The team at Adobe Firefly, a web application built on generative AI models that lets users create images, audio, videos and designs using text prompts, analyzed prompts before and after New York Fashion Week to reveal consumer trends. The software company also looked at trends from creators on Firefly’s Virtual Try On app.
The company said the Firefly data “offers a window into what people are actively creating and considering for themselves.”
Here, Deborah Findling, creative AI trends expert at Adobe, discusses the most prominent trends.
Sourcing Journal: What does the data tell retailers and brands about what consumers are gravitating to? How can the data inform their merchandising?
Deborah Findling: Adobe Firefly prompting data offers a real-time look at the styles consumers are actively imagining and interested in for themselves. As consumers use emerging tools like AI to explore different looks and try on silhouettes, this data is an early indication of the looks capturing consumers’ attention throughout the year.
Our data is showing strong continued interest in trending looks like bold Y2K silhouettes and quiet luxury (think clean tailoring and understated color palettes), as well as the emergence of darker beauty looks.
For retailers and brands, this data can signal where shoppers are experimenting before a trend shows up in stores: it shows where consumers’ imaginations are taking them across seasonal moments and how they’re playing with emerging or growing trends before deciding to commit to them.
SJ: What are some of the key trends?
D.F.: One of the clearest themes is that consumers are drawing inspiration from both nostalgic trends and styles. Y2K fashion continues to have a strong influence, with growing interest in low-rise silhouettes (up 365 percent) and pieces like micro shorts (up 750 percent), baby tees (up 415 percent), halter tops (up 260 percent), tube tops (up 235 percent) and capris (up 160 percent).
Quiet luxury is also seeing continued growth, with clean girl (up 178 percent), resort wear (up 330 percent), quiet luxury (up 97 percent) and old money (up 92 percent) all growing year over year, while boho chic pulls back (down 57 percent).
In beauty, consumers appear increasingly willing to experiment with bold looks: prompts for graphic eyeliner and straight brows have increased approximately 450 percent year-over-year, while interest also grew around dark lips (up 400 percent), and face gems and eyebrow slits (both up 150 percent).
What’s interesting about our hair prompt data is that it shows how real the commitment to bangs or statement cuts is. Prompts for bangs are up 60 percent as a category, led by wispy bangs (up 260 percent) and curtain bangs (up 100 percent), alongside a rise in more dramatic cuts like bobs and pixie cuts.
Creative AI is a helpful tool for consumers who want to visualize their high-commitment changes, whether that’s a cut that takes months to grow out or a more permanent beauty choice like an eyebrow slit, before trying them in real life.
Separate from any one aesthetic, we’re also seeing a broader personalization trend: people want to make everyday accessories like handbags uniquely theirs. Bag charms are up 300 percent for plastic styles and 290 percent for beaded ones this season, and that same instinct carries through to charm bracelets, which see a reliable seasonal lift every year from September through December.
SJ: For creators, what is the overall value proposition of the try-on app?
D.F.: For creators, Firefly’s Virtual Try On capability makes it easier to move from inspiration to experimentation without needing immediate access to every piece or committing to a dramatic style change.
Users can upload a photo of themselves with an image of a clothing item or accessory to preview the look, then swap different pieces, colors, and accessories to explore what works best with their personal aesthetics. This helps consumers see how they’ll look in some of the bolder, statement-making looks before they have to commit financially and aesthetically to something like a new Y2K outfit, a bob or pixie cut, or wispy bangs that might include a lengthy growth process.
The same goes for beauty choices that are harder to undo, like an eyebrow slit or straight brows. It lowers the barrier to them being able to actually see a new aesthetic before leaning in fully.
