When Algorithms Become Influencers

With Fashion Week upon us, we’re reminded of the powerful sphere of influence in the world of fashion.
Taste is currently doled out from the top, as exemplified this week from the way the industry waits with bated breath to see what the best designers will showcase. From there, fast fashion leaders like Zara & H&M are ready to quickly bring trends from designers to masses. Eventually, our Instagram feeds are flooded with images of our favorite Influencers in styles that we, too, can own.
An elite — and human — group still function as the key tastemakers. For now.
Enter AI. No industry is immune from the role it will play — even industries dominated by creativity and a visual, personal, intangible role of “good taste” or “cool.” There is no doubt that AI will dramatically impact the industry and change who, or what, will become the tastemakers of tomorrow.
Stitch Fix and Echo Look as the New Influencers
Consumers have put their trust in Stitch Fix and other data-driven subscription services at a shocking pace. Stitch Fix first started collecting data with a simple SurveyMonkey form in 2011. It now has one of the most robust algorithms in the industry, and is valued at nearly $3 billion.Our society’s acceptance of Stitch Fix to make us look fashionable by using smart data is quite remarkable.
“Matchmaker” is the role Stitch Fix says it plays in people’s lives. The service doesn’t create new trends, it matches people with them. But when does recommendation turn to curation and then, finally, to creation? Make no mistake, today’s Matchmakers will become the Tastemakers of the future.
Stitch Fix is transparent about how brands become part of its line-up of recommended inventory. Interested brands must undergo an application process that considers styles, price, and many other data points to become a part of the algorithm. But what if brands could team up with other brands housed in the Stitch Fix warehouse to become a joint recommendation, and come together to create a look that was truly unique — to the point where a consumer wouldn’t buy one without the other?
What if brands begin to partner with Stitch Fix as a co-creator, and tap into the data around subscribers’ body types and interests to create a co-branded line? Imagine if Levi’s could tap into Stitch Fix’s denim data and create a custom denim line that considers best fit, washes and pairings? Or if a beauty brand partnered with Stitch Fix to create custom holiday “look” boxes, complete with curated fashion andbeauty looks featuring new lip colors or holiday hair products?
Newer entrants to this market, like Amazon’s Echo Look, include visually-driven algorithms that are primed to take AI in fashion even further. The Echo Look currently acts as a “closet sorter” or even a “second opinion” platform for consumers, as if asking a trusted, fashionable friend for style advice. Given the rapid adoption of Alexa throughout U.S. homes, it’s likely that this new form of fashion Influencer will play an important role in dressing consumers, one that’s hard to even fathom right now.
There are major opportunities for brands to get creative with this new AI Influencer that helps provide personalized style advice. Imagine if brands were to create a stylized “vibe” for themselves, and partner with the Echo Look to make branded recommendations. Suddenly non-fashion brands can play a role here. For example, if Wild Turkey’s Longbranch Bourbon partnered with Echo Look to feature styles that emulated their latest pour, Amazon could select refined styles for consumers describing their desired look as “rustic” or “complex.” This example could increase brand association for Longbranch, while supplying unique looks for the consumer using clothing items from their closet and matching with items on Amazon — an experience the consumers would not otherwise have.
Brands Need to Start Courting AI Tools as Future Influencers
The possibilities for this type of partnership are bound only by the creativity of brand designers, strategists, and data scientists. The ability for brands to analyze and iterate product designs before and even during retail lifecycles is creating an anticipatory and predictive relationship between companies and customers.
Our industry must become more nimble, timely, and customized with creative campaigns and placement in order to fit into the increasingly symbiotic and data-driven dynamic between brand and consumer. We use Stitch Fix and the Echo Look as examples only; undoubtedly more AI services will come up in the future and brands need to be ready to tap into their powerful influence.
More to come on how Heat is using surprising insights to fuel content creation, contextual targeting and SEO/SEM.
By Zoe Dunnington (Senior Investment Strategist), Heat
