well as to how AI can be a partner to fashion
-, virtual personal stylists that give fashion in humanitarian crises such as the COVID-19
advice based on data, and virtual try-on and pandemic in 2020.
smart mirrors, that rely on a combination of AI Ultimately, the goal is to understand
and augmented reality. the all the problematics of the current scenario
The adoption of these AI products fuels in order to have a glimpse of how artificial
a lot of discussion around ethics in the fashion intelligence, the fashion industry and its
field. According to Renda (2019), artificial consumers can co-exist in the near future.
artificial intelligence
In order to begin to understand the applications of AI in
fashion, basic concepts of computer science have to be
explained.
definition and history

The first thing that has to be taken in they have predicted. One of the main obstacles
consideration to begin to understand what was the fact that computers simply couldn’t
artificial intelligence is, is knowing that it is an store or fast process information as desired
umbrella term - meaning, it encompasses a set (Anyoha, R., 2017). Shifting from an optimistic
of processes, methods, tools and techniques perspective to a sceptical one made the research
to reach the goal of making computers behave fundings and interest shrink and AI research
intelligently, like humans do, including abilities entered a phase called AI winter, lasting from
like “reasoning, problem solving, memory recall, mid 70’s to early 1980.
planning, learning, processing natural language, In the 80’s, interests in AI began to rise
perception, manipulation, social intelligence and again, with the development of initiatives like
creativity” (Luce, L., 2019). the expert systems by Edward Feigenbaum,
The field of artificial intelligence was that allowed computers to mimic the decision
created in 1956, in the Dartmouth Summer making and problem solving of experts of
Research Project On Artificial Intelligence a given field (Anyoha, R., 2017). With the
- held in the Dartmouth College in Hanover, return of interests comes also the return on
New Hampshire - where a group of scientists fundings, and AI was then being developed and
gathered for two months to brainstorm around researched again. Big investors included the
the new subject. On the workshop’s proposal, Japanese government with the Fifth Generation
released a year before, the researchers stated computer project, that aimed to give computers
that “An attempt will be made to find how to reasoning capabilities to eventually perform
make machines use language, form abstractions tasks like “diagnose diseases, analyze lawsuits
and concepts, solve kinds of problems now and understand language” (Pollack, A., 1992).
reserved for humans, and improve themselves.” But once again the prospects were too high
(McCarthy, J., Minsky, M., Rochester, N., and, after a 400 million dollars investment,
Shannon, C.E., 1955). the initiative failed to achieve many of its goals
After that summer, artificial intelligence and commercial interests decreased, leading
was officially a field of study, and from that point Japan to offer the software to anyone who was
up until the 70’s, AI research thrived. There was interested, even foreigners (Pollack, A., 1992)
a common sentiment of fascination over the - which is a relevant fact since Japan and the
wonders of this new powerful discipline, with USA were on competing grounds at that time
a lot of hopeful and promising projections. to lead the computer technology market.
Marvin Minsky, an American scientist known After another set of unmet expectations,
for his contributions to AI studies, said in 1970 once again an AI winter period arrived in the
in a Life magazine interview that “in from three late 80’s and early 90’s. Investments were cut
to eight years we will have a machine with the again and commercial interests in artificial
general intelligence of an average human being”. intelligence were low. But even without
Expectations were high, and with that government fundings and much less hype, the
came the disappointment when researchers field continued being studied and is known
realized things were more complex than what that even during AI winter periods there were
developments and achievements. By the late 90’s potentially add to global economic activity
to mid 2000’s, AI was back and big milestones in 13 trillions of dollars by 2030 and that 70
were being reached. The approach began to be percent of companies may have adopted at least
more on specific areas, like machine learning one type of AI technology by that same year
and natural language processing, and AI began (McKinsey Global Institute, 2018).
to be a constant in society. As discussed, the history of AI is far
In the new century, artificial from linear when it comes to development
intelligence - backed up by all evolutions and investments. In a lot of periods, there
in computer science - is not just a trend, has been a lot of disbelief in the field and
but part of everyday life, being found its potentialities. However, at this moment
in products and processes. Companies artificial intelligence has reached a point of no
are investing in research and development, return as it is not confined anymore at research
with the global players being the American centers in Universities or small projects. Its
companies Amazon, Google and Microsoft, uses are spread across industries and a world
accompanied also by the Chinese company without the applications of AI would be hard to
Alibaba. Predictions estimate that AI can imagine at this point.
human intelligence
If artificial intelligence is about understand rules.” (Mackintosh, N. J., 2011).
providing machines with human intelligence, it It is not only about receiving and storing
is important to define what the last stands for. In information, it is being able to make sense of
general words, intelligence “involves language it, put into context and make connections, with
and the capacity to develop and transmit a the capacity of learning - another key concept
culture, to think, reason, test hypotheses, and for the field of AI.
machine intelligence
In order to understand if a machine can the computer mislead the interrogator into not
think like a human - or, in better words, can being able to differentiate the two, and if the
mimic human behaviors and reactions machine was able to trick them, it would pass
-, the British computer scientist Alan Turing the test and prove its intelligence.
created in 1950 the Turing Test, which consisted This ability of a computer to respond
of a game with two humans (one interrogator like a person is possible thanks to natural
and one responder) and one computer. The language processing (NLP), a form of artificial
interrogator would ask questions to both the intelligence that understands human language
person and the computer, and later was asked - which is completely different from machines'
to identify who was the human and who was code-based languages - and that will be further
the machine based on the answers. The point explained in the chapter 1.2.4. of this document.
of this so-called Imitation Game was to make
I believe that in about fifty years’ time it will be possible to

programme computers, with a storage capacity of about 10 9 ,
to make them play the imitation game so well that an average
interrogator will not have more than 70 percent chance of
making the right identification after five minutes of questioning.
… I believe that at the end of the century the use of words and
general educated opinion will have altered so much that one
will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to
be contradicted.
(Turing, A., 1950, extracted from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
how to make machines
intelligent
Like previously said, artificial The four main areas of AI that are
intelligence is an umbrella term and there are specially relevant for the fashion industry
many ways to achieve it. With it, it’s possible to include machine learning, computer vision,
make machines sense, think and act on given natural language processing (NLP) and
stimuli. robotics.
Machine Learning
Computer Vision
Robotics
Natural Language
Processing (NLP)
Figure 1.1. Artificial Intelligence and some of its fields.
understanding data
To start talking about artificial data, like blog posts or emails.
intelligence, first it is essential to understand A company can have a large set of data
the concept of data, since AI relies heavily in its that can be either internal, originated within
collection and analysis. the organization like the company's website or
According to Luce, L. (2019), data is purchase orders, or external, which are those
generally a "raw set of information that requires originated outside the firm, such as social
some processing in order to have meaning" and media or macroeconomic indicators.
it can be structured - when it is organized,
making it easier for machines to make sense of
it - or unstructured - unorganized, free-form
Internal
E-commerce sales data Websites

Sales transactions Reviews
Purchase orders Marketing campaigns
Inventory Apps
Company’s point of sale info In-store devices
Loyalty card Texts
Customer service Customer relationship data
Structured Unstructured
Weather Social media
Customer store ship/receipts Click streams
Third-party syndicated data Internet of things (IoT)
Macroeconomic indicators Geolocation devices
Government census Digital personal assistants
Customer point of sale info Videos
Household panel data Natural language
External
Figure 1.2. Examples of different types of data and their nature: internal/external and structured/
unstructured (Adapted from Wilson, E., 2019).
machine learning
The British artificial intelligence learn from past experiences and apply
researcher Donald Michie wrote in the this knowledge in future processes, just
1968 document "'Memo' Functions and like humans do. That is possible through
Machine Learning" that "it would be useful if machine learning, an extremely important field
computers could learn from experience and thus of artificial intelligence that aims to identify
automatically improve the efficiency of their own patterns in data that was previously fed to the
programs during execution". machine, predicting the value of non existent
If the final goal of AI is to make data (Luce, L., 2019) thus making it possible
machines think, behave and respond like for machines to learn without being manually
a human, they should have the ability to programmed.
Machine Learning
Deep Learning
Supervised Learning
Unsupervised Learning
Figure 1.3. Machine learning and its approaches of supervised and unsupervised learning and deep
learning.
supervised and unsupervised
learning
There are two ways in which computers When there is only input data and
learn: by supervised and unsupervised learning. no previous responses, the machine learns
Supervised learning takes existing data (input) through unsupervised learning, relying just on
and already known data responses (output), underlying patterns and inferences from a set
training the machine to predict other future of data. The applications of each learning mode
outputs in cases of uncertainty, all based on will depend on the nature of the available data.
evidence.
deep learning
Deep learning is a category inside the of complexity because, instead of taking input
macro area of machine learning and consists of data and generating an output in a linear way, it
"learning multiple levels of representation and is composed by intermediate nodes - in the so-
abstraction that help to make sense of data such called hidden layers with its own synapses - that
as images, sound, and text" (GitHub, 2011), are interconnected with other nodes, that then
usually relying on neural networks. transform data of the input layers in output
Neural networks are a subcategory of layer results (Luce, L., 2019).
machine learning that provide a higher level
Neural Network
Input Data Output data
Input Layer Hidden Layer Output Layer
Figure 1.4. Neural networks composition, with layers and data flow.
Although the definition may seem too customers that are shopping on e-commerce
abstract for someone not familiar with the field platforms based on previously searched
of computer science, the applications of deep products. The effectiveness of this engine can be
learning to fashion include one very known a combination of deep learning and computer
tool: the recommendation of products for vision, another AI field.
computer vision
"If we want machines to think, we need Computer vision then comes with
to teach them to see" (Li, F., 2015). One of the the ability to take action over that collected
most fascinating senses of the human being is information, as we can see in smart mirrors,
sight, that is used to understand the world that for example. Through machine learning, it can
surrounds us, from survival to socialization. recognize patterns and interpret the image
The power of sight has also been given (Sagar, R. 2018).
to machines through computer vision, allowing Applications to computer vision are
them to recognize, interpret and process digital various, from face recognition to autonomous
images and videos. Through image recognition, cars. In the fashion field, one example is the
the machine can analyze the pixels and their ability to analyze images on fashion blogs and
numeric values on the given image, being able social media platforms, understand which kind
to recognize it as containing an object, person, of products are being shown and its features
animal, etc. (Towards Data Science, 2018). and, together with other artificial intelligence
Image processing, in the other hand, is tools, predict market demand and fashion
able to manipulate the image, with the goal of trends. It can also be used for recommendation
making it more readable by a machine (Luce, systems in e-commerce, by sorting products
L., 2019), including "smoothing, sharpening, out in a lookbook picture.
contrasting and stretching on the image" (Sagar,
R., 2018).
Computer Vision
Image Recognition
Image Processing
Figure 1.5. Machine learning and its approaches of image recognition and image processing.
Figure 1.6. Example of how computer vision can recognize specific features in an outfit in details,
developed by the startup Glisten.
natural language processing (NLP)

It was previously explored how made to reach it (Liddy, E. D., 2001). NLU
computers can learn and see, and they are also still remains one of NLP's challenges and it's
capable of communicating through natural considered an AI-complete, which is the term
language processing. This area studies and used in computer science to designate AI
analyzes texts, both oral and written, that occur problems which the solution require a solution
naturally without being done for the purpose to the strong AI problem, meaning, the "synthesis
of the analysis and with the restriction of of a human-level intelligence" (Raymond, E. S.,
being a text used by humans to communicate 1991).
with other humans, having as final goal “to Through NLP it was possible to create
accomplish human-like language processing” softwares and devices like Amazon Alexa,
(Liddy, E. D., 2001). Apple Siri and Google Home. These devices
NLP was also referred as natural are called conversational interfaces, and allow
language understanding (NLU), but the term humans and computers to interact using
was left behind because in order to achieve full natural language - in this case, oral. For textual
understanding, the computer should be able communication, NLP enabled the creation of
to not only analyze the text but also to draw chatbots, a conversational interface that can
inferences from it - something that has yet to be used for different tasks such as customer
be achieved, although progresses have been assistance.
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Conversational Interfaces
Figure 1.7. Natural language processing and its approach of conversational interface.
robotics
Robots have been present in the popular Inside robotics, there is the approach
imagination and culture for a long time now. of embodied AI, which unites the fields of
When science fiction imagined what the future computer science and engineering. It can be
would look like, it was often filled with robots defined as "embodied systems in the real physical
living among humans, performing all kinds of and social world" (Pfeifer, R., Iida, F., 2003),
tasks, socializing and even falling in love like meaning that AI capabilities are integrated in
they were humans themselves. But the reality is physical devices.
that robotics and how it is applied nowadays is One example of embodied AI are Internet of
way less scenographic than that. things (IoT) devices. IoT is a set of physical
Robots are used from the manufacturing objects such as devices, vehicles and appliances
industry, performing automated tasks helping or that are equipped with sensors, software,
replacing field workers, to medicine, executing internet and network connectivity and
surgeries or aiding in the rehabilitation of computing capability to process and act on data
patients. In the fashion industry, robotics can autonomously (PwC, 2017). Examples range
help in the supply chain - with warehousing from smart home devices like Amazon Echo to
tasks of picking and packing, for example (Luce, wearables like Apple Watch (Meola, A., 2019).
L., 2019), or in the manufacturing processes -
like automated sewing and knitting.
Robotics
Embodied AI
Figure 1.8. Robotics and its approach of embodied AI.

fashion and AI
The clarification of the basic concepts
of artificial intelligence mentioned above is Artificial intelligence is present in all
necessary to begin to understand how AI is these areas - in some, this presence is more
being applied to the fashion industry's value spread while in others it's still in experimental
chain. phases.
Value chain is a term theorized by In the phase of concept and design,
Porter (1985) which divides a company into applications include the use of AI for trend
the "discrete activities it performs in designing, forecasting and generative design; in materials,
producing, marketing, and distributing its AI is used to aid farming; in the textiles
product" or, in other words, is the set of steps field, it can help both the production and
necessary to deliver a product or service to the the quality control phases, making processes
market. more efficient and decreasing errors; in the
The fashion value chain - particularly in production, manufacturing robotics is used,
the apparel industry - is in general composed while in logistics there are supply chain robots
by the following parts (Figure 2.1.): as well as the area of demand forecasting. Retail
has a lot of examples of AI applications, both
Concept and design, including in e-commerce - with virtual style assistants,
research, briefing, moordboarding and virtual try-on and conversational commerce
sketching; - as in brick and mortar stores, with smart
Materials, including natural and mirrors.
manmade fibers as well as the textiles In this chapter, each part of the fashion
production, which can be knitted, woven value chain and its current relationships with
or assembled; artificial intelligence will be analyzed and
Production, which is the exemplified with case studies.
manufacturing of the garments;
Logistics and distribution, including
warehousing and inventory, domestic and
export distribution;
Retail, including both e-commerce
and brick-and-mortar stores
The end consumer
Figure 2.1. The fashion value chain and the current AI applications to each phase.
concept and design
The concept and design phase of the a more technical and engineering approach,
fashion value chain is a critical one, because a conceptual one or an innovation-driven
it's when the decisions that will impact all the perspective. In terms of innovation, one of the
development of the project are made. There are most popular and discussed methodologies in
many methodologies and approaches to the the design world is design thinking.
design process with different goals - for example,
design thinking
While the practices of design thinking Another definition by Tjendra (2014)
have been explored for decades now, the term describes it as a "creative-problem solving
gained popularity with the giant design and approach designers use to create new values that
consulting firm IDEO, that's been applying are different and create positive impact".
a human-centered methodology for 40 years The Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design
(IDEO, 2020). Tim Brown, the Executive Chair at Stanford University - also known as d.school
of the company, defines design thinking as: - synthesized the design thinking process in five
actions: empathise, define, ideate, prototype
"(...) a human-centered approach to and test (Interaction Design Foundation, 2020)
innovation that draws from the designer’s (Figure 2.2.). Those actions don't have to be in
toolkit to integrate the needs of people, order and the processes can overlap.
the possibilities of technology, and the
requirements for business success."
Empathise Ideate Prototype Test
UsersU sers needs Challenging Creating solutions Solutions

assumptions
Problems
Creating ideas
Insights
Figure 2.2. Actions of a design thinking approach to design projects (adapted from Interaction Design
Foundation, 2020)
In the empathize phase, designers need after step - it's rather a continuous approach.
to put themselves in the users' shoes and try to Design thinking comes as an example
understand their needs and problems, leading of design methodology to understand the steps
to possible insights in the define phase. Ideation a designer can make in the concept and design
comes with challenging previously conceived phase. It's important to understand these
assumptions and creating new ideas, while steps to locate where artificial intelligence can
prototyping in an important step where new come as a tool to aid designers and create new
solutions can emerge. Testing also can generate opportunities.
new insights and ideas as the designer can put As seen in the previous chapter, AI
in practice the decisions made prior to that. As is currently being applied in concept and
already mentioned, the whole design thinking design through trend forecasting research and
process does not have to be linear, with step generative design methods.
trend forecasting
Trend is a common jargon in the fashion trend forecasting online platforms started to
industry. The color of the year, the jacket of emerge. The shift was big: from the physical and
the season, the bag of the moment: all those seasonal trend book that predicted trends that
are called trends, or fashion trends. But the would be applied on products months later to
term is way deeper and broader than that - a a fast, digital, cross-industry and international
trend is a pattern of change, it's the direction in point of view (Marinoni, E., 2019). This
which something is developing and changing qualitative approach of trend forecasting is
(Marinoni, E., 2019). These changes can be in based on the opinion of experts - industry
every field and sector of the society and have an specialists, intellectuals and innovators.
impact on its belonging areas. Examples of companies that adopt this method
Trend research is about identifying are WGSN, Trend Watching and Trend Hunter.
these patterns, understanding and acting on The late 2000's saw another big shift in
them, and forecasting ultimately predicts the trend research industry with the emerging
future scenarios. This understanding is of platforms with a data-driven approach,
fundamental for companies to study their all favoured by the exponential development
field, the cultural, economic and social changes of technology and artificial intelligence.
surrounding it and plan ahead, especially if Contemporary world is fast paced and with the
they are seeking innovation. In the design popularization of social media dictating the
thinking methodology, trend forecasting can trends, they can appear with the same speed
be a powerful tool in the empathize and define they disappear (Worth, M., 2015).
phases. Data collected from Instagram,
For fashion, more than knowing Pinterest, Facebook and other social media
which is the next season's hyped can give insights about emerging trends and
print, it is about studying the impact of where they place in the trend diffusion curve
trends on their market, their consumer - meaning, if they are popular only among
behaviors, their generational target and trendsetters and innovators, if they've already
aspirations. hit majority or if they are in decline. With this
The industry knew the power of trend information, it is possible to predict the future
research since the 60's, when trend books were of that given trend with a fair level of certainty
used to inspire designers and manufacturers and make informed decisions on a project.
with colors and ideas. Decades later in the This method of trend forecasting
late 90's, when the world started shifting integrates both qualitative and quantitative
permanently due to the growth of digitalism, approaches, and it is interesting to note the
shift in methodologies throughout time - while to up (consumer demands impacting brands).
in the past, the predictions and analysis came The analysis of big amounts of data
from top to bottom (experts to brands and then collected from social media and other online
consumers), now trends emerge from bottom platforms is made possible through artificial
intelligence.
AI-powered trend forecasting

