mckinsey -世界正在发生变革 时尚行业能否跟上步伐 The world is changing. Can fashion keep up

June2026

Mckunsey

&company

RetailPractice

Theworldischanging.

Canfashionkeepup?

Smartglasses.Prelovedluxury.Styletipsviachatbots.Tech,tariffs,anda

temperamentaleconomyarereshapingwhatconsumersvalue—andhowtheydiscover,buy,andexperiencebrands.

Theworldischanging.Canfashionkeepup?2

Affordableluxury:Itmaysoundlikeanoxymoron,butinanuncertaineconomy,it’sstrikinga

chordwithcautiousconsumerslookingforvalue—andexpectingmorefromthebrandsthey

buy.“Brandsareactivelythinkingaboutthefactthatpeopleareshiftingtheirspending,”

accordingtoMcKinseySeniorPartner

GemmaD’Auria

.“Iftheywanttostayrelevant,theyneedtomeettheircustomerswheretheyare.”Inthisepisodeof

TheMcKinseyPodcast

,D’AuriaandMcKinseySeniorPartner

HolgerHarreis

speakwithGlobalEditorialDirectorLuciaRahillyaboutrecentresearchonthestateofthefashionlandscape,includingwhatconsumerswant,where

they’refindingit,andhowfashionexecutivescanuseAItoenhancecreativity,competitiveness,andthecustomerexperienceoverall.

TheMcKinseyPodcastiscohostedbyLuciaRahillyandRobertaFusaro.

Thefollowingtranscripthasbeeneditedforclarityandlength.

What‘value’lookslikeinavolatileeconomy

LuciaRahilly:Gemma,you’rebasedinMilan,arguablytheworld’sfashioncapital.Anynewsontheground?

GemmaD’Auria:I’mhearingcontinuedconcernabouttwothings:consumerappetitetospend,particularlytowardluxury,andgeopoliticaltensions.Thatsaid,thefashionindustryhasshown

tremendousresilience,asseeninthisyear’s

TheStateofFashion

report.1Wetrack400publiclylistedfashionandluxurycompaniesintheMcKinseyGlobalFashionIndex,andweseethattheindustryhascreatedvaluesincewestartedtrackingin2010.Despiteeverythingthathas

happenedsinceCOVID-19—thedeclineinChina,tariffs,geopoliticaltensions—profitlevelsandvaluecreationhaveremainedrelativelystable.

LuciaRahilly:Youinvokedconcernaboutappetitetospend.Giventheeconomicuncertainty,

customersareunderstandablyprioritizingvalue—andaffordableluxuryappearstobedeliveringonthatvalue,whichmeansit’safast-growingsegment.Whatarebrandsdoinginthisareato

attractconsumers’attention?

GemmaD’Auria:Wetrackthetop20companiesthatgeneratethegreatesteconomicprofit.

Thisisahighlyconcentratedindustryintermsofvaluecreation:Thetop20companiesgenerate92percentoftheeconomicprofit.Ingeneral,themidmarkethasbeenwinninginaffordable

luxury,butalsoinbrandelevationstrategies,becausethey’veunderstoodthatconsumersareseekingvalue.Whatwemeanbyvalueislessa“cheapproduct”andmore,“showmethatwhatI’mpayingforisworthitsvalue.”

LuciaRahilly:SinceCOVID-19,we’veseenanuptickintheonlinesecondhandmarket,whichcanbeaplatformforvalue-orientedshopperstoexplore“aspirationalluxury.”Howshould

luxurybrandsthinkaboutresalewithoutdilutingotheraspectsofluxury,likedesirabilityandexclusivity?

1“

TheStateofFashion2026:Whentheruleschange

,”McKinsey,November17,2025.

Theworldischanging.Canfashionkeepup?3

GemmaD’Auria:Forthelongesttime,luxurybrandswereskepticalaboutthischannelformanyreasons—branddilution,howtoguaranteetheauthenticityofproducts,andalackofcontrol

overtheend-to-endexperience,whichisfundamentaltothemandtheirclients.

Inrecentyears,however,resalehasprovidedconsumerswithaplatformtolookforitemsat

lowerprices.Also,consumershavebeenseekinguniqueness—itemsnoteveryonehas.We’veunderestimatedfactorssuchasthethrillofthehunt:finallyfindingsomethingyouwouldfindonlyinaboutique.

