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The Interline Podcast

The Interline

Twice-weekly technology shows for fashion and beauty professionals.

The Edit releases Tuesdays: a quickfire show analysing five headlines from across fashion and technology, in a conversational format designed to fit your commute. Hosted by Social Editor Grace Robinson.

The interview show releases Thursdays: deep one-on-one debates with brand and technology executives, hosted by Editor-in-Chief, Ben Hanson.

Find daily editorials, reports, analysis, stories and more at The Interline.

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S2 · E62
Today · 58 min
How Much Will Fashion Let AI Decide?
Our data shows that fashion’s use of AI is outpacing its willingness to trust it with important choices. But technology vendors see a clear progression from assisting to automating decision-making, paired with a move away from traditional interfaces. How much is fashion really comfortable letting AI decide today, and how fast is that frontier likely to move? To find out, Ben talks to Rupert Schiessl, Chief Strategy & AI Officer for Bamboo Rose - building on the interview he previously gave for our AI Report 2026.
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S2 · E61
Tuesday · 28 min
Robots On The Runway, AI ‘Showrooming,’ Smart Glasses, And Muse Agent’s Mascot
In this week's analysis of the top fashion technology headlines, Grace and Ben run through: Unitree robots on the Vogue World runway - https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/23/vogue-sent-robots-down-the-runway-at-vogue-world-and-people-were-not-impressed/ Gen Z using AI to 'showroom' in physical stores - https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Ai-influences-62-of-gen-z-in-store-spending-wearables-increasingly-being-used-in-process-report,1868455.html Big banks raising the flag on the risks of agentic commerce - https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/banks-warn-ai-shopping-bots-raise-scam-fraud-data-privacy-risks-2026-09-22/ The state of smart glasses in fashion, and in polite society - https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-ray-ban-meta-audio-glasses-new-styles-plus-muse/ Amazon blocking Meta's Muse agent - https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/21/metas-ai-agent-has-been-blocked-from-using-amazon-com/ The complicated proposition of Meta's 'personal superintelligence,' for shoppers and retailers - https://www.ft.com/content/f4770cdf-626e-41e3-9db0-3dc0b64b8c00?syn-25a6b1a6=1
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S2 · E60
September 24 · 57 min
The Future Of Fashion’s Social Strategies
Social media and influencer marketing have made big marks on fashion - and vice versa - but strategies are changing as a result of both synthetic content and the tech-led evolution of creators into something more closely resembling traditional media. Ben sits down with Bryony Barker, Global Strategy Director for Pulse Advertising, to discuss what’s next for brand marketing.
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S2 · E59
September 22 · 29 min
Fashion Week, On-Device Models, AI-Native Product Development, And Doomerism
This week on The Edit, Grace and Ben acceptable the inevitable and have a whole show dedicated to talking about AI for fashion in different forms. Google's push into fashion weeks: https://www.vogue.com/article/how-googles-ai-tools-factored-into-new-york-fashion-week Daydream's integration with iOS on-device AI: https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/14/fashion-discovery-app-daydream-uses-apple-intelligence-to-help-you-shop-the-outfits-saved-in-your-camera-roll/ Generative workspaces launching tech pack features: https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/raspberry-ai-transforms-fashion-brands-123300405.html?guccounter=1 Product development and AI: https://wwd.com/sourcing-journal/industry-news/lectra-agentic-artificial-intelligence-apogy-fashion-1239240732/ And whether AI is going to kill us all, or, more likely, put elements of the fashion value chain at risk: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/how-exactly-could-ai-kill-us
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S2 · E58
September 17 · 49 min
The Case For Making Wearable Medical Technology More Visible
Deafmetal Founder Jenni Ahtiainen, who designs jewellery and safety accessories for hearing devices, shares a different vantage point on the relationship between wearable medical technology and self-expression, and talks to Ben about what overcoming the stigma attached to hearing loss could tell us about a much bigger emerging category.
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S2 · E57
September 10 · 41 min
Fashion’s Ongoing Dance With Deferred Payment Credit
Fintech platforms have become increasingly tied to brands' and retailers' pursuit of growth in customers, ABV, and GMV. But with new guardrails applied to buy-now-pay-later, and the cost of living rising, could card-linked instalments be different enough to change things? To dissect fashion's relationship with deferred payment credit, Ben sits down with Alex Forsyth-Thompson, Founder & CEO of Float.
