Van Cleef & Arpels and The Wires use AI for product discovery
At Perfect Corp’s 2026 Global Beauty and Fashion Tech Forum on Monday, Van Cleef & Arpels and The Wires said they are using AI to improve product discovery and personalization, noting that over 75% of Van Cleef & Arpels’ sales are direct-to-client. A Shopify report from this summer found that half of people in the country and two-thirds of luxury customers now use AI for inspiration and product discovery.
Van Cleef & Arpels uses in-house technology built by parent company Richemont to compile transaction histories of high-value clients and present them to sales advisors before appointments. The brand says this preparation lets advisors understand a client’s interests and history instead of spending about 20 minutes reconstructing the relationship. Carney said she plans to open the first FashWire store soon, bringing together physical and digital retail to create an immersive experience. Bouzalis warned that luxury brands should avoid overwhelming customers by sending multiple messages based on many data points, instead using those points to craft one relevant communication.
“Luxury brands really have to have discipline and restraint with data,” Crystal Bouzalis, AVP at Van Cleef & Arpels said.
“We haven’t opened the physical yet, but we will be bringing [physical and digital retail] together, because I do think everything is going back to the store,” Kimberley Carney, founder and CEO of The Wires said.
Fashion brands are flooded with data from new AI-powered tools, making it challenging to determine how to best use that information to connect with customers. The discussion occurred at Perfect Corp’s 2026 Global Beauty and Fashion Tech Forum, where executives examined technology’s effect on the customer journey during a period of rapid technological change.
What we know
Over 75% of Van Cleef & Arpels’ sales are direct-to-client.
A Shopify report from this summer found that half of people in the country and two-thirds of luxury customers are now using AI for inspiration and product discovery.
The panel took place at Perfect Corp’s 2026 Global Beauty and Fashion Tech Forum on Monday.
Kimberley Carney is the founder and CEO of The Wires.
Crystal Bouzalis is the AVP at Van Cleef & Arpels.