Soithasbecomeaveryimportantchannel,notonlyforcustomeracquisitionbutalsobecauseresaleplatformshavescaled.They’veimprovedtheirtechnology,enablingthemtoauthenticateatamuchlowercostwiththehelpofAI.

Brandsareproactivelythinkingabouthowtopartnerwiththeseplatforms.They’rethinking

abouthowtocuratetheexperiencetheirconsumershaveontheseplatformsandwhichitemsaremostlikelytobesuccessful.Historically,resalewasmostlyaplatformforiconicleather

goodsandjewelry—rare,high-valueitems.Now,it’sexpandingtoothercategoriesaswell,whichwillalsodrivegrowth.

LuciaRahilly:Jewelryseemstobedefyingthemutedgrowthotherwiseexpectedacrosstheindustry.What’sattractingcustomerstojewelrymorethantoothercategoriesintheluxurymarket?

GemmaD’Auria:Jewelryisexpectedtogrowmorethan4percentannuallyinthenextthreeyears,whichisbasicallyfourtimesclothing’sexpectedgrowth.It’saverymeaningfulgap.

Thereareacoupleimportantthingsaboutjewelry.One,itisperceivedasabettervaluethan

otherpurchases.Forthefirsttime,aspricesofpersonalluxurygoodsrise,peopleare

substitutingluxuryjewelryforready-to-wearclothingandleathergoods,particularlyhandbags.Twoisindividualityandtheabilitytoauthenticallystackandlayerpiecesthatrepresentuniquelywhoyouare.That’smucheasiertodowithjewelrythanwithothercategories.

Well-beingandyourwardrobe

LuciaRahilly:Well-beinghasemergedasafactorinfluencinghowconsumersspendonfashion.Howdoyouseebrandsresponding?

GemmaD’Auria:Well-beingwillbecomeacorepartofsomebrands’DNA,becausewell-beingisnotjustaboutwhatcustomersdobutwhotheyare—theiridentity.Andbrandswanttomakesuretheyalignwiththeirclients’identitytodriveloyaltyandengagement.Sobrandsareactivelyconsideringthebeststrategiccourseofaction.They’rethinkingaboutthefactthatpeopleare

shiftingtheirspending.Iftheywanttostayrelevant,theyneedtomeettheircustomerswheretheyare.

Theworldischanging.Canfashionkeepup?4

LuciaRahilly:Giveusanexampleofwhatthatmeans,vis-à-viswell-being.

GemmaD’Auria:Wetalkinourreportaboutthemassivegrowthinwearables,particularlysmartglasses,whichareequippedwithtechnologythatallowsyoutodosomeofwhatyoudoonyourphone.You’reprobablyawareoftheRay-BanMetaglasses.Metahasalsocollaboratedwith

brandslikeOakleyonthesportsside—sportsglassesyoucanwearwhileskiing,forexample,thatletyougatherallsortsofinformationabouttheweather,thewindchillfactor,thequalityofthesnow,yourspeed,yourhealthvitals,andmore.

That’ssomethingthatabsolutelyhastakencustomersbystorm.Thereareprivacy

considerations,butwearabletechnology—whetheryourOuraRing,yourWhoop,orsmartglasses—isafantasticareaofgrowthandacategorycloselylinkedtowell-beingandAI.

LuciaRahilly:Gemma,youtalktoclientsintheluxuryspaceallthetime.Whatareafewconcreteareasluxuryleaderscanfocusonastherestoftheyearunfolds?

GemmaD’Auria:Thisisayearofstrategicresetformanybrands,withalotofnew

managementteamsandnewcreativedirectorsinplace.It’sagreatopportunitytohaveahardlookatwhereyou’replaying,howyou’replaying,andwhoyou’replayingfor.Thatwouldbemyoverarchingpriorityfortheyear.

WhenitcomestoAI,brandscannotrunfastenough.Therearerealquestionsabouthowto

harnessAIandhowit’schangingthecustomerjourneyendtoend.Whereareyougoingto

makeyourbets?Howareyougoingtotransformyourorganization?Sadly,whatweseeintheindustryisalotofpilotsandniceexperiments,butnotalotoftruerewiringoftheorganization,particularlyindomainsthatarestrategic,likesupplychain.