As seen previously, the power of social (Chakrabarti, S. et al., 2006), allowing to filter
media for brands and consulting companies and obtain only the desired information.
is massive nowadays, because they provide The data then can be scanned through
valuable information about consumers by computer vision to analyze visual content and
what they spontaneously post. But gathering natural language process for textual content.
millions of pictures, videos and texts generate For example, a picture posted on Instagram
a huge amount of data that, if not organized, by an influencer can generate a lot of insights
clustered and analyzed, is simply not useful. (Figure 2.3.), both visually like the colors of the
In order to sort this out, data mining outfit, prints, lengths, textures and fabrics, as
can be used, a process that uncovers patterns textually, with analysis of captions, hashtags
in a large dataset (Luce, L., 2019) and extracts and emojis.
useful knowledge from those big repositories
Figure 2.3. Example of how artificial intelligence can analyze visually and textually an Instagram post
The computer knows that this is a It includes over 800,000 images,
jacket, a pair of boots, a bag and so on annotated with "massive attributes, clothing
because it had learned from a previously landmarks, and correspondence of images taken
introduced dataset of photos annotated under different scenarios including store, street
with clothing attributes. One example snapshot, and consumer" (Liu, Z. et al., 2016).
of a dataset of this kind is the DeepFashion The dataset is available to the public for research
initiative, developed in The Chinese University purposes.
of Hong Kong.
Figure 2.4. DeepFashion's image labeling: "(a) Additional landmark locations improve clothes
recognition. (b) Massive attributes lead to better partition of the clothing feature space." (Liu, Z. et al.,
2016).
Through deep learning, it is possible evolution with time, making it possible to make
to train the machine to apply these attribute assumptions about the future of the trend from
classifiers to all future images without human which the cluster is a part of.
supervision (Matzen, K., Bala, K., Snavely, N., This AI method can be applied not only
2017). on social media posts, but also in runway photos
The combination of deep learning, from fashion weeks, street style pictures and
computer vision and NLP allows to cluster e-commerce images. A cross platform analysis
images with similar attributes, understanding can be particularly interesting to understand
characteristics like relevance and geographical how a trend can impact consumers and brands
occurrence. Moreover, it allows trend in different ways.
forecasters to monitor those clusters and their
case studies
case study 1
NextAtlas
Companies using AI for trend Data sourcing, tracking down who
forecasting are on the rise. One example is the are the innovators and trendsetters of a
platform NextAtlas, that "meshes together data specific industry;
from a wide variety of sources into actionable Data analysis, through machine
insights that inform and inspire the creative learning, content and visual analysis,
process" (NextAtlas, 2019). Through the use generating insights;
of algorithms and artificial intelligence, the Foresight, predicting patterns,
company detects cross-industry emerging behavioral shifts and trends.
trends on social media following the steps of: According to the company, the AI tools
used for predicting trends are computer vision,
text analysis and deep learning.
Figure 2.5. The NextAtlas methodology for AI-powered trend forecasting, where the last step circles
back to the first, in a cyclical discovery process (NextAtlas, 2020).
case study 2
Heuritech
Another example of trend forecasting specific model to general trends, including colors,
using artificial intelligence is Heuritech. patterns, materials, environments, textures,
Focused specifically in the fashion and luxury products, shapes" (Heuritech, 2020).
sectors, the company applies visual recognition Their methodology is also focused on
to analyze 3 million images per day and claims social media insights and the AI tools used
that their model can "recognize more than include computer vision and machine learning.
2000 fashion details in any given image from a
Figure 2.6. The Heuritech methodology for AI trend forecasting for fashion and luxury (Heuritech,
2020).
case study 3
Stylumia
Stylumia is a tech company that relies Fashion intelligence tool, analyzing

completely on artificial intelligence to provide through computer vision product
an array of services to fashion companies. It performance, allowing companies to make
also has a data-driven approach to fashion informed decisions on product stocks,
trend forecasting, providing different services: orders and promotion, thus generating
recommendations and predicting future
Market intelligence tool, collecting moves.
data through computer vision from brands, The company also offers other services
retail and runway shows in order to provide using AI applied to fashion, through generative
consumer-driven forecast and validation design and demand forecasting, topics that will
of trends and products in the market; be further discussed in this document.
Figure 2.7. Stylumia's approach to fashion forecasting (Stylumia, 2020)
case study 4
8 by Yoox
In-house labels are really interesting and the design team had an important partner
for multi-brand retailers, since they can offer to develop it: artificial intelligence. AI allowed
higher profit margins, fill gaps in the shop's the company to analyze social media and
catalogue as well as being able to rely on the online magazines in their key markets, with
huge amount of customer data that these algorithms filtering "predictive indicators into
companies can gather throughout time (Mau, emerging lifestyle and style trends, analysis of
D., 2018). own data from products sold on its site, customer
The multi-brand e-commerce Yoox feedback, industry purchasing trends as well
understood this potential and launched in 2018 as text search and image recognition" (Yoox
its first private-label, called 8 by Yoox. The first Net-A-Porter Group, 2018). The result of this
collection was composed by garment essentials AI-powered research was a series of mood
boards that guided the designers into creating The brand is still active and new
a collection that appealed to their target collections were developed since the launch, all
customer. Trend research was used as a starting sold in Yoox online store.
point for the collection, and the garments were
based on the forecasts.
Figure 2.8. 8 by Yoox's first 2018 collection. The in-house brand used data-driven trend forecasting
based on social media and online magazines to inspire the design team into creating the collection
(Mau, D., 2018).
considerations
AI-powered trend forecasting
Companies that offer data-driven trend forecasting services or brands that use
the technology inside their own teams to base their design decisions are on the
rise. Trend forecasting evolved from being an expert-opinion industry into relying
more on data, understanding the signals that the digital world gives, especially
on social media. Before the development of AI, analyzing such amounts of data
was not possible, and now the insights extracted directly from the users are
allowing brands to understand better their targets as well as their wishes, needs
and anxieties, being able to plan their collections accordingly.
generative design
The idea of computers replacing humans new data similar to it (Karpathy, A, 2016). For
was once a science fiction idea, but it's been a example, if a model is fed with an input of
reality for quite some time now. In different thousands of street style pictures from Milan's
fields, machines can effectively and accurately last Fashion Week season, the output can be a
perform tasks that used to be done by people, series of new and similar street style pictures -
often reducing or completely eliminating the but these ones are not going to be real.
need of a human in the loop - for example, for Even higher levels of complexity and
industry production and manufacturing, or efficiency can be achieved through generative
solving complex mathematical equations. adversarial networks (GANs), that use two
However, when it comes to neural networks - one to generate results and
creative tasks, it is still a present idea another one to evaluate the accuracy of the
that a computer can't replace a person results (Luce, L., 2019). In the example of the
such as an artist, a designer or a Fashion Week street style pictures, what the
writer, because machines cannot think second neural network would do is take a new
in a subjective, sensitive, political or image generated by the model and use it as
contextual way. That could be partly input, estimating the probability of that image
true, but generative models prove that being from the original input - meaning, of
computers can reproduce creativity and it being real or fake. The ultimate goal is to
actually create a completely new image, train the model enough so the second neural
based on existing visual information. network will not be able to distinguish if the
Generative models are an AI branch output is from the real world or was generated
related to unsupervised learning, a type of by the first neural network (Luce, L., 2019),
machine learning. Its basis consists of gathering producing convincing images.
a large dataset and training a model to generate
OUTPUT
INPUT
Neural Network
Initial set of street
style images Generative
Input
Neural Network
Adversarial
OUTPUT
Labeled dataset
with probability of image
being from the initial input
or from the generated
output
Figure 2.9. Example of how a generative adversarial network (GAN) model works. Adapted from
Luce, L. (2019).
Through generative models it is possible existent ones - into new products, making the
to develop generative design, a very promising computer some sort of AI fashion designer.
tool within this field. Generative design is Not only can new garments be generated, but
applying the same concept - of the computer also their colors, textures and shapes can be
producing non-existent images based on modified through the model.
case studies
Although still often used as an a workshop for academic researchers where
experimental tool, generative design is subject it discussed its new algorithm for generative
to many research papers and big companies design, that will be applied to sets of fashion
are getting interested in developing all its images and generate new ones aligned with the
potentialities in the future. current trends (Knight, W., 2017). There is no
The giant Amazon has been investing further information about the research though,
heavily in fashion for the last few years. In 2017, as Amazon didn't comment on the topic.
news revealed that the company organized
case study 1
DEEP - Faster Fashion
The Fabricant is a digital clothing brand The brand launched in 2018 a project
- that means that they do not produce or sell called DEEP - Faster Fashion, designed by
real garments, but digital 3D ones that can Amber Jae Slooten, with a series of digital
be applied to an avatar or to the picture of a outfits that were created taking as inspiration
real person in a hyper-realistic way, giving the AI-generated pictures of runway garments.
impression that the person is actually wearing The process started with Paris Fashion Week
it. This is especially interesting nowadays with pictures as input, and through a general
the rising importance and power of fashion adversarial network the algorithm generated
influencers on social media, in which a picture new images as output.
is often more important than the reality. Those The designer then used those images
influencers need to produce large quantities as the starting point of her designs. The
of content, including outfit pictures to inspire interpretations were based in a post-fashion
the followers. Digital fashion allows them western aesthetic and the clothing was created
to wear exclusive items without having in the software CLO 3D. She then rendered
to have them physically - a more them in silver avatars and the final result is an
sustainable solution since the garment extremely interesting collection, merging the
production is non existent. hyper-realistic images with imaginary settings.
Figure 2.10. The output of the GAN used by The Fabricant was a generated image of an outfit without
a clear shape or style. Amber Jae Slooten then created her own interpretation of the given inspiration,
which was developed in 3D and became a digital garment (Cottrill, F., 2018)
Figure 2.11. The dressed avatars were then inserted in hyper-realistic landscapes, mixing the real and
the digital in a way that sparks confusion and curiosity on the viewer. (Cottrill, F., 2018)
case study 2
Disentangling Multiple Conditional Inputs in GANs
Many big fashion conglomerates to make the fashion design process faster and
have their own tech research departments to more well-structured, by helping designers
investigate new and innovative technologies. to visualize a garment in different variations,
One example is the fashion e-commerce saving time and aiding style choices.
platform Zalando, that published a paper in Their method take into consideration
2018 called "Disentangling Multiple Conditional three attributes as input - color, defined by
Inputs in GANs", explaining its method of a 3-dimensional vector of RGB values; shape,
adjusting color, texture and shape of a garment defined by a segmentation mask; and texture,
created by a generative model. Through a defined by a vector that represents the texture
Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), the and the local structure of an article - giving as
company developed a sort of style assistant output a new piece of garment. The training
that provides computer aided fashion design dataset consisted of 120,000 images of dresses
(Yildirim, G., et al., 2018). The ultimate goal is from Zalando's website.
Figure 2.12. Example illustrating the method proposed by Yildirim, G. et al., that can alter three
clothing attributes - color, texture and shape - generating new products (Zalando Research, 2018).
In Figure 2.13, it is possible to see the the right. Secondly, the texture was redefined
model working on changing the color of a dress, and lastly, the shape was altered maintaining
maintaining the shape outlined by the mask in the colors and textures.
Figure 2.13. Results of Zalando's method for changing attributes of a generated garment using GANs
(Yildirim, G., et al. 2018).
The results still have limitations of big fashion companies that have to create and
image quality but, if better developed, this visualize a huge portfolio of products regularly.
tool can be an even more valuable asset for
case study 3
DesIGN: Design Inspiration from Generative Networks
Similar research was conducted by with varied skills for the steps of pattern making
Facebook AI Research department with (handling the materials and textures) and
École des Ponts and New York University, in sample making (handling the shape models),
a paper named "DesIGN: Design Inspiration the algorithm proposed by the researchers also
from Generative Networks". It explores the works with the two processes separately by
generation of products using random or shape placing textures (called style noises) onto the
masks instead of images as input. Starting from shape masks, in order to generate a product
the fact that the traditional process of fashion through the use of GANs (Sbai, O. et al., 2018).
production requires different professionals
Figure 2.14. The generation of a styled image by having a shape mask and a style noise as inputs (Sbai,
O. et al., 2018).
As mentioned previously, GANs consist results in the given categories: shape novelty,
of having another layer of neural network - shape complexity, texture novelty, texture
the adversarial one - in order to classify the complexity and realism.
outputs that come closest to real life products, The results of the paper are rather
improving the model. The research also used interesting but, as the previous example, still
human evaluation at the end of the output set lack a full image quality.
to identify, in the human point of view, the best
Figure 2.15. Best rated items by human evaluation on the following categories: row 1, overall score;
row 2, shape novelty; row 3, shape complexity; row 4, texture novelty; row 5, texture complexity; row
6, realism (Sbai, O. et al., 2018).
considerations
generative design
Perhaps the biggest challenge of generative design is creating not only garment
images that are convincing as being real, but also make them high quality. As
of now, generative models can be used as style assistants, giving inspiration to
designers to play with different possibilities of shapes, textures and colors and
also making those processes faster.
The role of a designer is much more complex than just generating images, it is
about concept, references, subjectivity and also the technical skills. As seen on
DEEP by The Fabricant, AI offered an inspiration for the designer with pixelated,
blurry generated images, but it was the designer's interpretation and creativity
that made the digital garments come into life.
materials
An enormously important part of the Manmade fibers, on the other hand, are
fashion value chain is the material sourcing. the ones not found in nature and are produced
Deciding which material to use in each project by humans, like the following:
is fundamental, and the textile industry is an
ever evolving field. Regenerated, for example: viscose,
Materials in the fashion field - with modal, acetate
a particular focus on clothing production - Synthetic polymer, for example:
include two main areas: fibers and textiles. polyesters, polyamides, elastomers and
In general terms, fibers are the foundation acrylics
for textiles and textiles are the foundation for Inorganic, for example: carbon,
garments. glass, ceramic and metallic fibers
Fiber sources can be natural or
manmade. Natural fibers are the ones derived
from natural elements, and as classificated by
Sinclair, R. (2015) can be distinguished by the
resource of origin:
Vegetable/cellulosic, for example:

cotton, hemp, jute and sisal
Animal/protein, for example: wool,
cashmere and silk
Mineral, with one example: asbestos
(no longer in use because of its toxicity)
FIBERS
Natural Manmade
Vegetable/ Animal/ Mineral Regenerated Synthetic Inorganic

Cellulosic Protein polymer
Figure 2.16. Fibers classification by origin: natural or manmade (Adapted from Sinclair, R., 2015).
Fibers of great length are called Weaving, in which lengthwise
filaments while the ones with shorter length are yarns (warps) are combined with widthwise
called staple fibers. Both are the base to form yarns (wefts), being interlaced in a regular
yarns, just with different techniques - filaments order, through the use of looms - being
are twisted while staple fibers are spun (Sinclair, them handloom or industrial machines.
R., 2015). Yarns can then be knitted, woven or
assembled to form textiles. Assembling, that are also called
Textiles can be constructed by three non-woven, consisting of an entanglement
different techniques: of fibers or filaments that are bonded
together mechanically, thermally or
Knitting, consisting of chemically (INDA - Association of the
interconnected series of loops made of Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, 2019).
yarns, in which a row of loops catches the
preceding row. Lengthwise loops are called Defining the basics of materials in
wales and running crosswise loops are the fashion industry is necessary in order
named courses (Whewell, C., Abrahart, E., to understand the contribution of artificial
2020). Knitting can be handmade or done intelligence in this specific field.
through a machine.
Figure 2.17. Textiles classification by construction technique: knitted, woven and assembled.
artificial intelligence in natural fiber
production
In the early stages of the production of softwares can help monitor crops (Faggella, D.,
a garment made with natural vegetable fibers, 2020). Diseases, pests and compromised plant
fashion meets another essential industry: nutrition can be detected by sensors that are
agriculture. Agriculture, along with forestry also able to apply the right herbicides where
and fishing, had a value added of 3.358 trillion needed, avoiding over usage (Walch, K., 2019).
dollars in 2018 (The World Bank, 2018), so its Another advantage for agriculture
importance worldwide is enormous. Climate brought by AI is predictive analytics, which
change, population growth and food security consists of forecasting environmental impacts
are issues that have made the industry look on crops - like weather conditions - and,
for solutions to improve the production through machine learning, assist farmers in
responsibly, hence the growing interest of using taking the best informed decisions.
artificial intelligence in this field (Faggella, D., A known challenge for the agriculture
2020). industry is the historical decrease in the labor
AI can be applied in many parts of the force. With the economy shifting from a rural
process. Firstly, it can help farmers analyze data society to many people moving to cities, there
that is being collected in hundreds of thousands is a shortage of workforce in farms. AI can
daily, providing real time information such as aid by providing agricultural robots that can
weather conditions, temperature, water usage fill this gap and perform tasks with speed and
or soil conditions (Walch, K., 2019). Through efficiency, like harvesting large volumes of
computer vision and deep learning, algorithms crops and eliminating weeds with accuracy
are able to analyze data captured by drones and (Walch, K., 2019).
case studies
case study 1
Wadhwani AI
Cotton production is extremely its AI-based early pest warning system.

