Do fashion buyers want help from AI?

“Integrating AI into our buying process should be seen as an enhancement rather than a replacement,” says Mytheresa’s Johnson. “It’s about using technology to inform and support our decisions while preserving the human touch that defines our brand.” Baker agrees: “Human curation from the buyer is essential as it protects our store and our brand’s point of view.”

Keeping up post-buy

Many of the WGSN platform’s features existed before this moment; its TrendCurve AI tool was already up and running, and trend forecasts have long been available to buyers. But the ‘TikTok Trading’ feature offers a fresh answer to an increasing industry pain point: how to navigate the ever-faster-churning trend cycle.

Instead of focusing on how retailers can catch up to TikTok trends, the goal is to help them move alongside them, says Muston. “There is a lot of misconception around the role of TikTok in trend forecasting. From a purely chronological point of view, TikTok tends to hit after retail, not before it, which makes sense since the product is already out there for influencers to feature,” she says.

Where TikTok is most effective is the naming and marketing of trends, Muston adds. “Not all TikTok trends are fast and viral, and not all of them translate to commercial opportunity,” she continues. “Many of our clients end up chasing after viral TikTok moments, airfreighting new product when they have existing product in their inventory that speaks to that trend.” The goal of this feature is to offer retailers insights into the aesthetics and items that will fall into a trend, before the TikTok trend moniker is coined.

Essx’s Baker would be keen to use that knowledge to develop an effective merchandising strategy. “There are many psychological factors in understanding how consumers behave and make decisions when shopping,” she says. “Any help in keeping the attention span of the TikTok audience is beneficial in my book.”

While this is sure to alleviate certain pressures, this should still be taken with a grain of salt, buyers agree. There can be such thing as too much data, according to Johnson, in that an overreliance can flatten a retailer’s offering — they may not always want to run with the trend of the moment. “While data is invaluable, fashion also thrives on creativity and intuition. Over-relying on data can potentially stifle the creativity and risk-taking that is essential in luxury fashion,” he says.

Baker agrees: “There needs to be an individual POV to push boundaries.”

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