Depop and Selfridges Are Using the Technology to Boost Secondhand Fashion Sales
Depop and Selfridges are integrating AI technology into their fashion operations through a partnership with British startup Kelp Technologies. This collaboration aims to enhance the analysis of market trends and pricing for second-hand apparel.
The company’s tool Truss will use AI to automatically evaluate clothing items. The company’s proprietary algorithms will suggest prices, recommend products, and refine search results. Depop plans to incorporate these insights into its clothing listings, while Selfridges will apply them to its resale division, Reselfridges.
The initiative seeks to save time and money while boosting the second-hand clothing market, potentially reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions. “Every item holds a story, but unlocking its value is a laborious process marked by online research and manual data entry,” said Woody Lello, CEO of Truss. “Our mission is to empower resale businesses with instant access to rich, actionable data.”
Founded in 2022 by Lello and three friends from Warwick University, Truss uses AI to analyze historical fashion data and predict future trends. Their platform aggregates visual, textual, and financial information about online-listed clothing, providing insights to the second-hand fashion industry. Companies can then adjust their garment selections, pricing, and release dates.
The need for deep analysis and fast insights has increased as fashion cycles have accelerated. Traditional fashion trends, once guided by the “20-year rule,” now evolve rapidly due to social media and fast fashion, with trends reemerging in just a few years.
This concept has garnered support from the British government, which announced that Truss will receive part of a £32 million budget for new AI projects. Feryal Clark, the new minister for AI and digital government, emphasized the importance of government backing: “We want technology to boost growth and deliver change right across the board, and I’m confident projects like these will help us realise that ambition.”
