73% Call AI a Priority — Only 28% Actually Use It

Just after lunch, I opened up an industry report and couldn't put it down.

It's a joint effort between McKinsey and The Business of Fashion, taking stock of the global fashion industry.

My first read: part excitement, part discomfort.

Excited, because AI's ceiling looks high. Uncomfortable, because between declaring something a priority and actually doing it, there's a river.

73% of executives rank generative AI as a business priority — but only 28% have actually adopted it in the design phase.

That gap is worth digging into.

What Is Generative AI?

In plain terms: you hand it a drawing or a one-line brief, and it gives you back text, images, and design drafts. Where it used to take a person drawing stroke by stroke, now it's a single sentence.

So how much is this thing worth in fashion?

McKinsey did the math on it:

Up to a quarter of the value AI creates in fashion lands in just two areas: design and new product development.

From sketch to store shelves, it's the front half of the journey that burns the most money and carries the most risk. And AI just happens to be waiting right there. A quarter — my friend, that is not a small number.

But the Moment You Get Your Hands Dirty, the Momentum Cools

How many companies are actually using it in the design phase?

28%.

Plenty of them casually call it a priority, but fewer than three in ten have actually rolled AI into their design-and-production workflows.

So what's the most common job for it right now?

Copywriting.

34% of surveyed companies say AI's most common use is cranking out product copy and sales scripts.

A technology that's supposed to reshape an entire industry — and its hottest gig right now is ghostwriting product descriptions. Don't believe me? The data says so itself.

Dig a little deeper and the story isn't over: 37% of companies admit AI is still at the "just trying it" stage, with no systematic rollout. And 18% of executives say it outright — they've never once touched it in their overall design process.

The marquee above reads "unlimited potential," while the feet underneath are planted in "hasn't started yet." The stretch in between is exactly the opportunity everyone can see.

Don't Be Too Quick to Call This a Fashion Problem

The marketers among my readers are walking the same path.

I spotted a number in WARC's The Marketer's Toolkit 2024: 58% of marketers are actively experimenting with generative AI.

Where are they using it?

Still writing copy.

See? The whole marketing world is packed onto the same starting line — the hype arrived ages ago, but the depth still hasn't filled in.

Not a Drop of Cold Water to Spare

The report also sets aside a bucket of cold water, held right out for the optimists.

AI has made "making" cheap. Fabricated, thrown-together, truth-blurred content can now be piled in front of customers by the batch. If a brand doesn't turn transparency into a gate, it can — without realizing it — lead its customers straight into a pit.

Falling into the pit is easy; climbing back out is hard. Years of built-up trust can be wiped out overnight.

So in that report, the word I think is worth the most isn't AI — it's:

Transparency.

Where the Money Goes Is Also an Attitude

I also noticed a small detail in the report:

71% of fashion executives plan to increase their brand marketing budgets in 2024 — and they're spending more boldly than last year.

On one side, AI churns out your content; on the other, you pour more into brand marketing. They're really the same thing — making yourself easier to remember.

A Word for You

The line in the report that struck me most goes something like this:

The fashion industry's awareness of generative AI's potential is already well established — but weaving it systematically into the design-to-development chain is still a long way off.

But here's what I'd say: don't wait until the whole chain is hooked up before you start moving.

In every industry, only those who wade in first know how deep the water really is.

Are you in that 28%?

I am.