In tech, 2022 was the year the NFT bubble burst. Prices plummeted as investors anxious about the shaky economic climate ditched their riskiest assets, with crypto at the top of the list. Still, brands including Prada and Nike maintained their web3 dreams, touting a long-term opportunity in NFTs for community building and linking physical goods to digital identities. While the industry waits to see how these efforts will fare, it’s managing other problems.

With competition for digital ad space growing and online privacy measures disrupting how platforms serve ads, brands have been facing a scenario where their ads are more expensive to run and the returns harder to measure. They’re also adjusting to the rise of TikTok, which is challenging Instagram as fashion’s favourite social platform. Meanwhile, behind the scenes more have leaned into technology like AI for tasks like setting prices and virtual sampling to speed the design process.

Now all eyes are turning to the new crop of generative AI tools that threaten to shake up how fashion creates new products.

Top Stories

What Digital IDs Can Do for Fashion: Proponents of the effort to give every item its own digital identity say they’ll unlock numerous benefits for brands and shoppers alike. But for these IDs to work will require overcoming some big obstacles first.

How the Internet Disrupted Fashion’s Trend Cycle: The instant access to information and products provided by the internet is changing how we adopt trends and signal status, argues author W. David Marx in “Status and Culture,” leaving us worse off for it.

5 Ways Retailers Can Gain an Edge Using Data: Given the amount of data fashion businesses are able to collect these days, it can be hard to pick out the information that matters. BoF spoke with brands and industry experts about the best ways to find the signal amid the noise.

The New Technologies Fashion Schools Are Teaching Students: Students are training in 3D design and data analytics as the fashion industry undergoes a digital transformation and readies itself for an increasingly virtual future.

The Fashion Industry’s War on Clothing Tags: The fashion industry hates those annoying clothing labels as much as you do.

For RTFKT and Nike, Sneaker NFTs Are Just the Start: RTFKT hasn’t slowed down since Nike acquired the company last year. Its founders have a bold vision for their brand’s future as they seek to bridge the digital and physical worlds.

AI Is Designing Clothes Now: Companies are starting to pitch AI tools that can generate new clothing designs from something as simple as a text description.

The Debrief | What Happened With Fashion and NFTs? BoF technology correspondent Marc Bain unpacks the latest problem plaguing web3 creatives and hopefuls — and what it means for fashion’s future use of the technology.