Gen AI

Gorpcore

Wellness

Stealth Wealth?

Sustainability / Green Marketing

Omni-Channel Experiences - Merging Physical Stores with Digital Commerce

some statistics on Gen AI adoption by brands and retailers for intro paragraph

visionOS Fashion App Demos:

mytheresa for destination shopping

J. Crew for curation / stylist shopping

high price point of $3,500 presents opportunity for luxury brands to target wealthy clients with dedicated virtual experiences for the Vision Pro - evolution of clienteling?

examples of Perfect Corp and zero10 - companies that offer AR VTO solutions for brands - research if they also offer VR solutions...

Perfect Corp is a beauty company

zero10 offers AR solutions exclusively

how VR tech is used to tackle issue of returns and sustainability angle

mention of AI VTO technology, Zyler, and its adoption has reduced returns by 10%

how VR could improve runway shows for remote viewers (2016)

extra info on the virtual runway trend to illustrate the start of fashion's journey with VR

VR helped the evolution of runway shows from buyer and press events to a full blown brand experience for consumers everywhere - "digital democracy"

pandemic era - video shopping provides a window to the outside world, keeps businesses afloat

video shopping (1-1 clienteling) boosts online conversion rates

could VR Headsets support the rise of this trend?

read Zalando interview for insights into how it uses VR tech to solve issue of size-related returns.

read Theme 03 of Connected Stores for insights into how technology has changed consumer interface with brands.

read “Enabling circularity through transparency: Introducing the EU Digital Product Passport,” report

all brands will potentially be legally bound to use blockchain by 2027!

fashion's obsession with futurism since the 1960s; reflects cultural relationship with tech

technological advancements and innovations accelerated since then

opened up new consumer touchpoints with brands

revolutionises at home / digital shopping - potential to reduce product returns

what is the benefit for consumers?

PLACE IN APPENDIX

counterfeits plague the luxury industry

luxury resale market will rise to $100bn valuation by 2030

sophisticated counterfeits threaten authenticators - companies respond by employing technology to aid human inspections

Vestiaire & The RealReal authentication processes

see pics

Fashionphile, Vestiaire Collective and The RealReal authentication processes

Chanel vs. WGACA trial and verdict (reference this now but expand during Possible Evolution section!)

EU DPP Law by 2026 will transform verification of new luxury goods but does not address vintage items...

the importance of the trifecta of HUMAN EXPERTS, AI ASSISTANCE and LUXURY BRAND CO-OPERATION to fortify authentication processes

Mytheresa, J. Crew & Alo Yoga - visionOS demos

2024 as the year of experimentation with spatial retail experiences

J. Crew stands out with its most advanced approach to virtual clienteling yet - the use of SharePlay to connect with stylists, personal shoppers and SAs

Alo Yoga & J. Crew visionOS APPS

Role of Obsess for Virtual Fashion Stores

Early Adopters Gain First-Mover Advantage Before Headsets Become Democratised

SharePlay as the key feature of the Vision Pro

the history of retrofuturism, 1960s, 1980s-90s, 2020s.

societal perceptions of futurism and how those changed in the past 60 years as technology has rapidly advanced.

why brands are willing to take the risk - address larger issues of CRM & Sustainability

case study - look to 1-2 different examples of VR tech business use cases for fashion brands (commercial and luxury sectors?)

280-340 words

page 18-27: history of VR

general overview to supplement timeline section

some industry application opportunities

early examples of adoption since 2015 with Tommy Hilfiger and Coach to immerse customers in latest runway shows - seems like the first use case within fashion (360 degree runway shows while the tech was in its infancy)

fashion adoption to showcase runway shows

customer experience

focus on content creation for growth rather than an avenue to sell product - VR aids to build communities around the brand

Knix & COS: success rates with virtual try-on technology

MyAva & Zyler: VTO solutions for businesses

Virtual Retail Hubs: virtual stores as a place of commerce, community and entertainment - explorable via VR headsets (optimisation) as well as desktop and mobile

Gen-Z will represent 30% of luxury sales by 2030 - digital engagement is crucial.

Vision Pro especially important for luxury sector due to premium price point of the headset, mostly HNWIs have access.

Mytheresa pioneers the luxury e-commerce experience in virtual reality.

see Section 1 for Digital Consumer Engagement

global shoppers express interest in smart fitting rooms / virtual experiences in fashion (almost half)

solves major digital consumer pain point - finding the right size the first time,

VR tech addresses this and reduces returns by 10% (State of Fashion Technology 2022)

see graphic of '80% of luxury sales are influenced by online touchpoints'

vision to provide innovative customer experiences to younger consumer groups

use of VR to highlight brand values, history and artisanal production processes for customers in-store

references LVMH Japan x SoftBank partnership

the role of SAs are crucial for luxury shoppers

rise of virtual clienteling during pandemic (see Swarovski example - 80% conversion rate)

see benefits to virtual shopping graphic and quote: "customers can visualise themselves in any place at any time wearing any product."

in use by M&S, John Lewis Fashion Rental

uses AI to assist virtual try-ons with aim to reduce returns and increase click-through rates

demand for pre-loved luxury is lower in Asia due to rife counterfeit industry - puts shoppers off

digital triggers like DPPs may provide irrefutable evidence of product provenance but is not applicable to vintage luxury items - source and lifecycle are untraceable

Title: What Is The Purpose of VR In Fashion? (reference Appendix for Sociological Context)

traces early days of Apple Vision Pro w/ limitations and disadvantages

Fashion Uses: to aid sustainable design; use of the FaceTime feature for luxury clienteling (reference McKinsey Japan article and BoF Video Shopping video)

technical leap forward w/ Digital Crown immersion level feature

AI for Design

AI for E-Commerce Customer Service

AI for Customer Data Analysis

see AI Timeline for key dates to add for history

Source:

first designer label to use AI on the runway

use as the example for AI Design!

use this to illustrate that the field will continue to attract investment due to value proposition for businesses

requires companies to disclose AI usage to consumers - authenticators will need to share how the technology verifies product

promotes transparency and trustworthiness - both vital elements to the luxury resale market

Gen Z consumer demand for archival fashion

vintage luxury is favourable to this demo because of affordability and nostalgia as key motivators

main challenge to businesses is the counterfeit landscape, especially for vintage goods

the verdict will force resellers to strengthen authentication processes to avoid defamation of luxury brand credibility - link to investment into Gen AI

interview with Entrupy founder Vidyuth Srinivasan

rise of superfakes and the value of AI and ML to tackle sophisticated counterfeits

adoption of the tech by LVMH among other luxury players

AI investment is booming; up to $21bn in 2023 from $4bn in 2022

lawsuit makes a case for the importance of luxury brand co-operation in an authentication process as only trademark owners are able to truly authenticate a product

companies must rewire business models to incorporate AI tools and upskill workforce to create value from those tools

value of Gen AI lies in its ability to help people do jobs better - strengthen authentication processes so another Chanel case would not happen

Gen AI as co-pilot - works alongside human experts to improve workflow and output (again a reference to luxury augmentation rather than automation because AI is not a trustworthy technology to operate alone)

the emergence of multimodal systems will make Gen AI more intuitive and dynamic

would be able to provide more reliable output which would help authentication of luxury goods

authenticators could prompt multimodal AI with images, text and video of products for a more accurate verdict on legitimacy

Gen AI will continue to exhibit issues around bias, copyright infringement, etc.