relevant for fashion, since cotton is the mostly Today in India - one of the largest
used material in the apparel industry, making cotton consumers in the world and where the
up to 33% of the world's textile production company is located - crop problems are usually
(Fashion Revolution, 2020). But just like the detected manually by humans, that identify the
general agriculture industry, cotton crop has pests and count them for infestations. Experts
some challenges, and major issues include then analyze the data and advise on how to deal
its pest control, extensive farming, and labor with the infestation. Other than being time
requirements (Mordor Intelligence, 2019). consuming, this process can be inefficient and
The best way to tackle the problem unreliable (Ganjoo, S., 2019).
of pest control is early detection rather than The company's solution eliminates the
just using pesticides after the crop is already need of a worker to identify and count pests -
compromised. Wadhwani AI is a non-profit all they have to do is take a picture of the pest
company that provides a solution for that with trap. The algorithm then "recognizes various
pests and gives on-spot advice to the farmers
by processing the data collected in the cloud"
(Ganjoo, S., 2019). To facilitate access to all
farmers, the model was designed to work even
on a basic smartphone.
The project was supported by Google with a
$20 million shared fund along with 20 other
companies, as a part of Google AI Impact
Challenge 2018.
Figure 2.18. A team using Wadhwani AI's

algorithm on pest traps through a smartphone
(Extracted from Nandgaonkar, S., 2019).
case study 2
Green Cube
Another project within the field Through deep learning and robotics,
of natural fibers farming is Green Cube, a the company uses data captured in image by
startup that designed an AI driven system for drones to segment and categorize each plant in
hemp cultivation. Hemp originates one of the a crop field, in order to measure their health and
strongest and stiffest natural fibers available vegetative state (Hemp Today, 2019). This data
(Manaia, J., et al., 2019), and can be grown with is projected into a vegetation map, allowing to
no pesticides and a lot less water compared control the quality of the field, assessing plants
to cotton (Parletta, N., 2019), so the possible health, identifying the regions that require
uses and benefits for the fashion industry are nutrition and estimating the crop grown per
enormous. unit area (Green Cube Solutions, 2019).
Figure 2.19. Green Cube's identification of plants through drone generated image and projection of
data in vegetation map (Green Cube Solutions, 2019).
considerations
AI in natural fiber production
As seen in the study cases mentioned, the use of artificial intelligence for fiber
production is restricted mainly to natural vegetable fibers, like cotton and hemp,
helping farmers to make better decisions to favour crops' health.
Innovations using AI in other types of fibers are beginning to be researched -
which is the case of the Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI). The association
worked on a pilot project that uses deep learning to predict performance indicator
traits of young sheep, through the analysis of photographs of different views of
the animal, determining bodyweight, body and neck wrinkle, face cover and the
identification of individual sheep (AWI, 2020). AWI concluded that, although the
technology is not ready to be used in the wool industry just yet, within the next
few years that will likely be a valuable aid to wool production.
artificial intelligence in textile
production
While AI applications have been manufacturers, suppliers and customers and
present for quite a while in many fields, its set up how much color difference is acceptable
contributions to the textile industry are fairly in a sample (Loskotova, J., 2020). This method,
new (CIOReview, 2019) and are not widely though, can generate false positives, needing
spread yet. The uses are concentrated mostly in human intervention and making the process
quality control - patterns, colors and defects. slower (Bharadwaj, R., 2019). An AI-driven
In the knitting and weaving processes, inspector can learn from past inspections and
it is possible to identify errors in the pattern create tolerances in a much more effective way.
of the fabric through computer vision and When it comes to the actual production
machine learning - a process that, if done of the textile, there are experimental applications
manually, will take longer and will be subject to on knitwear. Through deep learning, computers
human mistake. are able to generate knitting patterns and
The same goes to controlling color instructions based on a picture of a knitted
shades. Traditionally, in order to make sure that garment, in a sort of automated knitting
the finished product color matches the original machine. While it is still not extensively used,
design, companies establish parameters those experiments are interesting to imagine a
for color tolerance - called instrumental future with AI-driven textile production.
tolerancing systems - that are agreed between
case studies
case study 1
Cognex Deep Learning
Cognex Deep Learning is a software In the weaving process, Cognex Deep

that inspects textiles automatically. Through Learning detects unacceptable defects while
deep learning, its algorithm is trained with tolerating naturally occurring variations.
a set of good samples of fabrics, learns from In knitting, the software is able to identify
the model and then is capable of identifying problems like a broken needle and knitting
anomalies and aesthetic defects autonomously. loops in warps and wefts (Cognex, 2020).
It can be applied in weaving, knitting, finishing When it comes to finishing processes,
and printing. The company's tech solutions the computer recognizes anomalies like ink
include the AI software and a hardware - a smart spots or defects on stitching. It also has the
camera that captures the images of the fabric. capacity to inspect fabric prints, identifying
By identifying defects faster and precisely, the problems like misalignment of different color
manufacturing process of the textile becomes channels that cause outline and filling to not
more effective and the quality tends to be match.
higher, avoiding possible human mistakes.
Weaving Knitting
Finishing Printing
Figure 2.20. Cognex Deep Learning

identification of anomalies and defects on
the processes of weaving, knitting, printing
and finishing of textiles (Adapted from
Cognex, 2020).
case study 2
Datacolor AI color tolerance
As previously mentioned, color control tolerances, being more in line with an actual
of textiles is another field in which artificial visual evaluation of a textile sample. As the
intelligence can come as an improvement. The program gets more color tolerances inserted, it
company Datacolor developed a method that will improve itself through machine learning.
uses AI to create color tolerances by learning This eliminates the need of human intervention
from visual evaluations of samples - done by in the middle of the process of color control,
human operators - inserted on the software. making it faster and more efficient. It also has
With a system of AI Pass/Fail (A.I. P/F), the ability to, when facing uncertainty due to
the method takes into consideration visual a lack of previous data inserted, indicate that
assessments - instead of just instrumental ones the operator should check the sample visually
like the traditional method of instrumental (unlike the traditional method that tends to
tolerancing systems - to create the color provide false positives).
Figure 2.21. The result of an AI generated color tolerance (Datacolor, 2016).
case study 3
MIT Neural Inverse Knitting
The Massachusetts Institute of To train the model, the researchers

Technology (MIT) is a pioneer when it comes inserted a dataset of knitting instruction maps
to artificial intelligence research, and its and their corresponding images of knitted
investigations reached the textile industry. patterns (Kaspar, A. et al., 2019). To improve
In the paper "Neural Inverse Knitting: From the dataset, they also inserted synthetically
Images to Manufacturing Instructions", Kaspar generated pairs that were designed with a
et al. propose a method of knitting production knitting simulator by the manufacturer Shima
that has an inverse process: instead of creating Seiki. After the model is trained, it is able
a knitting pattern and then the garment, the to generate the pattern instructions from a
technology allows a machine to provide the photograph of a knitted product.
pattern just by analyzing a knitted garment The goal of the research is to bring
picture - the so-called inverse knitting. machine learning into the design process and
Traditionally, knitting production - manual allow a bigger customization of objects with
or automated - are done based on a pattern, the inverse manufacturing, by reproducing any
which is a sequence of stitches that are done to geometric pattern from a photograph (Kaspar,
generate the textile. Through deep learning, it is A. et al., 2019).
possible to automate the pattern design, which
then can be used by a machine in industrial
knitwear production.
Figure 2.22. The traditional knitting production process of taking a pattern, introducing it to a
machine to generate the textile versus the AI model that provides the pattern based on an inserted
photo (Kaspar, A. et al., 2019).
considerations
AI in textile production
It was observed that, although many interesting initiatives and attempts have
been made in textile production, the adoption of artificial intelligence is currently
limited in this field. One of the reasons that explain it is the fact that textile
production is a relatively low-fixed capital investment industry (CIOReview,
2019), and it could be too costly and challenging to implement the software,
hardware, trained operators and other resources necessary to enable the use of
these technologies.
production
Garment manufacturing is a process through sewing, a fundamental part of the
that follows a set of tasks, being it in a small production process. This is done using a needle
or industrial scale. With a previously decided and a thread, that perform the stitches - formed
design and pattern, the production starts with by the threads or loops of threads - and then the
the fabric spreading - ensuring fabric feeding, seams - formed by joining two or more pieces
transportation and tension - and fabric cutting of material (Nayak, R., Padhye, R., 2015).
- necessary to have the parts of the garment After sewing, the finishing process of
that will then be put together. Cutting can be pressing is carried. Pressing is done through
done either by hand or through machines such heat, steam or pressure, and has the goal of
as automated knives, laser, ultrasound or water- eliminating creases to enhance the aesthetics of
jet (Nayak, R., Padhye, R., 2015). the final product before it is offered to the final
When the parts are finally cut, they customer (Nayak, R., Padhye, R., 2018).
are sorted and bundled, in a process that The manufacturing process finishes
organizes the pieces in groups of size and color. with inspection for quality control purposes
Afterwards, they need to be joined together and packaging of the product.
Fabric
Cutting Bundling Sewing
spreading
Inspection Packaging Pressing
Figure 2.23. The process of garment manufacturing step by step (Adapted from Nayak, R., Padhye, R.,
2018).
production and human labour
Manufacturing in the fashion industry in the sector without the need to rely so heavily
is one of the key and most discussed topics when on human labour.
talking about fashion's value chain - and room Another issue when talking about
for a lot of controversy, due to the fact that it's garment manufacturing is that most western
still a field that relies heavily in human countries, including some of the biggest apparel
labour. Even though sewing machines were consumers - including the US, Germany, UK,
invented in the 1800's, workers are still needed France, Italy and Brazil (Common Objective,
to operate them, as well as to perform tasks 2018) - have a big portion of their garments
like fabric spreading and bundling. Although produced externally, often on the Asia-Pacific,
automation technologies exist for such tasks, and then shipped back to their countries.
often humans can do the job quickly and more The USA, for instance, is the third
cheaply (Nicolaou, A., 2017). largest cotton producer in the world and yet
Sixty million people work on garment most of the cotton finished products that are
manufacturing every day (Wall Street Journal, consumed there are imported. That means
2018). In order to maintain competitive prices that the American cotton is exported as raw
and high volumes of production, brands base material, transformed into textiles and sewn
their operations in regions like the Asia-Pacific, into clothes overseas, and finally imported back
where wages are substantially low. In countries as apparel goods to the US (Luce, L., 2019).
like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the statutory That happens because the cost of doing
minimum wages are, respectively, $71 and $66 this back and forth shipment is still lower
monthly (International Labour Organization, than producing everything internally.
2016), and it's no coincidence those are also big As imagined, there is an environmental
exporters of apparel products. impact resulting from this logistics, so
But even though the wages for the implementing robotic manufacturing in
garment sector in these regions are low, they countries like the USA could be beneficial.
are rising with time, especially in China. The By decreasing labour costs, production
country that once was the main manufacturing is more feasible to be done locally and
land offering high quality and low cost the impacts on the environment could be
production has seen the hourly payment for reduced.
manufacturing workers rise 64% from 2011 But with the increase of automation in
to 2017 (Yan, S., 2017). This fact made a lot of garment production comes also the discussion
fashion companies relocate their production about replacing humans with machines,
from China to the previously mentioned consequently making many workers lose
countries like Sri Lanka. their jobs that often is the sole source of
To remediate that and don't lose income of the family. The ethics of applying
market, China increased investments on the robotics to the apparel production industry
automation industry, and the country's robotics will be further explored in the chapter 2.6 of
market became the largest worldwide in 2013 this document.
(Yan, S., 2017), aiming at still being competitive
manufacturing robotics
The innovative solution to the handling soft materials like fabric. With the
apparel production industry brought by the evolution of technologies such as machine
development of artificial intelligence are the learning, computers are beginning to be trained
sewing and textile handling robots. Until to efficiently perform such tasks (Wall Street
recently, machines struggled to have the Journal, 2018).
dexterity and skills that humans do when
case studies
case study 1
SoftWear Automation
SoftWear is a startup located in sewing workline, automating the whole process

Atlanta - USA that has created a solution for and making the time to sew a t-shirt shrink to
autonomous sewing through computer vision only 22 seconds.
and robotics. They claim that, with their Other products that can be sewn with
technology, manufacturers are able to produce the company's robot include pillows, mats and
locally, moving the supply chain back to their rugs, towels, footwear, mattresses and tote bags.
areas while still maintaining high quality and As of now, the technology is available for
lower costs. sale exclusively in the USA. In 2017, a chinese
According to the company, their supplier for Adidas announced a partnership
"Sewbot" sewing robot is capable of assembling with SoftWear, where they planned to produce
and sewing one t-shirt in 2.5 minutes, 800.000 t-shirts a day for the sportswear brand
increasing the output by two times per 8-hour through the use of the Sewbot in their factory
shift, and has the capability of cutting labour located in Arkansas - USA, reducing the labour
by 90%. In addition, only one operator is able cost for each t-shirt to 33 cents (Zhou, M.,
to supervise up to 6 Sewbots (SoftWear, 2020). Yuan, Z., 2017).
Other than the Sewbot, they also offer a full
Figure 2.24. SoftWear's Sewbot working on a fabric (Hasan, S., 2018). The robot's arms are able to
handle the fabric, position it properly and perform the sewing.
case study 2
Sewts
Sewts is a new German startup feed the folding machines, placing one piece at
developing advanced robots for textile a time properly to avoid creases and wrinkles.
handling. Their goal is to fully automate clothing To speed up the process and reduce labour
production through the use of computer vision costs, Sewts solution provides automated
and robotics. feeding of the flat laundry into the industrial
Cameras integrated in the robots are folding machines.
able to "see" the fabric and handle it properly The startup is fairly new and is in its
according to the needs. This was possible early stages of product development, and the
through sophisticated material simulations, founders envision future solutions that will
that reproduce the behaviour of textiles and include the robotics technology in other areas
help develop the proper algorithms to deal with of fabric handling to achieve their desired fully
their softness and flexibility. automated clothing production. More than
So far, the application to their textile sewing robots, the company's goal is to design
handling robotics has been used in industrial technology that can produce tailor-made
laundries. In this industry, the steps of garments, through data generated by body
washing, drying and folding clothes are already scanning and sent to the robots to be produced
automated, but human labour is still needed to in a brief period of time (Otto, A., 2019).
Figure 2.25. Sewts' robots are designed to perform advanced textile handling for different tasks. (Otto,
A., 2019)
considerations
manufacturing robotics
As seen in the two examples mentioned, innovative solutions for clothing

production are being designed and already applied in some limited cases. But
because textiles are difficult materials to be managed by robots and the costs
of human labour are very low in many countries, automated sewing and fabric
handling are still in their early stages. Companies that offer the possibility of
bringing back clothing production to local territories are interesting initiatives
that the fashion world should keep an eye on, particularly with the ever growing
concern over sustainability.
logistics and distribution
Logistics and distribution in the As of today, only 6% of warehouses
fashion industry have a series of complex use AI solutions in their processes (Robotics
activities including inventory, warehousing and Automation News, 2019) - a relatively
and either domestic or export distribution - low number compared to the benefits these
being the company an e-commerce platform, a technologies can bring to the sector. Demand
physical retailer or both. Artificial intelligence forecasting, on the other hand, is predicted to
can be used either to speed up processes in be the third biggest AI investment for retailers
warehousing using robotics or to better plan in 2022, with 16% of the budget share (Juniper
stocks through demand forecasting. Research, 2018).
warehouse robotics
Warehousing is traditionally considered with the specific skills for the job (CILT, 2019).
a low-tech sector, but new systems and Robots with material handling skills can
technologies are available to automate definitely come into the equation to fill this gap,
material handling (Robotics and Automation but there are some engineering challenges. In
News, 2019). The biggest innovation are the the manufacturing industry, robots have been
warehousing robots that can complete tasks of successfully used for a long time now because
picking and moving products autonomously, of the repetitive tasks and the uniformity in
replacing humans in an industry with a shapes of the materials (screws and nails,
shortage of specialized labour. for example). In logistics, on the other hand,
According to the Chartered Institute of packages vary greatly and size and shape, which
Logistics and Transport (CILT), 54% of logistics can be a hurdle for the robot's trained arms.
companies are expecting the industry's shortage Artificial intelligence comes as a solution to
of workers to increase over the next five years, this problem: through machine learning robots
and warehouse employees are among the most can learn the movements on their own based
sought after. 42% of logistics firms claim that on the generated data (Vincent, J., 2020).
there is a difficulty in finding enough workers
case studies
case study 1
Geek+
Geek+ is a smart logistics company that clothing industry, manual picking workers
applies artificial intelligence and robotics for have to often walk extremely long distances
warehousing, with solutions that have a specific with the products, lacking efficiency. The
focus in the apparel industry. company proposes smart robots to solve this
With large plants, high order volumes issue, touching the following areas with their
and the speed that is characteristic of the AI-based systems:
Robots can map the environment, store and organize this data through
Mapping AI algorithms
Navigation Through laser and vision systems, mobile robots can navigate the space
Collision A set of robots can work at the same time without colliding
avoidance into each other
(SKU - stock keeping unit)

