In today’s technological world, the fashion industry may appear as one of the few surviving humanist markets, driven by the creative urges of designers rather than data and analytics.

However, for some fashion companies, business intelligence and data are increasingly being incorporated and even relied upon to determine the outcome of decisions which traditionally belonged to the designer.

Lift12, the Singapore-based company, for example, use web crawlers to gather data on current fashion trends and pricing. The data then directs what types of products its designers create; even guiding colour and pattern choices.

In the past, catwalk trends have trickled down and influenced which products retailers sell. Lift12’s model appears to reverse this process – with consumers taking creative control.

But if consumer preferences inform design, where will any new ideas come from? Is there a danger that if such a model was rolled out properly the entire industry could stagnate?

No, not really. Consumers want to interact with brands, and increasingly they want such interaction to be personalised, consistent, and accessible through multiple mediums and touch-points.

Most consumers won’t (and don’t want to) become fashion dictators; rather, today’s technology allows for communication to travel in two directions.   

An omni-channel experience, with data shared between various online and in-store channels, is the likely future of fashion retail – and the dynamic, responsive use of analytics will play an important role in this.

As authority fragments, social media and upward communication channels will allow new voices to be heard. Data collection won’t strip the industry of creativity; it’s just that more people will become active contributors in how the industry evolves.  

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