Consumer appreciation of how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve their fashion shopping experiences is a key driver of the global apparel industry’s enthusiastic adoption of the technology, along with its ability to enhance design capabilities and boost operational efficiency.

Some brands have even harnessed AI’s ability to bring consumers into the fashion design process, integrating two of these AI deliverables. For example, in May (2024), Massachusetts, US-headquartered fitness clothing and footwear brand Reebok launched Reebok Impact, a custom AI fashion experience that allows consumers to design digital sneakers on Instagram. They then have the option to buy them to dress their computer game avatars with these digital creations. The primary purpose of this initiative, according to Reebok, is to broaden engagement with products across Reebok’s ecosystem, in the expectation that these “tech roads” will lead back to blueprints or design schemes for something tangible.