Through scanning, robots can recognize and identify single stock units
Dynamic Based on data, robots will autonomously choose the best place to be
location located according to the need
The company has giant apparel brands as the shipment capacity to 40.000 pieces per
clients, such as Nike, Decathlon and Bosideng. day and the picking efficiency to 300 pieces
For Nike, Geek+ implemented 200 picking per hour in the Kunshan - China factory. For
robots and 6000 set racks in the brand's factory Bosideng, the delivery capacity was increased
in Chiba, Japan. For Decathlon, they improved to 3.500 pieces per hour (Geek+, 2020).
Figure 2.26. SoftWear's Sewbot working on a fabric (TRT World, 2018). The robot's arms are able to
handle the fabric, position it properly and perform the sewing.
case study 2
Covariant
Covariant is a Californian startup of robotic fingers, the company's robots use

focused on robotics and AI. The bots developed suction cups on their edges to pick up items.
in their lab can, according to the company, In addition, instead of coding every
work 24 hours a day and pick items efficiently. move of the robot, the company sets them a
Robots picking up things with their goal (for example, moving a given object to a
mechanical arms can seem like a simple task, specific location) and lets the computer resolve
but in reality it is not. Also, like mentioned it by its own. Through machine learning and
earlier, having to pick up objects with different neural networks, the robot learns and can make
shapes and sizes is a big challenge for robots the right decisions in other scenarios, being
- one that Covariant claims to have sorted able to work with different types of objects and
out, with a 99% accuracy machine. Instead adapting to any SKU (stock keeping unit).
Figure 2.27. One of Covariant's robots picking and placing on the workline objects of different sizes
and shapes (Adapted from Covariant, 2020).
case study 3
Kindred
Kindred is an AI and robotics startup Kindred's AutoGrasp technology allows

focused on building sorting robots for logistics. robots to, through computer vision, "see" the
Sorting out products out of a bunch is an environment, pick up a specific product, scan
important process for a big retailer with its barcode and place it on the right bin. The
hundreds of daily orders. The products that are company's grasping technology guarantees
in a bundle have to be picked up, scanned and a high degree of picking accuracy (Kindred,
separated in sets. This is a very labour intensive 2020). Each robot is able to perform the amount
process and hard to automate because of the of work typically done by four people (CNBC,
difficulty machines can have to differentiate 2020).
the products one from the other and pick One of Kindred's clients is apparel
them correctly. For example, a human is able brand Gap, which is slowly introducing a large
to immediately tell if an object is a pair of jeans number of sorting robots in their logistics
or a t-shirt, just by laying eyes in the product - process.
something a machine couldn't do without AI.
Figure 2.28. Kindred's AutoGrasp technology in action: the robot identifies the objects through computer
vision and then place them in the right bins, completing the sorting out process (Kindred, 2020).
considerations
warehouse robotics
The conclusion is that the use of robotics in garment production is a very innovative
field, with a lot of potential but still in its infancy. That is because handling textiles
is a big challenge for robots. Issues with human labour in the apparel industry
adds fuel to the discussion, being the challenges not restricted only to a technical
perspective but also to a social and ethical one.
Having robots that could aid the workers instead of completely replacing them
could be an option, but the industry has yet to figure out how to accommodate both
the interest of companies looking to have more control over their supply chain,
bringing the production to local grounds, and the needs of apparel production
workers that, in many countries, are the sole breadwinners for their families and
have in garment manufacturing their only set of professional skills.
demand forecasting
The contemporary scenario of fashion (Predictive Analytics Today, 2020). Demand
is fast paced, trend driven and season based. forecasting is a field located inside this
Brands seek to fulfill consumers' desire for macro area, with the goal of foreseeing
novelty by pushing many new products the consumer demand for a product
and collections into the market, often more or service, allowing companies to plan
than the two traditional fashion seasons. accordingly the amount of goods to be
The ever changing social and cultural manufactured.
trends, particularly fueled by social Demand forecasting can be done using
media, makes the dynamics even different techniques, such as:
faster. The results of an extremely
rapid and competitive industry is A qualitative approach, taking
beginning to be very well known and into consideration consumer surveys and
discussed: the damages of fashion to opinion of experts, including historical data
the environment cannot be ignored or not, and turn qualitative information into
anymore. Overproduction is a complicated quantitative estimations (Chambers, J. et
reality and brands are being asked more and al., 1971);
more to handle the issue with responsibility.
After the huge scandal that shed light on how A quantitative approach, relying
many luxury companies burn their unsold heavily on data, including the traditionally
goods to protect the brand's image of exclusivity, used time-series forecasting - a technique
informed consumers are demanding a more that predicts future events based on data
ethical approach. Legislation is also coming that is collected over time (Luce, L., 2019)
in the way to prevent this: France has issued - or new approaches using advanced
new laws prohibiting brands from burning the machine learning techniques.
unsold stock or dumping them in landfills. The
regulations are set to be implemented by 2021 Within the quantitative approaches,
and include fines up to 15.000 euros (Shannon, there is a difference in type of data analyzed
S., 2020). in order to predict demand: while traditional
With that, brands have to be creative: approaches like time-series take into
recycling, upcycling, partnering up with consideration single or a few variables
secondhand brands, doing outlet sales or giving like trend, seasonality and cycle (with the
remaining products to charity organizations are data source being mostly demand history),
among the solutions found. But what if brands machine learning allows the process to use an
could find a way not to have unsold goods at unlimited number of variables, using limitless
all, producing only what is actually going to be data sources (Kharfan, M., Chan, V., 2018).
sold? It seems like an impossible task to do and, In addition, time-series relies heavily on past
indeed, it is not the reality yet. But artificial data, assuming the future will follow the same
intelligence can be a strong partner to achieve trend as the past, while machine learning can
this goal with demand forecasting. work on large datasets with irregular trends,
Predictive analysis is a way to combining changing data (like price, web traffic
predict unknown future events through a and number of employees) with independent
series of techniques including data mining, variables like store location (Amazon Web
statistics, modeling and machine learning Services, 2020).
Predictive Analysis
Machine
Demand Forecasting
Learning
Figure 2.29. The field of predictive analysis includes demand forecasting, a branch that aims to predict
customer demand for a product or service. Artificial intelligence can be a technique to achieve unlimited
data source demand forecasting through the use of machine learning.
Through the use of algorithms, it is for products with a short life cycle and
possible to recognize complex patterns and short selling season - like in the fashion
underlying demand drivers in big datasets, industry, in which trends and consumer
providing more accurate demand forecasts demands can change so rapidly (Nenni,
(Kharfan, M., Chan, V., 2018). Multiple M. et al., 2013). Demand forecasting can give a
unstructured variables can be regularly added better insight on which direction to go in such
to the prediction - for example, web analytics a fast paced environment.
or social media - thanks to the automation that The challenge, however, is that since
machine learning provides, allowing computers this technique is so reliant on data analysis,
to learn by themselves and identify which it is essential to have a large and high-quality
signals matter and which ones are noise (Chave, dataset to allow the system to learn from it.
C., 2018). This is particularly interesting
case studies
case study 1
Amazon Forecast
Amazon offers a demand forecasting model capable of making predictions

service inside its Amazon Web Services that are up to 50% more accurate than
(AWS) branch. The company uses time-series looking at time series data alone."
techniques powered by machine learning,
using both historical data and other additional The company also claims that the time
variables to predict demand. About the service, to provide reliable forecasts is a lot shorter than
AWS says: traditional forecasting methods, needing only a
few hours for a process that could take months.
"(...) the demand for a particular color The tool allows forecasts on product
of a shirt may change with the seasons demand (to plan inventory), financial planning
and store location. This complex (forecasting revenues, expenses and cash flow)
relationship is hard to determine on its and resource planning (to plan raw material
own, but machine learning is ideally quantities, for example).
suited to recognize it. Once you provide So far, Amazon Forecast does not seem
your data, Amazon Forecast will to have a fashion company as a client, even
automatically examine it, identify what though the company states that the tool can be
is meaningful, and produce a forecasting used in every industry and use case.
Figure 2.30. Amazon Forecast uses historical and related data to, through machine learning, predict
demand of a product or service (Amazon Web Services, 2020).
case study 2
Nike's investments in predictive analysis
In 2019, Nike announced that it had analytics and technology. Nike wants to learn
acquired a Boston-based AI startup called from customer data and consequently predict
Celect, a predictive analytics and demand their behaviours and demands, thus offering
sensing firm that provides insights to optimize products that they are more likely to want.
inventory through hyper-local demand This is possible through a direct-to-consumer
predictions (Business Wire, 2019). Past clients approach, allowing the brand to have direct
of the startup include Urban Outfitters, Lucky access to the customer data. To achieve that,
Brand and Aldo, as well as other major retail Nike has been progressively relying less on
brands Barkho, G., 2019). other retailers - for example, by cancelling their
This acquisition is part of the brand's contract with Amazon in 2019 - and investing
initiative that started in 2017 called "Consumer in internal data scientists and machine learning
Direct Offense", aiming at serving their engineers (Biswas, S., 2020).
customers directly and personally, using data
considerations
demand forecasting
Artificial intelligence is a great asset for a fashion company looking to improve

their supply chain processes, being robotics and machine learning the main
tools. Warehouse robots are not yet widespread and are being applied in some
companies, but the potential is big considering that the field has a shortage of
human resources.
Demand forecasting, on the other hand, is already a common practice for most
big companies and machine learning comes as a new and more accurate tool
to predict demand and avoid overstock - and the fashion industry is a perfect
example of an industry that can benefit from that. However, there aren't many
public materials made available by brands with the results achieved after
applying AI to demand forecasting - there is a probability that these processes
are being done internally, just not advertised.
retail
The definition of retailing can be distribution (for example, mono and multi-
described as "the set of activities that markets brand stores, as well as outlet stores); indirect
products or services to consumers for their channel, also called wholesale, when an
own or personal household use. It does this by intermediary is the responsible for product
organising their availability on a fairly large distribution (for example, mono-brand
scale and supplying them to consumers on a franchise and multi-brand department stores);
relatively small scale" (Newman & Cullen as and other channels such as e-commerce and
cited in Mccormick, H. et al., 2014). mobile commerce, catalogues and door to
According to Iannilli, V. (2019) the door sales (Iannilli, V., 2019). A very relevant
retail store is the space that connects the brand discussion on retailing nowadays is the
identity and the customer identity. It is where omni-channel approach, which means that
the brand can create value, more than in an the customer experience is simultaneous
economic sense but also in a relational process between different channels, with retailers
with the customers. offering seamless operations across all of them
The channels can vary between direct and uniting the physical, digital and mobile
channel, when the brand manages the product experiences (Iannilli, V., 2019).
Mono-brand stores
Direct Multi-brand stores
channel Outlet stores
Mono-brand franchise
Indirect Multi-brand (department stores, retail distribution)
channel Shops specialized by product category (ex.: beauty shops)
Travel related sales channels (Duty Free, Airlines, Railway Stations)
E-commerce
Other Mobile commerce
channels Catalogues
Door to Door
Figure 2.31. Different sales channels in the fashion industry (Adapted from Iannilli, V., 2019).
Retail stores can also vary in identity (as corner shops, which are smaller in
morphology, according to Iannilli, V. (2019): size); temporary stores can be co-branding or
flagship stores are of big dimension, deliver the mono-brand stores and are linked to special
storytelling of the brand and a strong identity seasons or events, usually focusing on a specific
recognition and are usually located in great product; and finally, online stores can be mono
metropolitan areas; shop in shop are mono- or multi-brand and have as a characteristic the
brand stores inside department stores, are of mixing of brand communication and product
small or average size and present a strong brand sales.
e-commerce
E-commerce stands for electronic home, at work, commuting, travelling
commerce and is the practice of buying and so on (Iannilli, V., 2019).
products and goods online. In 2017, more than However, e-commerce has some
60% of the internet users have made at least limitations. The inability of customers to see,
one purchase online within the year, being touch and try on clothes can be a hurdle. Even
either desktop, mobile or tablet purchases with facilitated logistics and flexible return
(Statista, 2017). The growth of online shopping policies, some customers are still resistant to
allowed brands to easily sell directly to the the idea of buying without seeing. On the other
consumer (the so-called B2C model - business hand, other consumers can be completely open
to consumer) and favoured also smaller brands to the idea of online shopping but would be
with a strong online and social media presence more satisfied with an enhanced experience.
to thrive without having all the expenses of a That is where artificial intelligence can interfere
physical retail store. - by allowing consumers to have a shopping
Online stores are characterized by experience that is more similar to that one of
being a casual and relaxing environment the physical store (including trying on clothes
with a higher price sensitivity, allowing virtually) or an ultra-personalized purchase
users to have a fragmented experience with virtual style assistants or chatbots.
- meaning that they can shop while at
conversational commerce
Instant messaging apps are applications have had no real place in the bidirectional,
that offer real-time text transmission between asynchronous messaging context".
people through the internet. The most popular With the development of natural
messaging app worldwide is Whatsapp, with language processing, computers are able to
the impressive number of two billion users in read and interpret messages from customers,
the month of April 2020, followed by Facebook providing assistance, recommendations,
Messenger with 1.300 billion (Statista, 2020). product care instructions and more (Luce, L.,
These apps are now dominating smartphone 2019). That allows the shopping experience to
usage and conversational experiences are be more personalized and customer service
transforming the relationship of human and is facilitated. The refinement of NLP
computer interfaces (Sheth, B., 2019). grants computers the ability to respond
And as internet users are each day more and hold a conversation, offering the
used to instant messaging apps, companies customer instant assistance in the most
had to adapt. If once customer service was critical moments of an online purchase.
done only by calling a support number or The chatbots can be either integrated inside
sending emails, now chatbots are able to talk the brand's website or through apps like
to customers as if they were being assisted by a Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, that have
human, all through texting. both released instant message tools specific for
The technology researcher Chris businesses.
Messina popularized the term conversational After a hype around chatbots around
commerce back in 2016, after he identified a 2015 and 2016, with many fashion houses like
growing trend of automated assistants "utilizing Burberry and Louis Vuitton investing on the
chat, messaging, or other natural language technology, a decline in the excitement over
interfaces (i.e. voice) to interact with people, this AI-powered tool was seen, mostly because
brands, or services and bots that heretofore of clunky experiences that needed too many
questions to arrive at an outcome. But recently, small platforms inside the app that lets users
with improvements in AI and mobile purchases shop and pay with WeChat Pay, the software's
being more in focus, the fashion world is giving digital wallet. The stores are pre-built, hence
chatbots a second chance (McDowell, M., limited when it comes to branding. Otherwise -
2019), as the possibility to chat with brands is and what could be a more interesting choice for
very attractive to younger audiences, used to fashion houses where branding is fundamental -
always communicate with peers through these they can use the platform to integrate WeChat's
platforms. In fact, over 60% of millennials functionalities into their existing e-commerce,
would like to be able to talk to brands connecting users to their stores and letting
via texting (OpenMarket, 2016), making them make purchases without leaving the app's
this a relevant tool for brands to invest environment (Williams, G., 2017).
in and shedding light in the importance In the west, Apple introduced in 2017
of having multiple touchpoints with the Apple Business Chat functionality, which
customers. consists in being able to do different tasks
Examples of current companies that through iOS's Messages software, including
use conversational commerce include the asking information, booking appointments
Chinese application WeChat, that belongs to and making purchases through texting (Apple,
the giant Tencent. The platform lets users do all 2020). Purchases can be made instantaneously
sorts of things inside the app, such as buying through Apple Pay, the company's digital
groceries, setting appointments or getting any wallet. In order to provide a more reliable
kind of recommendations, and the payments of experience, the feature does not disclose the
transactions can be done within the platform customer's name and phone number to the
(McGee, P., 2019). WeChat is a mixed kind of companies, addressing the present issue of
application with a variety of functionalities, and privacy concerns. Fashion houses that use
chatbots for customer care are among its many Apple Business Chat include Burberry and
uses. But when it comes to sales, usually fashion Matchesfashion.com.
companies resort to WeChat's stores, which are
case studies
case study 1
Michael Kors
The American brand Michael Kors and backstage content, as well as Destination
launched in 2018 its chatbot for Facebook Kors, where customers can get travel tips based
Messenger. It originally started as an assistant on the designer's recommendations.
for customers interested in shopping the brand's For U.S. customers only, in addition to
new line of smartwatches Access Sofie, but the global features, the chatbot helps discover
eventually evolved to an online brand concierge. and shop new products, offers information
According to the company, the main goals about the brand's loyalty program, holiday gift
of this chatbot are "to build brand affinity for guide, customer service and more.
Messenger users by increasing brand knowledge According to The Shorty Awards
and providing personalized experiences; to drive (2019), an annual event that honors the
consideration for new and existing customers best content creators in social media and
through product discovery and aspirational the digital world, Michael Kors' chatbot had
storytelling; and to provide answers to frequently gathered 375,000 active users and 45,000 new
asked questions through automation for a deeper users per month since its launch. 98% of the
customer care experience" (The Shorty Awards, customers that engage with the bot remain
2019). on the same platform instead of resorting to a
The bot offers many interactions for customer service agent, showing that the tool is
global customers including a glimpse of the captivating enough to keep a high containment
brand's New York Fashion Week runway show rate.
Figure 2.32. Interactions with Michael Kors' Facebook Messenger chatbot. The bot starts asking
where the customer is from, and then offering different features accordingly. In these screenshots, the
interaction led to a video of the Fall 2020 runway show backstage content.
case study 2
Asos
E-commerce brand ASOS developed in sense, Enki is able to be more than a customer
2018 its chatbot called Enki, offering US and assistant, but also a style assistant.
UK customers a more personalized experience When launched, the bot was in beta
by helping them discover new products and version and the brand encouraged customers
recommending items they might like, inside to leave feedback to help the company improve
the womenswear and menswear categories the algorithm. As of today, it is not clear in
only. The assistant can be accessed through which stage the development of the technology
Facebook Messenger or the Google Assistant is, but if ASOS is able to enhance the feature
app by voice or text activation, either on a and scale it to more users, this could be a
Google Home smart speaker or a smartphone. groundbreak in the industry, as a chatbot able
The user can also upload a picture to Enki to be activated by voice, text and photo is a very
and the bot will use the brand's Style Match unique tool.
technology to suggest similar products (ASOS, The brand claims it keeps working on
2020). If the customer logs in their account, Enki and is making efforts to make the feature
the bot is also able to recognize their style available to more countries, as well as workable
by past purchases and browsing history and in more categories other than apparel.
recommend items (Gilliland, N., 2018). In this
Figure 2.33. Interactions with ASOS' Enki chatbot (Gilliland, N., 2018). Besides customer support,
something more common in other chatbots, Enki is able to provide style recommendations through
voice, text or image activation.
considerations
conversational commerce
As much as conversational commerce had its promising days and many companies
resorted to this tool, in the fashion industry its uses are still very limited. When
conducting this research, often fashion chatbots that made the news a few years
ago were no longer in use when there was an attempt to test them. In addition,
some are available but offer very robotic interactions and a few pre-established
questions, not offering the fluid, natural conversation that natural language
process can allow.
ASOS' Enki is an important study case as the company was able to develop a
much more interactive bot, with many features that make the experience more
effective. Once the company develops and scales the tool to other countries
and categories of products, it could set a precedent for other fashion brands
to understand all the potential that conversational commerce has and start
implementing the technology on their online stores.
virtual style assistants
In the fashion industry, a stylist is a The difference between virtual style
professional that can work for individuals, assistance and chatbots is that the experience
brands, magazines, retailers and other can be richer than text customer assistance.
companies by providing advice on style, fashion Through data analysis, computer vision and
trends, clothing choices and coordination and speech recognition - which is the ability
beauty. of computers to translate spoken language
AI has made possible the into text - the assistant can offer features like
automation of styling assistance, analyzing a user's garment in a picture or
allowing the scaling of the feature that recognize voice commands (as done by Apple's
was once performed just by humans and Siri or Amazon's Alexa, for example). Also,
affordable only to a few. This tool often by informing which clothes the customer has
overlaps with conversational commerce, once it already in their wardrobe and rating pictures of
provides recommendations to clients based on other garments, the assistant can recommend
data, using mostly natural language processing products that have a high probability of being
and machine learning. The AI style assistant compatible with the user's taste.
can help users find products aligned with their These tools can make the shopping
style or current trends, recommend garments experience more personalized and assertive in
that match their body type or advise on how to identifying what each individual client would
explore better the user's current wardrobe. like, increasing conversion rates.
case studies
case study 1
Amazon: Echo Look, Style by Alexa and StyleSnap
Amazon released in 2017 their new and it comes as no surprise that Echo Look
fashion project called Echo Look, with the also recommended products sold on Amazon
aims of being a personal style assistant. The marketplace based on the user's style. The fact
device, equipped with an integrated camera, that the device is placed inside people's homes,
microphone and speakers, allowed the user to taking pictures of them daily and "listening"
take pictures of their outfit by voice command to them thanks to the integrated microphone,
and share online with friends. It also provided raises some concerns about privacy. All photos
fashion recommendations by rating and taken by Echo Look are stored in Amazon's
comparing the user's outfits through a feature cloud until deleted manually. That is something
called Style Check, combining machine learning another image cloud services already do - such
and advice from fashion specialists. The user as Google Photos or Apple iCloud -, but it is a
could upload two pictures with different looks fact that regular pictures taken inside the user's
and Echo Look would recommend the best bedroom could contain even more private
based on current fashion trends and what was information (Hartmans, A., 2017). More on
more flattering (Amazon Fashion, 2017). the relationship between artificial intelligence,
With such precious data about the companies and privacy will be further discussed
users' entire wardrobes, something that in the chapter 2.6 of this document.
no other fashion company has had so far,
Amazon had a lot of commercial power,
Figure 2.34. Amazon Echo Look technical details, including LED lighting, camera, microphone and
speakers (Mallis, A. 2018).
Figure 2.35. Amazon Echo Look's Style Check tool that compares and rates different outfits based on
fit, color, styling and current trends (Koifman, V., 2018).
In 2020 Amazon announced that it will One of the reasons why the Echo Look
be discontinuing Echo Look. Both the device was discontinued could be that a device with
and the dedicated app stopped functioning on limited features was simply not necessary as the
July 24th 2020 and users have one year after style assistant could be integrated into the app
that date to back up images and videos. The or any other Alexa devices. In an email to Echo
company offers a free recycling program for Look users announcing the end of the device,
users to dispose of the device. Amazon claims Amazon explained that the decision would
that most of the functionalities of Echo Look make Style by Alexa "even more convenient and
are now included in the Amazon Shopping available to more Amazon customers" (Kinsella,
app, with tools like Style by Alexa (Carman, A., B., 2020).
2020).
Style by Alexa is Amazon's current "what should I wear?" or "how do I look?" and the
style assistant, present in the app and in Alexa- computer will give style advice based on factors
enabled devices. Users can ask questions like like weather forecast or shopping preferences.
Figure 2.36. Style by Alexa's advice based on the user's outfit analysis and data like the weather forecast
(Amazon, 2020).
Another one of Amazon's efforts However, this recommendation

