AI is not coming for Impulse purchases

Last week I told you I don't type anymore—I talk. Well, this week I discovered something even better: I don't even need to finish my sentences.

I'm testing Claude's new Artifacts feature for fashion workflows, and it's wild. I start sketching a mood board concept, and it builds the whole visual story. I mention "90s minimalism meets tech wear" and boom—complete style guide with color codes, fabric suggestions, and even retail pricing strategy.

The crazy part? It remembers the thread. I can say "make it more Issey Miyake" and it knows exactly what that means for the silhouettes we just discussed. This feels less like using a tool and more like having a design partner who never sleeps.

Inside this issue 

✅ Cover Story: AI isn't coming for candy bars. It's coming for handbags. (My fashion take on a16z's commerce thesis)

✅ Swipe File: How brands are using AI to reduce returns (real tactics, real results)
✅ Tool Time: Midjourney's Style Reference feature — consistent brand visuals are finally here

✅ Runway Reel: 5 AI workflow setups every creative director needs
✅ One quick win: How to train AI on your brand voice in under 10 minutes

🕒 Read time: 2 minutes — about the time it takes to approve one Instagram post.

AI Isn't Coming for Candy Bars. It's Coming for Handbags.

My fashion-world adaptation of a16z's "Is Google Screwed?" thesis on commerce.

The short version: AI won't disrupt impulse purchases (that checkout-lane jewelry is safe). But high-consideration fashion buys—handbags, luxury pieces, investment items—are where AI agents will completely reshape how customers discover and decide. For fashion brands, this means the battleground is shifting from attention to the exact moment of purchase intent.

The Big Flip

a16z's thesis explains how AI is eating commerce: not starting with impulse buys, but with the high-consideration stuff.

Think about it:

• That checkout-lane chocolate bar? Still safe.

• That $3,000 handbag a customer has been researching across 12 tabs for three weeks? That's where AI steps in first.

Impulse is pure emotion. The second a machine suggests it, the magic dies. But research-heavy purchases? That's where AI thrives. For fashion, this means AI is entering identity-driven buying decisions—the core of the industry.

Five Shopper Modes (Fashion Edition)

a16z split commerce into five buckets. Here's how they look in fashion:

1. Impulse – Instagram Reels impulse buys, checkout-lane jewelry.

2. Routine Essentials – the skincare refill, the pack of socks.

3. Lifestyle Purchases – handbags, sneakers, luxury dresses.

4. Functional Purchases – sewing machines, DSLR cameras, fabric tech.

5. Life Purchases – wedding dresses, heirloom jewelry.

The middle three are where AI gets interesting—and where fashion founders should be paying attention.

Where the Gold Rush Is

• Routine Essentials: AI agents will reorder basics before the customer realizes she's out.

• Lifestyle Purchases: AI stylists (like Plush) will learn her vibe and recommend your jacket before she knows she wants it.

• Functional Purchases: AI tools will parse reviews, fit guides, and durability data—helping her pick the blazer that lasts a decade.

This is where the "middle of the funnel" becomes AI-native.

What Fashion Pros Should Do

• Fix your data: Product attributes and imagery must be structured for AI. Messy feeds = invisibility in AI discovery.

• Re-map discovery: Customers may find you via ChatGPT, not Google or Instagram.

• Leverage identity: AI won't kill emotional purchases—it will justify them. That's your wedge.

• Watch infrastructure: Whoever cracks smooth AI-to-checkout in fashion will own the space.

Bottom line: a16z framed how AI will reshape commerce. My take: in fashion, AI is moving straight into identity shopping—the beating heart of the industry. The brands that prepare for this shift won't just adapt, they'll lead.

Swipe File (Real tactics used by real brands)

Cultural Hijacking: Balenciaga × The Simpsons

What happened:
In October 2021, at Paris Fashion Week, Balenciaga did something completely unexpected. Instead of a runway, the audience watched a 10-minute animated Simpsons episode where Homer, Marge, and Springfield’s crew strutted Balenciaga designs. The short featured cameo animations of Anna Wintour, Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber, and more. It was staged like a movie premiere at the Théâtre du Châtelet, and within days, the video went viral worldwide.

Why it worked:

• Nostalgia + novelty: The Simpsons tapped into shared cultural memory, while the runway-in-cartoon twist felt fresh and daring.

• Massive reach: People who normally don’t follow fashion shows watched, shared, and memed the episode. Suddenly Balenciaga was trending outside the fashion bubble.

• PR multiplier: Traditional media covered it, meme pages spread it, and luxury critics debated it. Balenciaga didn’t just show a collection—it created a media moment.

Lesson for fashion founders:
Don’t just advertise in culture—insert yourself into it. When you align your brand with beloved cultural icons or unexpected formats, you earn outsized attention and organic reach. The trick is not gimmickry—it’s designing activations that feel true to your brand voice while riding cultural currents.

The Runway Reel

ChatGPT just released a guide to prompting, here’s what you need to know.

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Tool Time

AI Tool of the Week: Nano Banana

AI Tool of the Week: Google's Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image)

Google just dropped Gemini 2.5 Flash Image—playfully codenamed "Nano Banana"—and it's solving fashion's biggest AI headache: keeping your brand consistent across every image.

What makes it different:

• Character Consistency: Place the same model into different environments, showcase a single product from multiple angles in new settings, or generate consistent brand assets, all while preserving the subject

• Natural Language Edits: Remove a stain in a t-shirt, alter a subject's pose, add color to a black and white photo, or whatever else you can conjure up with a simple prompt

• Multi-Image Fusion: Put an object into a scene, restyle a room with a color scheme or texture, and fuse images with a single prompt

3 fashion workflows to try:

1. Consistent Product Shots: Upload one hero product image, then generate it in different settings while maintaining exact brand consistency

2. Model Continuity: You can swap backgrounds, change angles, adjust colors, and the person or object in the image stays the same—perfect for lookbooks

3. Seasonal Adaptations: Take your summer campaign and adapt the setting for winter without reshooting

Why fashion teams love it: While other tools spin for 10–15 seconds per image, Nano Banana often delivers results much faster, and priced at $30.00 per 1 million output tokens with each image being 1290 output tokens ($0.039 per image)—making it incredibly cost-effective for high-volume content.

Access it now: Available via Google AI Studio and the Gemini API

A Final Note

Fun Fact

Fun Fact:
Before Supreme became Supreme, James Jebbia used to manually track what sold fastest in his shop to decide what to restock. Today's AI can do that analysis in real-time across every touchpoint. The insight was always valuable—now it's just faster.

Let me know what you thought of this edition.Until next time,