Beyond the Buzz: What AI Means for the Future of Fashion Brands

Artificial intelligence has moved remarkably quickly from being a talking point to becoming part of everyday life. In fashion, brands have spent the past two years exploring everything from AI-generated imagery and personalised recommendations to virtual styling assistants and conversational shopping. Yet while much of the conversation has focused on what AI could become, the reality is that consumer behaviour has already started to change.

Drapers’ latest report, Beyond the Buzz, produced in partnership with Domaine and Shopify, provides one of the clearest indications yet that AI is no longer an emerging technology sitting on the sidelines of retail. Instead, it is gradually becoming another part of the customer journey. More importantly, it highlights that while technology is evolving rapidly, the fundamentals of great retail remain exactly the same.

One of the report’s most interesting findings is that social media has now overtaken traditional search as the primary way consumers discover fashion brands. Forty per cent of consumers said they most recently discovered a fashion brand through platforms such as TikTok, Instagram or Pinterest, compared with 20% through traditional search engines. Among Gen Z, the difference is even more pronounced, with over half discovering brands via social media.

This isn’t simply a reflection of changing marketing channels. It represents a fundamental shift in how consumers make purchasing decisions. Discovery is becoming increasingly personalised, driven by algorithms rather than keywords, and influenced by creators, communities and recommendations instead of search rankings alone.

Alongside this, AI is becoming a natural extension of the shopping journey. According to the research, two-thirds of consumers have already used AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini while browsing or shopping for fashion, with adoption rising to 80% amongst Gen Z shoppers. Consumers are using these tools to compare products, find better prices, discover new brands and even receive styling advice before making purchasing decisions.

Just a few years ago, this level of adoption would have seemed ambitious. Today, it is becoming increasingly normal.

Perhaps the most important takeaway from the report, however, is that AI is enhancing the shopping experience rather than replacing it. Consumers continue to value the same qualities they always have: trust, transparent pricing, accurate product information and a straightforward buying journey. While AI can remove friction, improve recommendations and make product discovery easier, it cannot compensate for poor customer experience or weak brand execution.

For fashion brands, this presents an important opportunity. Investment in AI should not simply be viewed as a technology project. It is increasingly becoming a commercial strategy that touches almost every area of the business, from ecommerce and merchandising to CRM, pricing, marketing and customer experience.

Building a Leadership Team for Growth?

Consumer Exec helps brands identify exceptional leaders who can drive performance, create alignment and support long-term growth.

Contact Consumer Exec

That shift is already beginning to influence recruitment.

Across the consumer sector, businesses are looking for professionals who can combine commercial thinking with digital capability. The strongest candidates are no longer defined solely by technical expertise within their own discipline. Increasingly, employers value individuals who understand data, embrace new technology and can confidently adapt as consumer expectations continue to evolve.

This doesn’t mean experience has become less important. Quite the opposite. Experience remains invaluable, but it is adaptability that increasingly determines how effectively someone can apply that experience in a rapidly changing market.

For leaders, the challenge is not deciding whether AI belongs within their organisation. That decision has effectively already been made by changing consumer behaviour. The real challenge is ensuring their teams possess the skills, curiosity and commercial awareness to maximise its potential.

As Drapers’ research concludes, consumers expect AI to improve shopping experiences, but not at the expense of trust or simplicity. More than half expect to use AI more frequently when shopping over the next three to five years, while nearly two-thirds expect brands to use AI to make shopping easier. Yet they are not asking for technology for technology’s sake. They simply want shopping to become faster, more relevant and less frustrating.

The brands that are likely to succeed won’t necessarily be those with the most experimental AI features or the biggest technology budgets. They will be those that continue to invest in exceptional people alongside intelligent technology. AI can provide insight, automation and efficiency, but it is still people who build brands, create products, make commercial decisions and deliver memorable customer experiences.

The conversation around artificial intelligence is often framed as though technology and people are competing against one another. The evidence suggests something rather different. The future of fashion will almost certainly belong to the businesses that combine both. AI will continue to reshape how consumers discover and shop for products, but talented, adaptable people will remain the competitive advantage that technology alone can never replace.

What this means for fashion leadership

At Consumer Exec, we’re seeing these changes reflected in the conversations we’re having with fashion and lifestyle brands every day.

Whether working with heritage luxury houses, premium consumer brands or high-growth fashion businesses, the brief is increasingly the same. Clients are looking for leaders who combine commercial acumen with digital capability, and who understand how technology can enhance the customer experience without losing sight of what makes a brand distinctive.

The impact is being felt across leadership teams. Commercial Directors are expected to make data-led decisions more quickly. E-commerce leaders are balancing AI-driven personalisation with customer trust. Marketing Directors are adapting to a world where discovery is increasingly influenced by algorithms rather than traditional search. Pricing, merchandising and digital functions are becoming more closely connected as brands seek to build seamless customer journeys across every touchpoint.

While AI is changing how fashion businesses operate, it is also changing the capabilities they value in senior hires. Technical expertise remains important, but curiosity, adaptability and the ability to lead through change are becoming equally critical.

The brands that will thrive over the coming years are unlikely to be those that simply adopt the latest technology. They will be the organisations that build leadership teams capable of understanding it, challenging it and using it to create better commercial outcomes.

As the Drapers research demonstrates, consumer expectations are evolving rapidly. The opportunity for fashion brands is not simply to invest in AI, but to invest in the people who can turn that technology into a competitive advantage.

Source: https://www.drapersonline.com/insight/drapers-bespoke/beyond-the-buzz-how-fashion-shoppers-are-actually-using-ai?utm_id=30232&delivery_name=54596&utm_campaign=FABS_DR_EDITORIAL_REG_DAILY_01072026&utm_content=&utm_term=READ%20THE%20REPORT&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Adestra