announced in 2019 to have an impact on system might not be as effective as Amazon
the fashion industry is its tool StyleSnap. It wished, since computer vision is a data-based,
is not quite a virtual personal stylist, but it is objective tool, while fashion can be a much
worth mentioning because it provides style more subjective field. Halzack (2019) did some
assistance on finding items of clothes by image experiments using the feature and the results
search. In the Instagram era, where influencers were not correct - while the image depicted a
impact greatly on fashion trends and sales, the celebrity using a denim jacket, the algorithm
possibility to find and buy desired pieces worn suggested blue fur coats (Figure 2.35), when
by someone's favourite instagrammer is an another celebrity picture showed a sleeveless
interesting and eventually powerful tool. button-down shirt, SnapStyle recommended
StyleSnap works by uploading a picture traditional, old-fashioned vests.
- being it a celebrity shot or a personal picture For this present research, the tool was
- and, through computer vision, the algorithm also applied with an influencer picture and,
finds the item or recommends similar ones similarly, the results weren't precise (Figure
that are on sale on Amazon's e-commerce. It 2.36). Though the accuracy of these searches
is an innovative feature that comes to solve a were not the best, in other cases the tool shows
common pain point for consumers in online a good skill of identifying the correct items
shopping, which is not being able to put into (Figure 2.37). It is also important to stress that
words inside search engines exactly what they this is a machine learning tool, so the tendency
are looking for (Halzack, S., 2019). is that the system could get better with time.
Figure 2.37. SnapStyle trying to identify a denim jacket, mistakenly confusing with a fur coat (Halzack,
S., 2019).
Figure 2.38. SnapStyle trying to identify a long sleeve, white blouse with puffy shoulders. The tool
showed a lace blouse (even though that was not the fabric from the original photo) and even knitted
blouses and sweatshirts.
Figure 2.39. In this case, SnapStyle analysis of the image was pretty accurate in identifying the floral
printed midi skirt and recommending similar products.
case study 2
Stitch Fix
Stitch Fix is an online-based personal Stitch Fix's machine also analyzes

stylist service that relies on algorithms to outfit pictures that the customer liked (from a
offer curated items based on the customer’s Pinterest board, for example). In doing so, they
style, delivering the hand-selected products also take into consideration information that
to the user's door, including apparel, shoes people are not always able to put into words,
and accessories in personalized shipments. making the experience even more personalized
Their recommendation system works by indirect feedback. Their trained neural
by combining data science and machine networks originate vector descriptions of
learning with a team of more than 5.000 pinned images and cross with vectors from
professional stylists. First, the "fix" (how the items in the company's inventory. In addition,
company calls the shipments) is sent based natural language processing scores items based
on a style quiz where the customer fills in on textual requests by the client or other clients'
what they like or don't like, sizes, preferred feedbacks about the same item.
fits and budget. Then, based on the items that After the algorithms come up with the
the client decides to keep or return and some best ranked items for that client, a human stylist
more refining questions, the company applies expert comes into the picture to select the final
technology and AI to improve the next fixes to products to be in the fix, being able to provide
suit better with the customer's taste. a more subtle and subjective decision-making,
Their technology works with things that lack in machines. Technology is
recommendation systems by first filtering also applied in order to decide which stylist
items, excluding the ones that the customer will work on that specific fix - a match score
has asked to avoid or returned from previous between each client and available stylist is
shipments. For the remaining items, the calculated based on historic data between the
algorithm tries to predict which ones are going two (if available) and both their personal styles.
to please that particular client, by tagging
"each item multiple times with match scores
from different algorithms, and then rank them"
(Stitch Fix, 2020), considering both data from
the clients' self-descriptions and clothing
attributes. In doing so, the company is able to
learn the customers' preferences over time, not
only on style but also on fit, which is a common
pain point of online shopping.
In 2019, the company introduced a inventory would go together. That way, clients
new feature called Shop Your Looks, that offers are able to shop individual curated pieces
individual items available in their inventory instead of waiting for a new box of products.
that would go with the ones the client already Stitch Fix also uses data science
has from previous fixes, always taking into and machine learning for warehousing,
consideration the client's preferences. This logistics, inventory and demand
system was created based on the already forecasting - making artificial intelligence
existing "style cards" done by the human stylists present in the company's structure and
that go with every fix - on these cards, clients spread around many processes.
get recommendations on how to combine The combination of fashion and
the items that came inside the box. The new artificial intelligence seem to pay off in terms
feature was done by gathering the style cards of offering clients what they want, as Stitch
and additional outfit ideas done by the experts Fix had in the fourth quarter of 2019 a client
and developing a machine learning model base of 3.2 million and a gross profit of $190.4
to understand by itself which items in their million (Stitch Fix, 2019).
Figure 2.40. Stitch Fix's Shop Your Looks tool, in which the algorithm recommends products that
go with items the client already has, creating a style card and personalizing the shopping experience
(Alcedo, M., 2020).
case study 3
Thread
Thread is a UK-based startup that offers will be recommended to that particular client.
a personal styling service with a particular The algorithm also selects products based
focus on menswear. It works firstly by asking on the human stylist's input - for example,
the customer to provide information on size, if they decide that a plaid shirt should be
fit, style, brands and outfits they like and recommended to a certain client, the computer
price range. Then, their own algorithm called will find a selection of plaid shirts from the
Thimble searches through a database of 500 partners and eventually advise on the best one.
partner brands and comes up with a selection In general, AI is used as an aid for
of products that might please that customer. To stylists instead of being a stylist itself. The idea
do that, it relies on machine learning, always is for the fashion and data science teams to
improving as customers can rate suggested work together in a collaborative way, allowing
articles with thumbs up or down. a few professionals to serve a large amount of
However, Thread's styling service clients - with a team of only 11 stylists, Thread
does not rely solely on artificial intelligence. is able to generate 3.7 trillion outfits (Santi, A.,
Machine learning is used to help human stylists 2020).
by providing them with items aligned with the Thread's service is free of charge - the
customer demand, and it is the person that company makes a profit by having a cut on the
makes the final selection of which products sales (Hern, A., 2016).
Figure 2.41. An example of how a human - in this case, a stylist called Sophie - hand picks products of
a particular style for a client with the help of AI (Cook, J., 2017).
considerations
virtual style assistants
Other examples of companies applying artificial intelligence - particularly machine

learning, computer vision and NLP - to provide style assistance are available,
being them brands offering products or tech companies offering the technology
to brands. Either way, it is clear that AI can assist people in choosing items that go
together, that suit their style and that fit perfectly their bodies or their budgets.
It also allows human stylists to enhance their professional capabilities, scaling the
process of searching and recommending products. For instance, AI can analyze
millions of images throughout the internet in seconds, something a human simply
cannot do.
But what about the creativity inherent to humans? Are AI stylists able to stand in
equal grounds with humans by considering all the subtleties necessary to assist a
person into finding their perfect style and expressing their individualities through
fashion? Insiders, including the ones that are applying artificial intelligence in
their styling services, believe that the role of AI is to assist the humans instead
of replacing them. The futurist Doug Stephens argues that "all AI can deal with
is known data, so it develops a predictive model that doesn’t expand a world of
possibilities; it shrinks it” (Santi, A., 2020). Human relationships include feelings
like empathy and intuition, which computers do not possess. In conclusion,
according to Coletti (2020), human stylists will always be in demand and their
role has room to grow, also thanks to these new technologies that can provide
valuable solutions to assist creativity and provide personalized solutions to
fashion's demanding clients (Santi, A., 2020).
virtual try-on
The online shopping experience is Augmented reality is a field in computer
rather different than shopping in physical stores. science that is able to design experiences mixing
Online stores can offer convenience (saving the physical and the virtual environments,
time and energy), a more competitive price through the placement of digital objects that
and a bigger variety of options and accessibility interact with the real world in an immersive
to products, facilitating the purchase decision scene. Traditionally, it works with computer
process (Zendehdel, M., 2015). However, vision by constructing a 3D representation of
it doesn't offer the possibility to touch and the real world, using spatial measuring devices
feel fabrics and textures, as well as trying on to map the environment (Toole, J., 2019).
products to verify if they truly fit one's style and Artificial intelligence and AR
body. This can be considered a disadvantage are distinct technologies, but they
for e-commerce, since the sensorial experience can work together and enhance each
is not as rich as in a physical space. other to provide even more immersive
But through new ways of applying experiences. According to Toole (2019),
technology on online retail such as augmented "deep neural networks can detect vertical and
reality, companies can offer an experience that horizontal planes, estimate depth and segment
is more aligned with the one they would have images for realistic occlusion, and even infer
in-store (California Apparel News, 2019). One 3D positions of objects in real-time. Because of
example is the virtual try-on, a feature that these abilities, AI models are replacing some of
allows customers to try clothes and accessories the more traditional computer vision approaches
digitally. underpinning AR.". The author also explains
Virtual try-on became popular in the that in order to combine AI and AR, one can
last years particularly in the beauty industry, take images or audio from a scene, run them
with brands such as Sephora, MAC, Yves Saint through a model as input and use the output to
Laurent Beauty and many more investing on the generate effects in the scene - examples include
technology to offer customers the possibility image or scene labeling, object detection, pose
to try the makeup by uploading a picture or estimation and text/audio recognition.
live video. This interesting new tool can Other than using AR to virtually show
be related to the filter mania fueled by customers how they will look like wearing
Instagram, where augmented reality specific products, virtual try-on can also use
features available at any smartphone other tools to improve the shopping experience
became part of the everyday lives of by scanning people's bodies to recommend
many of the social media users. Brands the best fit, something that can be done using
understood this potential and many of them computer vision and machine learning.
invested in creating Instagram filters or bringing
the AR experience into their online shops.
case studies
case study 1
Nike Fit
Sportswear brand Nike released in particular model, considering that different