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S2 · E56
September 8 · 28 min
eCommerce, Shopper Passports, MHS, Fees & Gen Zs
This week on The Edit, Ben and Grace are on a quickfire tour of: The state of fashion & sports eCommerce, pulling from a new BoF report that Ben also contributed to: https://www.businessoffashion.com/reports/sports/bof-insights-amazon-fashion-sports-europe-e-commerce-report/ The first and second-hand use cases for "Shopper Passports": https://www.ecomid.com/blog/seed-round/ Anthropic's holiday-season retail blueprints, and the potential for the Model Hardware Standard to reach beyond the lab and onto the shopfloor: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/anthropic-launches-ai-agent-blueprints-retailers-ahead-holiday-shopping-season-2026-09-02/ and https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-hardware-standard-research-preview New EU strategies to try and remove the incentives for fast fashion: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm2792pendro And Gen Z's relationship with... gen AI and fashion in general: https://puck.news/gen-z-has-trust-issues-with-fashion/
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S2 · E55
September 3 · 59 min
How Far Can Generative Tooling For Fashion Go?
The market perception is that generative AI is most mature at the beginning and end of the product journey, where products can exist as pictures, and least ready in the technical spaces in between. AI creative platform FLORA, which raised more than $40 million at the start of this year, and which just launched Fashion Studio (its first verticalised toolkit) wants to try and do it all. But how far can generative tooling for fashion really go? To find out, Ben talks to Weber Wong, FLORA's CEO.
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S2 · E54
September 1 · 1 hr 11 min
Mailroom #1
The first edition of our sporadic Mailroom series, where we put listeners' fashion technology questions to industry friends and experts, as well as answering a couple ourselves. In this first show, we tackle audience questions about the forces impacting mass market brands, the dangers of AI visualisation substituting for fabric simulation, what it looks like to start a new brand in 2026, how gaussian splatting works for fabrics and finished products, where AI adoption in fashion is highest, and why we don't talk about open-weights AI as much as we should. Featuring: Hannah Crump, Director of BoF Insights at The Business Of Fashion Yazan Malkosh, Founder & CEO at Swatchbook Adriana Pereira, Co-Founder and CMO at The Fabricant Vlad Mulhelm, who's the CEO at Voxelo
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S2 · E53
August 27 · 49 min
Will The Web-Native Playbook Work For Digital Product Creation?
Collaborative 2D design has become defined by 'multiplayer' web applications like Figma and Canva. 3D fashion is still mostly desktop-bound and singleplayer, so could it follow suit? One startup, Fabra, thinks so, and this week Ben set out to quiz its Co-Founders, Luke Grana and Gloria Yu, about the technical underpinnings, the potential addressable market, and whether creative professionals really want the rest of the company in their space.
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S2 · E52
August 25 · 26 min
AI Video On The Shopfloor And In-Store, Defence Spending On Textiles, And Anti-Social Sentiment
This week, Grace and Ben talk about: The release of GSD RealMotion, and the vote of confidence it represents in the accuracy of AI in high-stakes shopfloor scenarios: https://www.theinterline.com/2026/08/19/coats-digital-launches-gsd-realmotion-to-replace-stopwatch-time-studies-with-ai-powered-motion-analysis/ The use of similar AI vision software in reducing theft-related shrinkage in stores, with some concerning potential risks: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/17/humiliated-sainsburys-store-pauses-ai-scanning-after-false-shoplifting-accusation and https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/news/icelands-use-of-crime-fighting-ai-reduces-theft-losses-by-80/722607.article The USA's FutureTEX initiative, and the relationship between reshoring and defense spending: https://coe.gatech.edu/news/2026/08/georgia-tech-chosen-founding-partner-pentagon-initiative-rebuild-us-textile The groundswell of anti-social media sentiment, and how it's spilling over into the way LLMs are packaged and sold for younger people: https://www.semafor.com/article/08/18/2026/meta-social-media-addiction-trial-opens A side order of Niles, the new mascot for Crocs: https://investors.crocs.com/news-and-events/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/Crocs-Introduces-Niles-New-Mascot-Launches-a-Bold-New-Era-of-Character-Driven-Storytelling/default.aspx And finally a new segment on investments and acquisitions: Higgsfield's new valuation: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/higgsfields-valuation-soars-fourfold-54-billion-six-months-ai-content-demand-2026-08-17/ Anthropic potentially buying Decart: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-13/anthropic-said-in-talks-to-buy-ai-startup-decart-for-6-billion Dimension's bid to operationalise TikTok Shop: https://www.latimes.com/b2b/ai-technology/story/2026-08-12/dimension-seed-funding-seller-os
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S2 · E51
August 20 · 58 min
The Legal Frontiers Of AI In Fashion
Every industry is wrestling with the same big-ticket AI questions around fair use, labelling, and disclosure. But fashion has a set of AI legal quandaries all of its own. Today, Ben talks to Anthony "Tony" Lupo, Chairman of legal firm ArentFox Schiff, and US general counsel for a roster of global fashion and retail brands, including Diane von Furstenberg, Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Fila, Lacoste, Diesel, and Christian Louboutin. Tony also runs Fashion Counsel, a pre-eminent legal blog for the fashion industry. Together, they run through some of our readers' top concerns about the legal ramifications of AI, from likenesses / personas and model releases, to Fair Use, the EU AI Act, the expanding risk surface of brands extending what they know about consumers, and why brands haven't gone after the creators of image generation models that can reproduce their logos, colours, and other elements on command.
