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Aditi Bharade
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- Coach and Kate Spade's designers have integrated AI tools into their workflows.
- Tapestry's CEO said initial sketches are done by hand, but AI helps tweak designs and test colors.
- Luxury brands like Gucci and LVMH have also started using generative AI tools in their creative processes.
Coach and Kate Spade designers have added AI to their design workflow.
On a Thursday earnings call, CEO Joanne Crevoiserat was asked how and where Tapestry is investing in AI.
She answered that Coach and Kate Spade's designers now use AI in their day-to-day work, but the design process starts with hand-drawn sketches.
"So there is still a human and a need for design eye, right," Crevoiserat said. "They do a sketch. But what AI helps is they can iterate on that sketch."
"They can do color multipliers. They can make design tweaks, much faster than we could in the past," she added.
She said AI tools have sped up the supply chain and product development timelines, which then drive the company's growth.
Coach and Kate Spade are both known for their affordable luxury handbags, popular with aspirational luxury shoppers.
Tapestry isn't the only fashion company that's invited AI into its design studios.
A designer for the fashion label Alice + Olivia told The Wall Street Journal in January that she sees AI as a "creativity explosion," and that the brand's recent collection featured tarot-card-inspired prints generated with AI tools like Leonardo AI and Adobe Firefly.
An IT and tech director for LVMH told the Journal in June that design teams in the French luxury giant are using AI to generate mood boards for inspiration.
Smaller independent designers are also using AI in their processes. Business Insider reported in September that Jasline Ang, a silk designer in Singapore who worked at Goyard and Louis Vuitton, uses ChatGPT and Midjourney to create visuals for her social media campaigns. However, Ang said the tools have not been helpful in her artmaking itself.
Tapestry reported second-quarter revenue of $2.5 billion, a 14% increase from the same period last year. The company's stock rose more than 10% after the strong earnings. It's up 95% in the past year.
Coach's sales contributed heavily to the company's success in the last quarter, rising about 25% year over year. Crevoiserat said this was driven by Coach's Tabby handbag collection, which is popular with Gen Z customers, Tapestry's target audience.
However, Kate Spade reported a 14% drop in revenue in the last quarter compared to last year, to $360 million. Crevoiserat said this was because there had been a deliberate attempt to reduce Kate Spade's promotional activity.
