Fashion AI™ Research
The New Discovery Front Door
Generative AI, social media, resale and brand-owned channels increasingly compete to shape discovery before a client reaches a store or product page.
Investor · Forecast
€365–373bn
Personal luxury goods — 2026
Bain base outlook: 2–4% growth. Use as a category demand frame, not as a company revenue forecast.
Brand · Reported
+10–15%
US-native luxury brand momentum — Q1 2026
Bain-reported year-on-year growth signal for US-native luxury brands; useful for market-entry and comparative momentum work.
Retailer · Reported
+25–35%
China online luxury — Q1 2026
Bain-reported online luxury growth signal; ready-to-wear reportedly grew at about twice the rate of leather goods.
Designer · Reported
~50%
Luxury discovery now includes resale
About half of luxury shoppers consult secondhand before buying new, reinforcing price architecture, scarcity and residual-value considerations.
Brand · Reported
~50%
Luxury purchase journeys using AI
About half of luxury shoppers use AI somewhere in the purchase journey, raising the importance of structured product information and machine-readable brand authority.
Retailer · Reported
34%
Gen Z: social affects purchase decisions
McKinsey reports 34% of Gen Z respondents say social media is important in purchase decisions.
Brand · Reported
60%
Gen Z: regular AI Overview use
McKinsey reports regular use of AI-generated search overviews among Gen Z at 60%, versus 29% among boomers.
Investor · Forecast
2–3×
Secondhand structural growth
McKinsey expects secondhand fashion and luxury to grow two to three times faster than firsthand through 2027.
Investor · Forecast
USD 700bn
Global luxury — 2030
McKinsey/BoF projects the global luxury market to reach about USD 700 billion by 2030, with 4–6% annual growth. Treat as a category forecast, not a company forecast.
Brand · Reported
68%
US luxury clients identifying with challenger brands
In McKinsey/BoF’s 2026 luxury study, 68% of US luxury clients said newer or disruptive brands better reflect their identity, compared with 63% for established luxury houses.
Retailer · Reported
+5.0% YoY
US clothing & accessories stores — Jul 2026
The category was also 1.9% higher month over month. Use as a national channel read before applying local store economics and client sell-through.
Retailer · Reported
+6.2%
China online clothing — H1 2026
Online clothing grew faster than total H1 retail. At the same time, brand-exclusive-store sales at large retailers fell 8.7%, showing why channel mix matters.
Retailer · Reported
+10.7%
Korea online shopping — Jun 2026
Overall digital commerce remained strong even as online clothing transactions were down 1.5% year over year; avoid treating broad e-commerce growth as automatic apparel growth.
Retailer · Reported
16.4%
Singapore online retail share — Jun 2026
Retail sales rose 4.0% year over year. The online share provides a current channel-allocation anchor for Singapore market research.
Retailer · Reported
+3.6% YoY
Saudi wholesale & retail operating revenue — May 2026
A broad sector operating-revenue indicator rather than a fashion-sales measure; useful as current commercial context for Riyadh and Jeddah alongside local luxury and tourism evidence.
Retailer · Reported
+0.8% MoM
Mexico retail-trade revenue — Apr 2026
Broad official commerce context for Mexican market screening. Do not interpret the monthly national movement as apparel demand in Mexico City or resort markets.
Designer · Reported
−0.1% MoM
Brazil fabric, apparel & footwear — Apr 2026
Near-flat monthly category volume while total retail declined 1.5%; a useful directional read for Brazil that still requires brand or retailer sell-through data for assortment decisions.
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), 2026
Brand · Reported
64 / 54 / 27%
Luxury AI adoption — China / US / France
Bain’s luxury survey shows materially different AI adoption by market; product data, discovery strategy and AI visibility should be localized rather than globally uniform.
Designer · Reported
−0.7% MoM
Australia clothing & footwear spend — Jun 2026
National household spending on clothing and footwear softened month over month, while Q2 volume was 0.5% higher quarter over quarter—useful evidence for distinguishing monthly noise from quarterly direction.
Investor · Reported
+2%
International arrivals — Q1 2026
Observed global international-tourist arrivals were higher year over year despite disruption, adding a current destination-demand read beside the full-year 3–4% forecast.
Investor · Forecast
€1.44–1.47tn
Worldwide luxury spending — 2026 base
Bain’s base case implies 0–2% constant-rate growth, while personal luxury goods are expected at €365–373bn and 2–4% growth.