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S2 · E50
August 17 · 27 min
Live Shopping, MCP Intelligence, AI Sustainability And Lending Risks, And Mum Fragrances In Fortnite
This week, Grace and Ben debate five new fashion technology headlines. Live shopping platform Whatnot's new $20 billion valuation: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/07/whatnot-live-shopping-valuation-20-billion.html The ongoing launch of MCP connectors for intelligence and creative platforms: https://edited.com/products/mcp/ A BoF analysis of how AI ranks and enshrines sustainability language: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/can-you-trust-ai-to-tell-you-which-brands-are-sustainable/ New fuel for the argument that AI infrastructure is becoming a precarious financial instrument: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/08/11/ai-lending-rules-loosened-despite-bubble-fears/ A interesting example of a brand targeting a very different demographic through gaming: https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/fragrance/jo-malone-london-bergamot-sea-salt-fragrance-fortnite-game-1239097352/
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S2 · E49
August 12 · 26 min
Shopping, Sizing, Social, AI Strategy, And Domestic Shoe Manufacturing
This week, with a slight delay, Grace and Ben discuss: The ongoing tension between retailers and AI agents, and the reversed injunction in the case of Amazon and Perplexity: https://easternherald.com/2026/08/05/perplexity-comet-amazon-ninth-circuit-ruling/ Several surveys, and reporting, on the reasons that brands are not realising value from their AI investments: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/technology/the-reason-your-ai-investments-arent-paying-off/ Pinterest's expansion into the physical world, and the dominance of shopping in social media: https://www.retail-week.com/stores-and-property/pinterest-invests-in-new-london-office-as-part-of-new-era-of-shopping-vision/7051782.article New data that suggests people taking GLP-1 class medications are more likely to visit stores, and the implications for sizing and commerce: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/glp-1-users-in-store-clothes-shopping-trip-is-back-2026-08-02/ A feel-good story from New Balance's UK factory, with some slightly more complicated context: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/new-balance-unveils-new-outdoor-space-for-factory-workers/2026080589618
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S2 · E48
August 6 · 59 min
What Business Spend Data Really Says About AI Adoption
Fifty-five per cent of American businesses now pay for AI. But what are companies actually buying, and who are they buying it from? And, more specifically, what does fashion need to know about the economics of AI? To find out, Ben talks to Ara Kharazian, Lead Economist at Ramp, and one of the people behind the widely-cited AI Index. Useful reading: Ara's research at Ramp — https://ramp.com/authors/ara-kharazian Ramp Economics Lab — https://ramp.com/data Ramp AI Index — https://ramp.com/data/ai-index Econ Lab newsletter — https://econlab.substack.com/
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S2 · E47
August 4 · 23 min
AI Meets 3D Printing, Composable eCommerce, SHEIN's Valuation, And AI Shopping As A Service
This week, Grace and Ben from the usual weekly format slightly and bring on Danit Peleg, fresh off her AI-meets-3D-printing presentation at Figma Config: https://config.figma.com/san-francisco/session/349f94c6-628e-40ff-9f90-119750e60bfa/ Then they pick up three industry headlines to analyse, quickfire style, rather than the usual five. Salesforce's investment in Callimacus: https://www.theinterline.com/2026/07/29/callimacus-the-platform-reinventing-digital-experiences-for-the-ai-era-enters-into-an-agreement-for-an-investment-from-salesforce/ Investor scrutiny of SHEIN's prospectus, and the challenge of valuing fashion brands like tech companies: https://www.gulf-times.com/article/730046/business/shein-will-struggle-to-justify-up-to-50bn-hong-kong-ipo-valuation And announcements from Daydream and THG Ingenuity that collectively suggest AI Shopping as a Service is a new growth vertical: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/daydream-launches-ai-powered-search-and-discovery-solution-for-fashion-brands-and-retailers-302837597.html and https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Thg-ingenuity-adds-ai-stylist-to-google-cloud-marketplace-drives-higher-conversion,1856590.html
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S2 · E46
July 30 · 47 min
Why Fashion Still Over-Develops
Despite decades’ worth of technology adoption and transformation initiatives, brands, on average, develop far more materials and style than they, or the market, actually need. Ben talks to Liza Amlani, author of The Material Life and Co-Founder of Retail Strategy Group, to understand where overdevelopment stems from, and what needs to change to help curb it.