Brandsmustthinkaboutthe

shiftingluxuryconsumer

—notthetop2percentbuttherestwhoaretradingdowntowardaffordableluxury,consideringtheirwell-being,andprioritizing

experiences.Iwouldalsothinkabouthowtorecapturethatconsumer,includinghowtostay

relevantandhowtowinbackconsumerswhoarenolongerbuyingluxuryproductsthewaytheyusedto.

LuciaRahilly:Wasthereaparticularfindingorresultintheresearchthatreallysurprisedyouthisyear?

GemmaD’Auria:Whatsurprisedmeistheextenttowhichhealthyaging,or

healthspan

,hasbecomeapriorityacrosstheglobe.IwouldhaveexpectedthisinmarketssuchastheUS,

maybeEurope,butfindingoutthatit’salsoextremelyimportantinplaceslikeChina—thatit’samoreglobalphenomenon—wassurprising.

I’mfascinatedbythistrendbecauseIthinkthat,ultimately,luxuryisgoingtobeaboutbecomingabetterversionofyourself.Forsomepeople,thatmaymeanbetternutritionandbetterfitness;forothers,thatmaymeanbeauty.Somepeoplewillfocusonwhattheywear;othersmayfocus

Theworldischanging.Canfashionkeepup?5

onalloftheabove.Peopleprioritizetheirspendbasedonwhattheybelievein.

CanAIreallyenhancecreativity?

LuciaRahilly:Holger,let’sgetconcreteabouthowAIcouldtransformthefashionvaluechain.

HolgerHarreis:Thereareampleopportunitiesacrossthevaluechain,andthetechnologyisripe,ready,andabletogoeverywhere.Sothekeymessageisthatthisisforreal,startingwithcreativity.

Whetheryou’retalkingaboutbeautyproductsorluxuryapparel,youcanenhancethecreativeprocesswith

generativeAItools

.Obviously,it’snotcreativityasweknowitfromahuman

coworker,butAI—althoughitreliesonpastdesignsandbringssomerisk—enablesvastoptionsforcreationthatoffermuchhigherproductivityonthecreativeend.

Thesameholdstrueintermsofmarketingandcommercialization,whereend-to-endmarketingcampaigns—fromthebrieftothevideo,audio,orvisuals—canbecreatedentirelywithAI.Ontopofthat,youcancreatedifferentversionsofacampaignforaChinesecustomer,aWestCoast

customer,orsomeoneinsouthernItaly.

Furtherdownthevaluechainaredemandforecastingandplanning,whichcreatealotofvalueforboththebottomlineandsustainability.AIcanhelpyoubeinamuchbetterpositiontoknowwhichconsumerswillbelikelytoshopinwhichpartoftheworld,atwhichpointintime,andforwhichproducts.Thiscanincreaseyoursell-throughrate,helpyouavoidrunningoutofstockinanygivenstoreoronline,andreducereturns.

LuciaRahilly:Fashionisanarchetypallycreativefield.DoyouseeheightenedresistancetoAIforthatreason,ordoesthecost–benefitcalculusmeanthatadoptionisrelatively

straightforward?

HolgerHarreis:Weregularlydoabroadclientsurveycalled“

ThestateofAI

.”2Thissurvey showsthatwhileimmenseamountsofmoneyarebeingspentonAIpilots,veryfewofthemmakeittoenterprise-gradeadoptionthatdeliversreturnoninvestmentandvalueatscale.

Why?SuccesswithAIisaboutbusinesstransformation,nottechnologytransformation—whichmeans

rewiringtheentireenterprise

.Leadersneedtospendthreetofivetimeswhatthey’re

spendingontechnologyonadoptionandchangemanagementacrosstheboard.Thereare

areaswhereadoptionwillbealittleharder,andthosetendtobeareaswheretheworkis

prototypicallyhuman—creativeprofessionslikedesignormarketing.Butifyouframethe

changeintherightwayandmakeitaboutaugmentinghumanworktoincreaseproductivityandoptionality,itcanhelp.

LuciaRahilly:IfmorebrandsstartusingAItocreateoptionality,isthereariskofalgorithmic

2“

ThestateofAIin2025:Agents,innovation,andtransformation

,”McKinsey,November5,2025.

Theworldischanging.Canfashionkeepup?6

reversiontothemean?Howcanleadersmaintainbranddifferentiation?