2019 the Nike Fit feature, a scanner that uses a products might need a size variation to be
"combination of computer vision, data science, worn comfortably. For instance, running shoes
machine learning, artificial intelligence and should be more snug while a sportswear shoe
recommendation algorithms" (Nike News, can have more room to offer more comfort,
2019). According to the brand, 60% of people and the app will take all that in consideration
at any given time are using the wrong shoe size when advising on a size (Nike News, 2019).
- data that shows that this feature is especially Since this is an AI-powered feature
valuable as fitting for footwear can be tricky. that relies on machine learning, the more the
Nike Fit is available at the brand's app customers use it, the more the algorithm will be
and in-store, and works by asking the user to improved, becoming more accurate with time
photograph their feet against a wall with socks (Yalcinkaya, G., 2019). By considering each
that contrast the color of the floor (Yalcinkaya, customer's individual shape to recommend the
G., 2019). The photo is scanned by the computer size that will be best suited, Nike is capable of
that collects 13 data points and maps the shape addressing the relevant problem of fit which
of the feet of the customer. The brand then is one of customers' biggest pain points while
recommends the most appropriate size for each online shopping.
Figure 2.42. The Nike Fit feature

allows for customers to photograph
and scan their feet in order to,
through the use of artificial
intelligence, get the most accurate
size recommendation.
case study 2
FaceCake
FaceCake is a tech company specialized Jewelry and eyewear try-on are two categories
in AR for retail, which they call augmented that have been tested with the new technology
retail. Their solutions include a series of AR and show interesting results on making the
immersive experiences for virtual try-on, worn products look closer to a real experience
tailored specifically for fashion and beauty of trying on items in store. For instance,
retail. They have been creating new products for earrings move with the movement of the head
at least a decade and some highlights include and sunglasses capture the reflections on the
in-browser and in-app try-on of makeup, lenses as the user looks to different directions.
jewelry and clothes. Aiming at an increase in purchase
At the 2020 Consumer Electronics conversions, FaceCake patented new AI/
Show, one of the biggest tech events globally, AR shopping experience is adaptable to
FaceCake announced its new venture, a feature websites, pop-ups, advertising or marketing
called Augmented Realism. It is an AI-driven plans. Since it is fairly new, it is yet to see the
AR technology that takes virtual try-on to potentials of this tool applied to online brands
a new level by delivering natural product and e-commerces, but an improvement at the
movement based on its weight, dimension quality of virtual try-on might get customers to
and physics, as well as the lighting of be more prone to online shopping.
the actual environment interacting with
the product (PRNewswire, 2020).
Figure 2.43. FaceCake released in 2020 a sneak peek video of their new feature Augmented Realism. In the
video, it's possible to see sunglasses and a pair of earrings being worn, and as the models move their heads, the
products also move and capture different reflections from the environment (FaceCake, 2020).
case study 3
Zeekit
Zeekit is a tech startup that developed clothes of an entire online store catalog would
a dynamic virtual fitting room inside an app, look on their body.
where users can see themselves wearing any The algorithm uses deep learning to
type of clothes online. Their team of experts had scan the picture of the clothing and the person,
an "extensive experience in developing real- dividing each of them in 80,000 segments that
time image processing technologies, computer are then used to match both together, fitting
vision, deep learning and artificial intelligence the garment in the user (BBC News, 2020). The
for military purposes" (Zeekit, 2020) which user is able to scroll down the brand's catalog
they applied to fashion retail. seeing all the available garments over their own
The company's virtual try-on solution bodies.
starts by a full body picture that the user needs Zeekit has as partners brands such as
to take and upload to the app. By applying their ASOS, Macy's, Net-A-Porter and Adidas.
algorithm, the tool then is able to show how
Figure 2.44. Zeekit's algorithm

divides the clothing and
the user's images in 80,000
segments that are later
combined to fit the item over
the body (BBC, 2020).
considerations
virtual try-on
Virtual try-on can be a powerful tool to provide customers a more personalized

and reliable online shopping experience. The idea of seeing how an item would
look in someone's virtual image, finding the best style and fit, could be appealing
to most customers.
However, as shown in the analysis and study cases, this technology is still not
being adopted in the apparel industry as much as in the beauty industry - where
most of the main brands have all adopted makeup virtual try-on in their websites.
Fashion has been using it still in an experimental level or as a special feature.
It can also be inferred that accessories - such as jewelry, footwear or bags -
are better candidates for an effective virtual try-on, while challenges for all
the industry include providing a more real, movement and light sensitive try-on,
decreasing the gap between the physical and online store experiences.
brick-and-mortar
The relationship between consumers according to the 2020 State of Fashion report
and physical stores is changing. As online (Amed, I. et al., 2019), 85% of shoppers engage
retail sales grew 22.9% in 2018 compared with both online and offline touchpoints.
to the previous year (Statista, 2019), brick- The physical retail shop is a
and-mortar retail in the US faced 9,302 store place in which the brand can develop
closures in 2019 against only 4,454 new narratives to connect with customers on
openings (Keyes, D., 2020). This phenomena an emotional level, by offering a place
can be explained by many reasons, including of entertainment, gaming and testing
the strengthening of online shopping and the (Iannilli, V., 2019). By offering an experience
change of habits of the newer generations, that more than just products, customers can be
prioritize spending on experiences instead of attracted back to the retail space in creative
material things (Thompson, D., 2017). ways that involve sensorial features like the
But even though the scenario seems smart mirrors.
rather pessimistic, physical retail still has an
important role in people's purchasing practices:
smart mirrors
Smart mirrors are devices composed With this feature, customers can try
by two-way mirrors with an electronic display clothes and accessories in-store digitally, being
behind the glass, equipped with hardware with able to change outfits and try different colors
depth sensing and computer vision algorithms within seconds. More than the convenience
(Luce, L., 2019). It also includes cameras and that it can offer, smart mirrors bring
a digital screen, that together provide the the testing and gaming aspect that can
"reflection" of the user - which, in reality, is make physical retail more attractive
a real-time image captured by the camera. to younger consumers that are digital
The digital screen, according to Luce (2019), natives.
provides also "distortion correction, object Smart mirrors can also be extremely
detection and recognition, feature extraction useful in data collection, getting information
and augmented reality". on a brand's customers such as which products
Its idea is similar to the online virtual they tried, which colors they selected the most
try-on already explored in this document, but and so on. Retailers can be more informed
the hardware makes it possible to place it inside about their clients and provide accurate
physical stores and have features like connecting recommendations and personalized product
it to smartphones and sharing the images on discovery flow (Luce, L., 2019).
social media, in a truly omnichannel approach.
case studies
case study 1
MemoMi
MemoMi is a digital imaging software from every angle without the deformations
company focused on the luxury sector of that cameras produce, making the view
fashion, accessories and beauty industries. It resulted by the mirror closer to the real look.
created Memory Mirror, an AI and augmented The company is so invested in this feature that
reality platform that, through a smart mirror, it has developed more than 20 patents related
allows customers to "try products virtually and to distort correction technology (Intel, 2020).
get recommendations based on profile, style In addition to being an interesting
and preference" (MemoMi, 2020). Through a experience for consumers, Memory Mirror is a
pixel-based algorithm, the company provides powerful tool for retailers since it offers in-store
an augmented experience that can be accessed analytics by providing data about the customers
through different platforms. In the mirror, that attend the shop, such as shopping history.
colors and styles can be changed with hand With that information, recommendations
gestures (captured by a sensor) and the mirror systems can predict which products are more
has the ability to remember customer's choices likely gonna please each customer. Brands that
and preferences and store that data. already experimented with MemoMi's mirror
Through distort correction technology, in their stores include the groups Luxottica,
the mirror allows customers to see themselves Neiman Marcus and LVMH.
Figure 2.45. MemoMi's Memory Mirror allows the user to try different colors of the same dress
(MemoMi, 2020).
case study 2
H&M's Voice Interactive Mirror
In 2018, H&M placed a voice fashion tips like outfit suggestions, which can
interactive mirror in its flagship store on the be instantly purchased in the online store. With
Times Square, New York City. The smart that, H&M shows clear signs of investments
mirror was developed by a collaboration with in omnichannel, as in-store experience can
Microsoft and Swedish digital agencies Visual take customers to a mobile and e-commerce
Art and Ombori, and allows customers to use integration.
voice commands to take a selfie in the style of Through face and voice recognition,
a magazine cover, and the picture can then be as well as shoppers information collection,
downloaded through a QR code. As part of the the brand also can gather customer data that
experience, customers are offered to subscribe can then be processed and used to provide
to H&M's newsletter and get a 20% discount recommendations and ultimately increase
and free shipping. It has been reported that conversion rates.
the action had a positive response, as 86% of Even though H&M's solution is not
customers who took a selfie also scanned the focused on virtual try-on, it still brings smart
QR code and 10% registered for the newsletter mirrors in-store for an interactive experience
(Business Insider Deutschland, 2018). that engages customers across different
In addition, the smart mirror also offers channels.
Figure 2.46. The voice interactive mirror placed in H&M flagship store allows customers to take selfies
and share them on social media, get special discounts and get outfit inspiration that can be purchased
on the spot (Ombori, 2018).
considerations
smart mirrors
Other companies like MemoMi, that offer the hardware and software for retail
smart mirrors, are also appearing and growing, as retailers understand the
importance of offering unique experiences in-store, betting on an omnichannel
approach to appeal to customers and avoid the retail meltdown. Other solutions
involving technology, especially ones that are mobile and social media friendly,
can help brands to strengthen their physical spaces and provide customers
with an entertainment experience that is memorable, enhancing brand loyalty.
Retailers that are resistant to adapt to this new reality, that is heavily reliant
on the digital world, might have difficulties connecting to audiences that are
searching for more than solely purchasing an item, but rather to connecting with
the brand and its space.
artificial intelligence and
ethics in the fashion industry
Renda (2019) argues that artificial Starting with fashion production, as
intelligence can be characterized by four already analyzed in chapter 2.3.1., robots in
variables that can coexist: manufacturing can bring environmental
benefits by allowing brands to produce
Disruptive, as it is setting new locally, avoiding back-and-forth
models of business, interactions and social shipping of goods that are greatly
relationships, having the potential to produced in the Asia-Pacific region.
enhance productivity, sustainability and However, the economies of such
growth in ways never seen before; countries can be highly impacted, and
automation can mean that apparel
Empowering, since it can offer production workers will be less needed
humans tools to enhance their intelligence with time. In fact, an analysis by PWC
and capabilities, as well as bettering their (2018) predicts that manufacturing will be
quality of life, health and life expectancy, the second most impacted industry in terms
education and information access; of labour - by 2037, almost 50% potential jobs
can be at risk due to automation. In Cambodia,
It can pose challenges, as it where garment production dominates the
can exacerbate biases, inequalities and manufacturing sector, almost 500,000 sewing
discrimination against minorities - after machine operators face a high automation
all, machines are developed and trained risk, while in Vietnam this number reaches
by humans that can often carry those almost 800,000 workers (Chang, J., Huynh, P,
characteristics, and AI can be a reflex of 2016).
issues already present in society. The same Among the countries belonging to
applies to issues regarding privacy and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
security, cyber hacking and more refined (ASEAN), it is predicted that women,
fake news tools such as deep fake (a workers with less education and
machine learning technique that allows to workers in lower-wage occupations
create a bogus video with someone's face are even more likely to be impacted by
and voice); technology (Chang, J., Huynh, P, 2016),
something that is extremely sensitive
Unpredictable, considering that since this is the group that is usually
unsupervised deep learning and neural employed in garment production.
networks can generate outcomes not Automation can hit vulnerable parts of the
expected by the original developers. population in which clothing manufacturing
is often the sole source of income of entire
Due to the challenges and unpredictability families.
results from the use of AI, discussions about ethics An analysis by PWC (2017) about
are fundamental when considering its uses in the the situation on countries members of the
fashion industry. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) argues that the solution
to the inevitable automation wave could
come from different government initiatives,
such as promoting a broad variety of career
pathways, improving vocational training in
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics), as well as engaging employers medical conditions (Weisbaum, H., 2014). For
in training strategies. However, the scenario in instance, a particular suggestion not
those countries are different from the ones in being offered to a person because of
the Asian developing countries, so the solutions its income or region of living can show
would have to be adapted to the local reality. a biased viewpoint and how different
Balancing the benefits of automation customers can be treated by the same
to the fundamental rights of manufacturing brand.
workers is still an issue to be discussed and The biggest issue for most people is
solutions have to take in consideration the not knowing exactly how companies are using
needs of vulnerable societies, instead of simply their data and for which purpose. In 2018,
replacing them with AI-powered machines. the European Union introduced the General
Data Protection Regulation, giving the right
Another important ethical issue for customers to inquiry companies about the
emerging from AI discussions is the protection subject, ask them to send all personal data they
of privacy. Through IoT-powered devices have stored and also require them to erase them
and the analysis of users' online behaviours, altogether. A month after GDPR was installed,
companies can collect, store and process an close to a third of European consumers claimed
enormous amount of private data. their privacy rights (Arnett, G., 2020).
Data from social media, sharing data Ironically, artificial intelligence can be
with trusted partners and buying them from a valuable partner in ensuring companies are
tech companies allows retailers and brands able to stay compliant to regulations. When a
to know information about users that goes customer requests to be handed in the personal
way beyond their purchase history (Arnett, data they have stored, many companies
G., 2020). These informations are used can take around 14 days to respond to the
to give consumer scores through request. The location of the customer data is
predictive analysis, which are the base done manually and it is also expensive for the
of the recommendation of products company - average costs are around $1,400
and services that are aligned with the for each request. This can prevent companies
customer profile, habits, lifestyle and from being transparent and compliant with the
life stage. regulations, and customers can get frustrated
The idea of scoring customers is not new - and afraid of their personal information not
credit scores are able to identify a person's being treated properly. AI tools are able to
financial credibility and eligibility for loans, shorten the costs and the times necessary to
for example. This score is based on credit respond to a customer's request, establishing
history and is highly regulated, while scores more trust between the parties (Mühlberg, B.,
based on big data are not transparent and 2020).
can impose discriminations, as they take in
consideration factors such as race, religion,
age, gender, household income, ZIP code and
AI in fashion as a
partner in the covid-19 crisis
The year of 2020 is gonna be marked in going. The State of Fashion Report by McKinsey
history thanks to the COVID-19 humanitarian & Company and the Business of Fashion
crisis. With the virus pandemic showing (Amed, I., 2020) argues that "designers and
its first origins in the end of 2019 in China merchandisers will be empowered to
and rapidly spreading around the world, make faster decisions and steer brands
everything changed - from world economy towards a demand-driven model with
and trade to people's everyday lives and habits. 3D technology, virtual sampling and AI-
Fashion is being particularly affected by supported planning".
this black swan, as a piece of clothing Technology and artificial intelligence
is not an item of essential need, thus can offer support for the development of this
not a priority for many consumers at new fashion reality. An extremely crucial
rough times. In fact, the industry already point is to be able to offer customers a similar
saw the reflexes of the crisis: between January experience online as they would have in-
and March of 2020, there was an almost 40% store. As already analyzed in this document,
drop on the average market capitalisation of tools for e-shops like conversational
apparel, fashion and luxury (Amed, I. et al., commerce, virtual style assistants and
2020). virtual try-on can certainly provide support
A symbolic moment of the new times and personalization during the shopping
that were beginning to arrive in Europe was experience, being able to connect with
the Armani's 2020 Autumn/Winter fashion customers from a distance.
show in Milan Fashion Week, when the brand With shaky numbers on sales and
decided to have a live streamed runway show closed stores, companies can rely more than
with closed doors and no guests. In countries ever in demand forecasting, avoiding
where strict quarantines and lockdowns were overstock and products that are not in
installed, stores had to close for weeks or line with the current world situation. As
months - something that is particularly society is taken by fears and concerns
critical for fashion since more than 80% over people's health and well being,
of transactions in this industry are still encouraging consumerism can be
happening in physical stores (Amed, I., considered an insensitive move. In fact,
2020). the visibility of luxury products on Instagram
The crisis has affected not only have been decreasing from January to April
sales and revenues, but also the way the 2020 (Heuritech, 2020). Trend forecasting
industry operates as a whole: there was an based on a data-driven approach,
84% increase in remote working, a 79% rise analyzing the response of social media and
in video conferencing and a 58% growth in other important digital channels to the current
flexible working hours on fashion companies crisis can be a tool to find the right tone to
(Amed, I., 2020). communicate new products and collections.
In troubled times, brands had to
innovate and find creative solutions to keep
Figure 2.47. The relationship between the growth of the discussions around coronavirus and the
visibility of luxury products on Instagram can be a sign that consumers are more cautious and sensitive
to the crisis, and over consumerism can be seen as morally questionable (Heuritech, 2020).
In addition to the changes in retail environment, as robots can perform tasks that
and the relationship between brands and usually require humans. Human labour can
consumers, AI could also be a long term be more restricted to the operation of the
partner in the context of health crises such machines, allowing a better social distancing
as the COVID-19. In fashion production, between workers, while robotics could also
manufacturing and warehousing robots allow production plants to keep functioning
can decrease the amount of people in the same even during quarantines.
field research
Analyzing the fashion value chain and After the analysis of the current
how artificial intelligence is being applied in scenario of AI in fashion, a number of
many different spheres, it became clear that, hypotheses concerning the barriers
although AI presents many possibilities of in the use of AI solutions by the end
innovation and the potential to make processes consumer of apparel and accessories
faster and more effective, it is not widely were highlighted. In order to test the
adopted in the fashion industry - except from validity of these hypotheses, a survey-
when it comes to AI-driven recommendation based approach was considered,
systems that are used extensively in e-commerce where consumers would be inquired
platforms and social media, for example. There about their relationship with these new
are many possibilities that could explain this technologies.
fact: the implementation of AI technologies is
expensive, the culture in fashion is not yet open The investigation tackled three different areas:
enough or it could be that players in fashion
simply do not have a full understanding of 1. Demographics to understand to which
how to use such technologies on their daily generation the respondents belong, as well as
processes. region of origin, gender and area of studies/
Another perspective to consider is the occupation;
consumer side and what would keep them
from using the AI-powered solutions that are 2. Frequency of apparel shopping, as
already available in the market. The analysis well as whether they have already come into
of the ethics surrounding AI and fashion contact with AI-powered tools while making
(in the chapter 2.6 of this document) shows purchases;
that privacy concerns are largely present in
the brand-consumer relationship and that 3. Privacy concerns, testing different layers
customers are often claiming their privacy and types of sharing of personal data.
rights.
hypotheses
Based on the desk research about the technologies for retail. The hypotheses are
application of AI in the fashion value chain, grouped by two subjects - level of exposure to
seven hypotheses were drawn concerning AI-powered solutions and privacy concerns
the relationship of the consumers with AI regarding AI-powered solutions.
level of exposure to AI-powered solutions
Hypothesis number 1 was based on the

Hypothesis 1 research of the current scenario of AI in
fashion, which showed a limited number of
The majority of customers haven’t had companies developing and applying these
previous contact with retail AI-powered technologies in the field.
solutions such as chatbots, virtual try-on,
virtual style assistants and smart mirrors.