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S2 · E45
July 28 · 25 min
Clothing Destruction, Cybersecurity and AI, Affordability, And UK-EU Politics
This week, Grace and Ben discuss a diverse mix of fashion technology stories, although AI is still front and centre. The European Commission's ban on the destruction of unsold clothing: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/ban-destruction-unsold-clothes-and-shoes-enters-application-2026-07-17_en An unprecedented AI cybersecurity moment... or a marketing stunt? https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-model-evaluation-security-incident/ The explosion in maturity of open-weights Chinese models, and the risk they might represent to US businesses: https://www.semafor.com/article/07/17/2026/kimi-k3-threatens-ai-business-models A suite of stories that suggest more competition in affordable fashion, and premium goods look for even more ways to spread consumer spending: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/21/apple-teams-up-with-klarna-to-launch-a-lease-to-own-program-for-iphones-ipads-and-macs/ and https://www.theindustry.fashion/zaras-sister-brand-lefties-confirms-late-august-opening-for-first-uk-store/ and https://retailasia.com/e-commerce/news/shein-targets-50b-valuation-in-hong-kong-ipo And finally the prospect of new leadership in the UK bringing the country closer to Europe again, and what that might mean for selling and buying fashion: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/burberry-boss-calls-for-burnham-to-scrap-tourist-tax
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S2 · E44
July 23 · 46 min
The Case For Creating A New, Digital-Native Luxury Group
Groups and conglomerates have dominated luxury for decades, but recent attempts to forge new ones have floundered. A new Irish group, steeped in the country’s heritage, is betting on technology making the difference. To find out if it will, Ben sits down with Ashley McDonnell, CEO of VYKO Group.
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S2 · E43
July 21 · 24 min
Bespoke Technology, BNPL, Mystery Boxes, AI Advisory, And A Case Study In Bad Fit
Grace and Ben debate the top fashion headlines, including... The push and pull between bespoke and general purpose AI, and off-the-shelf vs. custom technology in general: https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Beauty-pie-replatforms-through-shopify-for-next-growth-phase,1852537.html and https://www.retaildive.com/news/customer-service-third-party-generative-ai-tools-brand-chatbots/825032/ and https://www.retail-week.com/technology/the-very-group-enters-agentic-ai-partnership-for-pricing/7051644.article and https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/15/thinking-machines-amps-up-its-bet-against-one-size-fits-all-ai-with-its-first-open-model-inkling/ New regulations and a new study that capture the tightening net around fintech, especially buy-now-pay-later platforms: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-delivers-fairer-deal-for-shoppers-as-buy-now-pay-later-rules-come-into-force StockX's launch of mystery boxes, and the data behind the rise of odds-based decision making in retail: https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/stockx-launches-mystery-boxes-with-verified-inventory/2026071089146 The influence of AI on advisory services in fashion, and vice versa: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/technology/ai-outside-consultants-advertising/ The internet's talent at making a running joke out of a manifestation of a deeper and less funny fit and field testing gap: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/tiktok-users-call-out-zara-for-its-now-dubbed-deadly-trousers/2026070989112
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