HolgerHarreis:Thisisarisk,andeveryoneneedstobeverycognizantoftheirstartingpoint.IfyouapproachAIinawaythat’scompatiblewithyourbrandvalue,youcouldbesaying,“I’m

goingtouseAIasatoolforhumancreativity.I’mgoingtocreatemanyoptions,whichIwillthenaugmentinahumanway.I’lljustusethemasaninput.”Andthenwhatyouwoulddeem

genuinelycreative,intheartisticsense,wouldbuildonthat.

Forexample,manyluxurybrandsstillproducephysicalprototypes.Reimaginingthe

“prototypingjourney”withAI—nottotakeouthumancreativitybuttoeaseandacceleratepartsofeachstepanddomoredigitally—takesmoneyandtime.Butallofasudden,youhavecost

reductions,andyou’refaster.You’remoreatthepointwhereyoucantrythingsoutwithyour

customersandmakeyourproductsevenmoreattractive.Youcanfosterbrandequityvalue.Youcanmoveandevolveyourbrandvaluemorethanyoucouldwithaclassicapproach.

LuciaRahilly:Theusecaseforfastfashionseemseasytogrokinthiscontext.Fastfashionhas,ofcourse,comeunderfireatvariouspointsforitsenvironmentalimplications.HowdoesAI

affectthisequation?

HolgerHarreis:AIcanhaveaprofoundimpactonsustainability.Forexample,ifyou’remore

preciseinunderstandinghowyourprototypescouldlookandyoureducethenumberofthoseprototypes,youcanreducecycletimes,which,initself,ismoresustainable.Ifyou’remore

preciseinforecastingwhatwillbeconsumedandwhere,youcanincreaseyoursell-through

rate,solesswillbeleftoverandsoldoffatreducedprices,whichisabsolutelynotsustainable.AIalsohelpsmakelogisticsmoresustainablebecauseyoucanbelaserfocusedonwherepartsofthecollectionwillbeshipped.

AIandtheCX

LuciaRahilly:Let’sshifttocustomerexperience[CX].HowarebrandsusingAItoimprovecustomersatisfaction—forexample,viafeatureslikevirtualtry-on?

HolgerHarreis:Considerhowwe’realldiscoveringproductsnow.Sometimeinthemiddleof

lastyear,therewasaprofoundaccelerationintheadoptionofAItools.Allofasudden,adoptionamongluxuryconsumersisatroughly80percentofwhatweseeinourregularconsumer

surveyson

AIadoption

.3Inotherwords,consumersarestartingtodiscoverproductsthroughconversationswithAIagents.

LuciaRahilly:SaymoreaboutagenticAIandhowyouseeagentsfunctioningwithinthefashionecosystem.

HolgerHarreis:ConsumersareshiftingtoLLMs[largelanguagemodels]andasking,“WhatshouldIwear?”Andtheyactuallygetsuggestions.Forexample,Icantakeapictureofmyself

3KatharinaSchumacher,RogerRoberts,andKatharinaGiebel,

“Theagenticcommerceopportunity:HowAIagentsareusheringin

aneweraforconsumersandmerchants

,”McKinsey,October17,2025.

Theworldischanging.Canfashionkeepup?7

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anddoavirtualtry-on.I’llsay,“Thatlooksgreat,butI’dactuallyloveabowtie”or“Canyou

suggestshoesthatgowiththisoutfit?”Suddenly,Ihavethesepossibilitiessuggestedtomethatdidn’texistaseasilybefore.

Here,Iwillpointtoonethingthat,formanyofourclients,reallystartedtoemergelatelastyearwithagenticAI.We’reseeingastructural,strategicshiftinthisindustrythatisprobablyas

profoundastheadventofonlinecommerce.Andthefundamentalquestionis:Willthecustomerrelationshipandthetransactionsallmoveovertoagenticconversationalagents?Ifso,whatwillthatmeanformeifI’mabrand,aretailer,oraplatform?

LuciaRahilly:WhatdoesitmeanforbrandloyaltywhencustomersareexposedwithintheLLMcontexttoallthesedifferenthyperpersonalizedsuggestions?Isitdifferentfromshiftingintoabrand’secosystemoronlinemarketplace?

HolgerHarreis:Absolutely.Andthisrepresentsaprofoundstructuralshift.IfI’mmostcatered

tobyamultipurposeAIconversationalagent—whereIgetthebestanswerstomyquestions,thenicestandmostappealingitems—Iwillbemorelikelytomakeapurchasethr