Hypothesis 2 fact that older customer groups may not be
as tech savvy as younger ones, hence less
The higher the age, the less likely
probable to have had contact with such
customers are to have used AI-powered
technologies.
solutions.
Hypothesis number 3 is linked to the idea

Hypothesis 3 that online shoppers might be more exposed
Frequent online shoppers are more likely and open to use AI-powered tools since
to use AI-powered solutions. such technologies can be helpful tools for
assistance and product recommendations
when shopping online.
privacy concerns regarding AI
powered solutions
Hypothesis number 4 deals with the
Hypothesis 4 assumption that customers who have
higher privacy concerns may have refused
The higher the privacy concerns are, the to use AI technologies in the past due to a
less likely it is for them to have used lack of trust on how their privacy would be
AI-powered solutions in the past. respected.
Hypothesis number 5 argues that the

Hypothesis 5 desire of customers to have personalized
assistance may have an effect on how
Customers that value personalized
much they would be willing to share their
assistance while shopping would
personal data with companies.
be more open to share personal
data (such as email address or style
preferences) in order to receive tailored
recommendations.

Hypothesis 6 assumption that most customers would
have higher privacy concerns when it
Customers would be less likely to use AI-
comes to sharing personal images than
powered tools that require the sharing
of personal images rather than the sharing personal information that does not
sharing of other nature of personal data require giving access to their faces.
(such as email, style preferences and
social media profile).
Hypothesis number 7 was designed to

Hypothesis 7 investigate if Instagram virtual try-on
could be more accepted than website
Consumers would be more willing to use virtual try-on (done by allowing webcam
virtual try-on through an Instagram filter access). Considering that Instagram is such
instead of giving access to their webcam a widely adopted social media platform,
for the same purpose. users are accustomed to share their private
moments and daily lives on it. Therefore,
the hypothesis wants to uncover if there is a
possibility that the popularity of the social
media application can contribute to a more
friendly perception by users compared to
webcam access.
methodology
The survey was conducted through Due to the limitations of this
an online questionnaire composed of closed- research concerning resources and access to
ended questions, which are questions with populations, probability sampling - which
predetermined answers that the respondent consists in each individual in a population
can select. This type of survey is useful for having the same chance of being selected for
analyzing the collected data statistically, which the study (Acharya et al., 2013) - is not possible.
is the aim of this step of the research. Hence, non-probability sampling was
Questions varied between nominal used - more specifically, convenience
questions, to label participants in age and sampling.
nationality segments, and standard Likert scale Convenience sampling means that
questions, ranging from "strongly disagree" to the sample will be of the convenience of
"strongly agree". the researcher (Acharya et al., 2013), so the
The survey aimed to investigate how selected respondents are often on their own
consumers stand regarding specific AI retail networks or the networks of other respondents.
solutions, more specifically, chatbots, virtual Even though this method of sampling often
style assistants, virtual try-on and smart provides biases due to the limited nature of
mirrors. A brief explanation of what the respondents, it still provides advantages
these technologies consist of and their due to factors like cost effectiveness and easy
functionality was given, assuming accessibility to the target population.
most participants would not have prior Considering that convenience
knowledge of the definitions, even if sampling was the method chosen for this
they might have used it before. research, it is important to highlight that the
The target group of the survey was results of the survey are not representative of
apparel consumers, without limitation of age, the entire population of apparel consumers
nationality, area of occupation or education due to the factors mentioned above. Still, it
level. The purpose is to have a broader quantity provided interesting insights into the present
of consumers and avoid selecting a particular scenario of AI in fashion retail.
niche that would represent only a specific The survey was sent to voluntary
category (for example, young people under respondents via Google Forms and gathered
25 years old or Europeans). Having a diverse 287 answers throughout the course of seven
group of respondents would help uncover days. Due to the fact that it was a convenience
patterns and understand the relationship of sample, the questionnaire was offered either in
different types of consumers with artificial English or Portuguese. The full questionnaire
intelligence solutions. in original can be found in Annex 1.
data analysis
After gathering all answers from be evaluated as the following guidelines,
participants, the first step was data cleaning, according to Cohen, J. (1988):
that consisted in merging the data of the two
languages offered in one and then attributing From 0.1 to 0.3: weak correlation
numerical values to questions where Likert From 0.3 to 0.5: moderate correlation
scale was not used, such as age (starting from From 0.5 onwards: strong correlation
1 to the youngest age range until 7 to the
oldest). A correlation matrix presenting all
After labeling all the answers and correlation coefficients, with color differences
turning them into numerical values, it was to state negative and positive correlation
possible to gain some insights into the linear as well as their strengths, was constructed
relationship between the variables and in Microsoft Excel, using an in-software
understand possible patterns. The nature of correlation formula that calculates the r value
the relationship between variables can be (correlation coefficient) considering the
described using the Pearson's correlation independent variables - stable, unaffected, the
coefficient, where -1 corresponds to complete presumed causes - and dependent variables
negative correlation and 1 to a complete - the ones that change, the presumed effect
positive correlation, whilst zero means there (University of Southern California, 2020).
is no correlation between the variables. The correlation matrix can be
The strength of the correlation can visualized in details in the Annex 2.
Figure 3.1. The correlation matrix (Annex 2) with all correlation coefficients, differentiating
positive and negative correlations by color (being green for positive and red for negative) and
strengths by shades (darker being stronger and lighter being weaker).
findings
After gathering all the survey from 20 to 24 years old, 46% from 25 to 34
responses and analyzing the data, it was years old, 8,4% from 35 to 44 years old, 11,1%
possible to discover insights about the from 45 to 54 years old, 14,3% from 55 to 64
respondent consumers and test the validity of years old, 0,7% from 65 to 74 years old and
the hypotheses previously drawn. 2,1% are 70 years or older.
Firstly, the demographics showed that The region of origin of most respondents
most participants are in the age group of 25 is South America followed by North America,
to 34 years old, followed by 20 to 25 years. with complete data as following: 65,5% South
The age range of respondents are composed Americans, 17,4% North Americans, 14,6%
as following: 1,7% under 20 years old, 15,7% Europeans, 1,7% Asians and 0,7% Africans.
Under 24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Over 65

17,4% 46% 8,4% 11,1% 14,3% 2,8%
Europe
14,6%
North America
17,4%
South America
65,5%
Figure 3.2. Composition of the respondents regarding age and region of origin. The regions of Africa,
Asia and Oceania are not shown on the graph due to the low number of participants (0,7%, 1,7%
and 0%, respectively).
level of exposure to AI-powered solutions
Hypothesis 1
The majority of customers haven’t had
previous contact with retail AI-powered
solutions such as chatbots, virtual try-on,
virtual style assistants and smart mirrors.
The hypothesis number 1 was a result solution, there are important differences
of the desk research that showed a lack of that show that some technologies are a lot
numerous examples of companies using AI- more spread among customers than others.
powered solutions in retail. Chatbots are by far the most popular
The survey inquired if respondents one, with 32,4% of respondents having
have ever used one of the four solutions used it before. Virtual style assistants and
analyzed and results showed that only 15,5% virtual try-on have similar numbers (11,5%
of the participants have experienced them and 12,9%, respectively), while smart mirrors
while shopping, therefore, the hypothesis is are decidedly way less present in customer's
accepted. shopping experiences, with only 5,2%
In respect to each AI-powered participants having used them.
Distribution of consumers who have used AI-powered solutions for retail by type
Chatbots Virtual Style Assistants Virtual Try-on Smart Mirrors

32,4% 11,5% 12,9% 5,2%
Figure 3.3. Percentage of consumers that have used AI-powered solutions for retail by each specific
product.
It can be presumed that the differences function of the solution: chatbots provide
between these AI-powered applications is due solely customer support, which is a bigger
to the fact that chatbots are more frequently demand and necessary to every brand. While
used by brands and companies in comparison smart mirrors, virtual try-on and virtual style
to the other products - such as smart mirrors, assistants can also provide assistance, they are
that require installation of hardware in- applications that are often used to enhance
store to function. It can also be related to the customer engagement.
There were slender differences from These geographical differences could
country to country, with South Americans be explained by the strong tech inclination
and Europeans having less contact with the present in the United States, a country that is
technologies (14,2% and 10,7%, respectively) home to Silicon Valley and to most of the case
while North Americans seem to have used it studies analyzed in this research.
more times (24%).
Distribution of consumers who have used AI-powered

solutions* for retail by region of origin
*AI-powered solutions analyzed: chatbots, virtual style assistants, virtual try-on and smart mirrors
Europe
10,7%
North America
24%
South America
14,2%
Total: 15,5%
Figure 3.4. Percentage of consumers that have used AI-powered solutions for retail by region of
origin. The regions of Africa, Asia and Oceania are not shown on the graph due to the low number
of participants.
Hypothesis 2
The higher the age, the less likely
customers are to have used AI-powered
solutions.
The second hypothesis was regarding although there is mostly a negative correlation
the familiarity with the AI solutions and - meaning, as age goes up, the familiarity
age. The data can be found in the matrix with AI-powered solutions goes down - the
looking at the intersection of age and whether coefficients are so low that is not grounds to
respondents have used chatbots, virtual style be considered a relevant correlation. Only
assistants, virtual try-on and smart mirrors in one of the products (virtual style assistants)
the past. showed a weak correlation with the age of
The correlation coefficients found respondents.
are 0,03 for chatbots, -0,12 for virtual style Therefore, the hypothesis of age having
assistants, -0,04 for virtual try-on and -0,08 an impact in the occurrence of use of AI-
for smart mirrors. powered solutions is rejected.
As the results of the survey show,
Correlation Matrix*
Have usedchatbots Have usedvirtual Have usedvirtual Have usedsmart

style assistants try-on mirrors
Age 0,03 -0,12 -0,04 -0,08
* -1: complete negative correlation; 0: no correlation; 1: complete positive correlation

From 0,1 to 0,3: weak correlation; from 0,3 to 0,5: moderate correlation; from 0,5 onwards: strong correlation
Figure 3.5. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between age and occurence of use of
AI-powered solutions. Although there is mostly a negative correlation, the coefficients are so low that
there is no relevant relationship between the two variables.
It is worth mentioning that, although purchases, it may seem odd that age didn't
age was not related to use of AI- have a stronger negative correlation with the
powered solutions, it was definitely use of such solutions. One might expect that,
related to the frequency of online since younger people are more exposed to
shopping. In fact, there was a moderate these technologies, chances are bigger that
negative correlation (-0,3), meaning that as they would have already used them in the
age increases, the oftennes of shopping online past. The assumption that could be made to
decreases. This could be explained due to the explain this fact is that, as seen in hypothesis
fact that older people are not digital natives number 1, the occurrence of use of the AI-
and might experience difficulties or lack of powered solutions are so low (more than
trust in such tools. 84% of respondents have never used them)
Considering that older age groups that only consumers who are particularly
shop less online and most of the AI-powered interested in technology were exposed to the
solutions researched are available for online products, regardless of age.
Hypothesis 3
Frequent online shoppers are more likely
to use AI-powered solutions.
Hypothesis number 3 is related to does the occurrence of use. Consequently, the

the fact that most AI-powered solutions hypothesis can be accepted.
are applied in online shopping, therefore a The only exception are smart mirrors,
customer that makes purchases online more which have a very low correlation coefficient
frequently has a higher probability of exposure with frequency of shopping online. This
to such tools. variable helps to back up the data, since smart
The correlation matrix shows that the mirrors are hardware applications that are
variables frequency of online shopping and the installed in physical stores, thus customers
use of each specific AI solution analyzed have that shop more or strictly online have a lower
a weak to almost moderate positive correlation probability of using them.
- meaning, as online shopping goes up, so
Correlation Matrix*
Have used chatbots Have used virtual Have used virtual Have used smart
style assistants try-on mirrors
Frequency
of online 0,26 0,29 0,28 0,03
shopping

Figure 3.6. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between frequency of online
shopping and occurence of use of AI-powered solutions. A low to almost moderate positive
correlation was identified.
privacy concerns regarding AI
powered solutions
Hypothesis 4
The higher the privacy concerns are, the
less likely it is for them to have used
AI-powered solutions in the past.
In order to test hypothesis number variables, more specifically, 0,04 for chatbots,
4, the correlation analyzed was between 0,07 for virtual style assistants and 0 to virtual
questions about the occurrence of use of AI try-on. For smart mirrors, there was a very
and a question about privacy concerns. This low negative correlation - meaning, as data
question asked, through a Likert scale, how privacy concerns rise, the use of smart mirrors
confident respondents were that brands they goes down - however, the coefficient is too
shop from store and process their data safely. small to be considered relevant. Therefore, the
The correlation matrix showed an hypothesis is rejected.
unimportant correlation between the two
Correlation Matrix*
Have used Have used virtual Have used Have used

chatbots style assistants virtual try-on smart mirrors
Confidence that brands

keep and process 0,04 0,07 0 -0,17
personal data safely

Figure 3.7. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between the confidence that brands
keep and process personal data safely and occurence of use of AI-powered solutions. Most of the
coefficients are so low that no correlation is found.
It is fairly interesting to observe the lack solutions. However, it shows that it is possible
of correlation between the variables - it would for retail to take advantage of artificial
be assumed that a bigger concern with how intelligence tools without necessarily
data is being treated by the companies would compromising the relationship with the
lead to a resistance in the use of AI-powered customer.
Hypothesis 5
Customers that value personalized
assistance while shopping would
be more open to share personal
data (such as email address or style
preferences) in order to receive tailored
recommendations.
Hypothesis number 5 tackles the value personalized assistance, they also tend
importance of personalized assistance in to be more open to share data such as email
apparel and accessories retail and how address or style preferences with brands.
customers balance its importance with the The correlation is moderate, with a positive
sharing of personal information. coefficient of 0,36. Therefore, the hypothesis is
The correlation matrix between these accepted.
two variables show that, when customers
Correlation Matrix*
Willingness to share personal data in order to

get personalized assistance
Importance of personalized
0,36
assistance while shopping

Figure 3.8. The matrix showing the coefficients of the correlation between the importance of
personalized shopping assistance and the openness to share personal data in order to get that type of
assistance. The correlation coefficient is a moderate positive, meaning that when one variable grows,
the other does as well.
The data shows that, for the customers' openness in sharing data.
respondents, concerns about sharing personal As seen on Chapter 2.5.1.2., companies
data are not an impediment if the outcome are already using data analysis to provide
is getting personalized assistance. Therefore, tailored shopping experiences and there is
it can be inferred that brands who have this room for this market to expand in the future.
as part of their business can benefit from the
Hypothesis 6
Customers would be less likely to use AI-
powered tools that require the sharing
of personal images rather than the
sharing of other nature of personal data
(such as email, style preferences and
social media profile).
Hypothesis number 6 was thought In order to investigate it, all questions

based on the assumption that customers were based on Likert scale of "strongly disagree"
would be less comfortable to share data that is to "strongly agree", asking respondents about
related to their personal image (such as photos data sharing and specific AI-powered solutions,
and videos) rather than data that is based on as following:
information that does not involve image.
Questions about sharing Questions about sharing

of image data of non-image data
If customers would allow If customers would give

smart mirrors to take pictures/ access to their social media (ex: pins
videos of themselves in order to see saved on Pinterest, brands and in-
how clothes would look or fit them, fluencers they follow on Instagram,
without having to try them on etc) in order to get personalized
styling advice and recommendations
If customers would upload
pictures of their personal wardrobes If customers would fill in a
in order to get personalized styling style quiz stating their preferen-
advice and recommendations ces (ex: color, shape, texture, fit)
in order to get personalized styling
If customers would use advice and recommendations
Instagram filters to virtually try on
clothes or accessories If customers would share
their personal information (such as
If customers would email address or style preferences)
temporarily give brands access to with brands in order to get persona-
their webcams to try on clothes lized recommendations
virtually before buying
Numeric values were attributed to The data shows that participants
the answer options - being "strongly disagree" are more comfortable with sharing with
number 1 and "strongly agree" number 5 - companies information such as email
and the answers to each cluster of questions address, style preferences and social
(image-based data and non image-based media, rather than pictures and videos.
data) were summed, reaching a final number Therefore, the hypothesis is accepted.
that was then translated in total percentage of
50%
respondents. nearly
It was observed that respondents were
significantly more resistant to sharing image-
based data. 35,8% strongly disagreed with the
affirmation and only 13,5% strongly agreed. of respondents strongly
On the other hand, when it comes to non disagreed or disagreed
image-based data, the number of "strongly with the sharing of
disagrees" drops to 22,6%, while the "strongly image-based personal
data with fashion
agrees" rises to 23,5. brands
Sharing of image-based data*
Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree
Under 20
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
Over 75
Total
Figure 3.9. Table with the results of the survey concerning the willingness to share image-based
data by age group. The total numbers show a resistance to hand out data of this nature, with a high
number of strong disagreements to the questions asked.
Sharing of non image-based data*
Under 20
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
Over 75
Total
* social media, style quizzes, e-mail address, style preferences
37%
nearly
Figure 3.10. Table with the results of the survey
concerning the willingness to share non image-
based data by age group. The total numbers show
a lower resistance to hand out data of this nature, of respondents strongly
with a lower number of strong disagreements disagreed or disagreed
to the questions asked in comparison to image- with the sharing of non
based data. The number of strong agreements is image-based personal
data with fashion
also significantly higher.
brands
The results show that respondents of privacy sharing, as companies cannot "see"
would feel less comfortable sharing their the customers and can only have access to the
image with companies, a dichotomy with the input they are willing to give (such as email
contemporary world where facial recognition address, style preferences, etc).
is already a widespread technology and the Giving companies webcam access
growth of social media made the sharing of and pictures of personal wardrobe, for
personal images online a true routine. example, is allowing them to enter a much
Apparently, the potential advantages more private world which is the customer's
that image-based data sharing could provide, home environment. This sheds light on the
such as the possibility to try products from issue discussed in the chapter 2.5.1.2.1 of
a distance or get personalized assistance, are this document, regarding privacy concerns
not enough to make customers give up with the Amazon's device Echo Look and
their privacy when it is related to a how powerful this tool could be - given that
more intimate type of data. it is located inside people's homes, collecting
Non image-based data can find more everyday all sorts of data, in a way that no
acceptance assuming it is a less invasive type other fashion company would have otherwise.
Hypothesis 7
Consumers would be more willing to use
virtual try-on through an Instagram filter
instead of giving access to their webcam
for the same purpose.
Hypothesis number 7 aims to especially for makeup and eyewear products,

investigate the world of virtual try-on and how making this an interesting trend to investigate.
customers relate to this feature on different The results show a different stand in the face
platforms. For this, two different questions of the two different tools. More than half of
based on Likert scale were present on the the respondents (52,1%) strongly disagreed
questionnaire, one regarding their willingness with the statement that they would give access
to give access to their webcam in order to try to their webcams in order to try on products
products virtually and the other regarding digitally, while only 13,9% strongly agreed.
their openness to trying products through
64%
Instagram filters. nearly
This hypothesis was built in the
assumption that customers would be more
comfortable trying on clothes through
Instagram filters, due to the fact that the social of respondents strongly
media platform is a much more widespread disagreed or disagreed
and familiar tool. Some brands have been with giving brands
access to their webcam
experimenting with this feature on Instagram, to use virtual try-on
Willingness to use virtual try-on by giving webcam access
Under 20
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
Over 75
Total
Figure 3.11. Table with the results of the survey concerning the willingness to use virtual try-on by
giving webcam access by age group. The total numbers show a high reluctance to adopting this kind
of feature, with more than half of the participants strongly disagreeing with the statement.
On the other hand, when it comes be accepted.
to Instagram try-on, the numbers changed The attitude of respondents also
significantly: only 26% strongly disagreed changed with age. Younger groups seem to
with using Instagram filters for virtual try- be more open to both features, with a higher
on, a decrease of 26 points. Respondents who percentage of "strongly agree" answers in the
strongly agreed with the statements rose from age group between 20 to 35 years old.
13,9% to 23,6%. The hypothesis therefore can
Under 20
20-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
Over 75
Total
39%
Figure 3.12. Table with the results of the survey nearly
concerning the willingness to use virtual try-
on by using Instagram filters by age group.
The total numbers show more acceptance of
adopting this kind of feature, with a decrease of of respondents strongly
26 points of respondents that strongly disagreed disagreed or disagreed
with the statement. with using Instagram
filters for virtual try-on
The assumption that can be made Instagram needs the user's camera access just
to explain this data is that Instagram is a as websites would require webcam access
very prominent social media platform, and to offer virtual try-on, when it is done in a
Instagram filters are extremely popular familiar app it can be more accepted and
amongst its users. The use of filters is faced generate less fear of data misuse.
as a fun feature, often gamified, and although
considerations
The survey generated interesting the technologies. When inquired about how
observations and insights regarding the willing they would be to give companies access
respondents' attitudes towards artificial to their data in order to obtain special features
intelligence products in retail. like virtual try-on or personalized assistance,
Firstly, it became clear that there the results showed that the benefits of such
is some level of privacy concerns amongst features might not be enough to convince
consumers. Only 19,5% of participants users of sharing their personal information.
strongly believe that brands keep and Another important observation was
process their data safely. That means that the fact that only a few respondents have had
more than a half have doubts about how their contact with the AI-powered solutions in the
personal information is being handled. past. This data shows that the application
Even though there was no correlation of such products in the retail world is
found between privacy concerns and past not widespread and still very limited to
use of AI-powered solutions, these worries a few successful study cases.
could generate a future reluctance in adopting
Based on the desk and field research, Analyzing these barriers, originated
some points regarding the relationship of also from the desk research but specially aided
consumers and the fashion industry with by the customer questionnaire, there are some
artificial intelligence technologies were possible paths that can be taken to overcome
highlighted. There are definitely barriers that hurdles and make AI technologies that favour
currently impede AI to be implemented in a the fashion industry more prominent in the
more spread way, with a limited number of field.
study cases and successful stories.
quality of AI tools for retail
Artificial intelligence is constantly clothes and accessories virtually, without
evolving as a field of study. As history shows, the need of having them physically, can be
the discipline has been around since the 50's, a groundbreaking tool not only for online
with a lot of ups and downs throughout time, shopping but also for physical stores that
arriving at the current situation where it is work with low stocks or that want to have a
being implemented in various industries for customer engagement experience. However,
many different purposes. the reality of virtual try-on is still not ideal,
In fashion, focusing specifically in with low resolution images and the movement
retail, there is a quality disadvantage regarding of materials that is not natural. Just like
AI-powered solutions that deal directly with chatbots, it is yet hard to imagine virtual
the end customer. Chatbots, for instance, try-on being on equal grounds with actually
aim to offer fast and live assistance and trying on clothes and feeling their textures,
recommendation in online purchases. Relying fabrics and fitting.
on machines to do it presents benefits since it Some companies are using artificial
is a consistent, automated and always available intelligence to improve this augmented
tool. However, the technology of natural reality tool even more, such as FaceCake with
language processing (NLP) for chatbots has their new technology Augmented Realism,
yet to arrive to a point where it will provide a presented in 2020 - the feature, though, it is
true natural conversation with humans. Chats still very much experimental and not widely
can be clunky and mechanical, and often available.
have a limited set of answers that will If tech development reaches a point to
not always satisfy the customer's needs. make these AI-powered solutions more than
In fact, the field research discussed in an extra feature or something that is being
the last chapter showed that only 9,7% used mostly for marketing and engagement
of respondents strongly believe that (such as smart mirrors), transforming them
chatbots can be as effective as humans in useful tools to aid consumers that shop
to give assistance, recommendations online - or even as partners in health crisis
and advice when shopping for clothes as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, decreasing
and accessories - revealing that customers human contact -, there is a space for AI-
still question robot's abilities to provide them powered solutions to be more present and
the assistance they need. relevant in apparel retail.
Another example are virtual try-
on and smart mirrors. The possibility to try
notes on social media
As seen on the results of the like WhatsApp and Telegram are part of text
questionnaire, respondents were a lot more messaging softwares. They are not, in essence,
comfortable to try-on products through social media platforms, where users can create
Instagram filters instead of giving brands and share content with the world for social
access to their webcams, showing that networking purposes.
Instagram's reputation is very positive among Facebook Messenger which is
the respondents - even if in both cases users integrated with Facebook offers the possibility
are giving permission for an app or a website to engage with customers via chatbots, but
to access their personal camera, being it on the Instagram - which belongs to Facebook - does
phone or in the computer. not offer this functionality at the moment and
A world without social media is it also does not allow third-party applications
unimaginable at this point, and because of this to access their platform, preventing companies
frenzy that has been so pervasive over the last to implement external chatbots in their Direct
decade, companies that don't embrace this Messages tool.
reality will have a hard time connecting with Even though chatbots are left out of
customers. Instagram, a number of other initiatives are
Artificial intelligence can interact transforming the social media app into an
with social media and fashion in many ways. important shopping platform. Brands are
As already mentioned, virtual try-on using not only able to engage with customers and
Instagram filters are a great solution to engage advertise their products, but also offer checkout
customers and make them discover new in-app, meaning that customers can make
products on a platform that they use everyday purchases without leaving the app - a feature
to share their lives and connect with friends. that was made available for all US users in
Another point of interaction between 2020, and that will likely be expanded to more
customers and companies are chatbots, and regions.
as analyzed in the chapter 2.5.1.1 of this Considering the popularity of
document, the concept of customer service Instagram, the massive importance of
via chat messaging is already present and there this platform for the fashion industry and
are successful cases that introduced businesses the good level of acceptance identified
to talk to customers via text - for instance, in the results of the survey, including
the Chinese application WeChat with its chatbots and investing on virtual
integrated stores and the Apple Business Chat try-on in the application is a future
functionality, which allows brands to interact opportunity that, once implemented,
with customers through the company's app can be fairly valuable for brands and
Messages. fashion companies, allowing to offer
However, there is a distinction that a true seamless experience inside the
needs to be highlighted: examples such as platform.
the aforementioned or chatbots inside apps
final thoughts
final thoughts: techlash and
implications
With the analysis of all the current particularly innovations driven by information
impacts that artificial intelligence is having technology." (Atkinson, R. et al., 2019). This
on fashion, with many tech improvements techlash comes not only from the users
for companies and customers and a lot of and final customers - as could be observed
potential for development in the near future, in the field research where most respondents
it seems that the scenario is promising and full had some level of suspicion towards the AI-
of hopes of having a much more tech-inclined powered solutions analyzed - but also from
fashion industry. legislators, that have been passing
However, when talking about many regulations to control the
technology and artificial intelligence, it is handling of data by the companies, to
impossible to ignore all the problematic even big names in the tech industry that
consequences that come with them. are seeing with caution the unstoppable and
Digitalization is a mega trend, which unapologetic growth of technology and are
means it changed and continues to now advocating against the harmful uses of it.
change the world permanently and However, although techlash has
irreversibly (Marinoni, E., 2019), to a been a recurrent talk in the tech field for
point where digital and real world are the past years and the scenario seemed very
now intertwined. It is clear the power that pessimistic, the market itself didn't seem
new technologies have in people's everyday to have been impacted that much. In 2020
lives and that comes with many concerns. there were reports of record sales for the
The year of 2018 was a milestone main Silicon Valley's companies and four of
when it comes to a new cynical approach the Big Tech - Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and
to Big Tech, which are the large technology Alphabet (the parent company of Google)
companies that are shaping society, such as - exceeded $1 trillion valuations (which is
Google, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft. the determined value of a firm) at the same
It was in that year that the European Union time (Moore, E., 2020). This fact shows that,
introduced the General Data Protection although the world is concerned at the
Regulation (as discussed in the chapter 2.6) many implications of the adoption of
and that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg technology in society, these companies
stood before the US Senate for two days in a are still developing products and
hearing about his company's handling of data, solutions that keep being appealing to
the social media's interference in political consumers.
processes and possible further regulations The field research showed, in fact,
- a direct consequence of the early 2018 that privacy concerns are not particularly
Cambridge Analytica scandal, when it was correlated with the use of AI-powered
made public that the company harvested data solutions for apparel retail. Even if the data is
from millions of Facebook users, tested and on a very small scale and it's not representative
targeted specific groups and sold personal of all fashion consumers, it goes in line with
data to 2016 US elections candidates (Chan, the fact that the tech giants continue
R.,2019). to grow, either because customers
Since then, talks of the so-called consume these products without the
techlash have gained momentum - a awareness of how much of their private
definition that refers to the phenomenon data is being accessed or through an
of animosity or fear towards the Big educated decision to buy because the
Tech, as well as to a "more generalized benefits they will gain from the products
opposition to modern technology itself, are worth it.
It is not possible to say, though, that technologies built by those companies
techlash is not a relevant trend anymore: have helped to keep the economy
legislations are still being made, activism sustained during isolation times. It is
against the harms of technology both on the likely that the tech industry will come
economic and social sides are very much alive out of the pandemic even more powerful
and companies are being constantly regulated than before (Meserole, C., 2020). According
and fined - the EU's General Data Protection to a study by Periscope by McKinsey (2020),
Regulation alone fined companies with 114 estimates show that consumer and business
million euros since it was implemented in digital penetration in the US has had a ten
2018 (Browne, R., 2020). year growth in less than three months in 2020.
However, the pessimism over Regarding consumers' perception
technology as a growing concern encountered of the tech industry, a study conducted by
a fact that changed the scenario in ways that Brunswick Group (2020), that surveyed 2.600
were unimaginable a while ago: the COVID-19 consumers in Europe and the US, identified
pandemic. As covered in chapter 2.7 of this that 60% of Americans and 41% of Europeans
document, the humanitarian crisis affected said their perceptions of the sector have
the daily lives of billions around the globe, and improved since the beginning of the crisis and
might also have put techlash on hold. With so even a bigger majority believe that “technology
many people staying at home for months due companies have used their size and influence for
to quarantine measures, technology gained good in the fight against COVID-19.” (Blow, N.,
more importance than ever: from work to et al., 2020). That doesn't mean, however, that
social life, it was the only way people could the sentiment sparked by the techlash
stay connected to the world. It was also a disappeared, as the same research
means of searching and sharing information points out that the overall perception of
in times of uncertainty and fear. the sector was not impacted and that
In the political point of view, it seems the majority of consumers still believe
that Big Tech is not a priority at the moment that governments should be more
when it comes to policy making, as the active in regulating tech companies.
financial collapse caused by the health
crisis is a more urgent subject and the
conclusion
conclusion
Discussions around tech show two concept and design, the sourcing of materials
faces of the same coin: while society heavily and logistics and distribution, there are some
relies on technology to function and keep innovative AI-powered solutions but they are
processes going, especially in times of crisis, not the standard for the industry yet.
it fears the negative impacts of it. From tech In the consumer point of view, as
addiction to the monopoly of the tech observed in the field research, there is still a
sector by a few companies and privacy level of resistance to use artificial intelligence
concerns, the once optimistic point solutions for apparel retail, that can be caused
of view towards technology is being by multiple reasons, such as privacy concerns
replaced with a level of suspicion and or the lack of awareness and exposure to such
distrust. tools.
Fashion, particularly, is a sector where The 2020 humanitarian crisis changed
technology is not yet so pervasive, as explored some of the certainties that were around
for instance in chapter 2.3 about production for years, and now businesses need to adapt
- many processes still heavily rely on human not only to the new reality imposed by the
labour, and changing this scenario to a more pandemic, but also to consumers that are
technological approach could provoke many more informed and to policy makers that
harmful consequences to the lives of millions are concerned about the long term effects of
of garment workers in key countries. In other digitalization.
parts of the fashion value chain, such as
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annexes
Annex 1. Questionnaire “Consumer Behavior in Apparel Retail”
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Annex 2. Correlation matrix
School of Design
Artificial Intelligence in fashion: how consumers and the fashion system are
being impacted by AI-powered technologies
Supervisor: Prof. Elena Marinoni

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Artificial intelligence in fashion:

how consumers and the fashion system are being

Patricia Nicole Evangelista

Supervisor: Prof. Elena Marinoni

Patricia Nicole Evangelista

Academic Year 2019/2020

Professor Elena Marinoni for the advising and insights.

Johannes Keiten for always believing in my research and pushing me to keep

Figure 1.1. Artificial Intelligence and some of its fields. p. 20

Figure 1.7. Natural language processing and its approach of conversational p. 25

Figure 1.8. Robotics and its approach of embodied AI. p. 25

Figure 2.2. Actions of a design thinking approach to design projects (adapted p. 29

Figure 2.4. DeepFashion's image labeling: "(a) Additional landmark locations p. 32

Figure 2.5. The NextAtlas methodology for AI-powered trend forecasting, p. 33

Figure 2.7. Stylumia's approach to fashion forecasting (Stylumia, 2020) p. 35

Figure 2.9. Example of how a generative adversarial network (GAN) model p. 37

Figure 2.13. Results of Zalando's method for changing attributes of a generated p. 41

Figure 2.16. Fibers classification by origin: natural or manmade (Adapted from p. 44

Figure 2.17. Textiles classification by construction technique: knitted, woven and p. 45

Figure 2.19. Green Cube's identification of plants through drone generated p. 48

Figure 2.20. Cognex Deep Learning identification of anomalies and defects on p. 51

Figure 2.21. The result of an AI generated color tolerance (Datacolor, 2016). p. 52

Figure 2.22. The traditional knitting production process of taking a pattern, p. 53

Figure 2.29. The field of predictive analysis includes demand forecasting, a p. 66

Figure 2.32. Interactions with Michael Kors' Facebook Messenger chatbot. p. 72

Annex 2. Correlation matrix p. 142

definition and history

I believe that in about fifty years’ time it will be possible to

(Turing, A., 1950, extracted from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Figure 1.1. Artificial Intelligence and some of its fields.

E-commerce sales data Websites

Input Data Output data

Input Layer Hidden Layer Output Layer

natural language processing (NLP)

Figure 1.8. Robotics and its approach of embodied AI.

Empathise Ideate Prototype Test

UsersU sers needs Challenging Creating solutions Solutions

AI-powered trend forecasting

Stylumia is a tech company that relies Fashion intelligence tool, analyzing

Figure 2.7. Stylumia's approach to fashion forecasting (Stylumia, 2020)

DEEP - Faster Fashion

Disentangling Multiple Conditional Inputs in GANs

DesIGN: Design Inspiration from Generative Networks

Vegetable/cellulosic, for example:

Vegetable/ Animal/ Mineral Regenerated Synthetic Inorganic

Cotton production is extremely its AI-based early pest warning system.

Figure 2.18. A team using Wadhwani AI's

Cognex Deep Learning

Cognex Deep Learning is a software In the weaving process, Cognex Deep

Figure 2.20. Cognex Deep Learning

Datacolor AI color tolerance

Figure 2.21. The result of an AI generated color tolerance (Datacolor, 2016).

MIT Neural Inverse Knitting

The Massachusetts Institute of To train the model, the researchers

Inspection Packaging Pressing

SoftWear is a startup located in sewing workline, automating the whole process

As seen in the two examples mentioned, innovative solutions for clothing

(SKU - stock keeping unit)

Covariant is a Californian startup of robotic fingers, the company's robots use

Kindred is an AI and robotics startup Kindred's AutoGrasp technology allows

Amazon offers a demand forecasting model capable of making predictions

Nike's investments in predictive analysis

Artificial intelligence is a great asset for a fashion company looking to improve