Tariffs, textile waste, and shopping bots—fashion's having a very busy Tuesday. Quick catch-up before we dig in: fashion's AI-commerce race has moved well past simple visualization. PointAI is building physics-based digital twins for virtual try-on. Meta's Muse is being positioned as a shopping agent inside WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, while Daydream uses Apple Intelligence to shop outfits saved in a camera roll or queried through Siri. The question is which layer actually lifts conversion, not just discovery. This is Fashion Business Daily. Carter's has actual earnings to work with, so let's start with the numbers—then see who gets stuck paying the tariff bill. This story isn't over: Virtual try-on AI commerce race. Follow us wherever you're listening, and the next chapter comes to you. This one's from Washington Guardian:
“Our profitability in the quarter was negatively affected by higher tariffs, investment spending and other inflationary cost pressures and higher interest costs. We expect the impact of these items to moderate as we move through the year and today we have reiterated our full year outlook for both sales and operating profit growth in 2026.
Carter's gave us the cleanest demand read all week: U.S. retail comps rose 10.5%, and total net sales climbed 8.1% to $681.1 million. Those are company-reported results, and they're strong. For baby apparel, 10.5% retail comps is serious. Easter helped, sure, but you don't get that kind of store and e-commerce traffic bump from a sad little marketing deck. Now, don't mistake “reiterated” for “raised.” Carter's kept its full-year sales and operating-profit outlook even as tariffs, inflation and investment spending hit profitability—and Sharon Price John takes the CEO chair next month. Exactly. She inherits real momentum, along with the tariff bill. The product is moving; the awkward part is whether margins improve before the new CEO has to explain why they didn't. This one's from Textile World:
NEW YORK — September 15, 2026 — Next-generation fiber producer, Everbloom, announces that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved renoa, a first-of-its-kind regenerated fiber, marking the first new apparel fiber classification approved by the agency in almost 25 years, the last being the approval of PLA in 2002.
Everbloom announced the FTC approval on September 15, and Textile World published it Sunday: renoa can now be labeled as its own fiber category in the U.S. That gives the company a real commercial case, beyond a sustainability slogan. And the hang tag matters. If it says renoa instead of some foggy ‘recycled textile blend,’ a buyer can understand what they're touching—and wholesale teams have something concrete to put on a line sheet. PLA was the last new FTC-recognized apparel fiber, back in 2002. So yes, nearly 25 years matters—but Everbloom still has to prove cost, consistency, and repeat orders before luxury houses see this as more than a compelling swatch. Keratin-rich offcuts and down becoming a durable, soft fiber is genuinely interesting. But please, put it in a coat or knit people actually want; ‘made with waste’ won't rescue an ugly product. From Modern Retail:
The good news is that many retailers have already brought most of their holiday inventory to the U.S. from overseas. So, the disruption should be minimal, though carriers like UPS and FedEx will likely continue to increase fuel surcharges ahead of the holidays.
Holiday goods are already here. The pressure is on UPS, FedEx, and every last-mile delivery getting pricier right as brands try to promise free shipping. Gas is up roughly 50% since February 28, and Wisconsin added 61 cents a gallon in eight days. Retailers can absorb some fuel surcharges. What they can't absorb is shoppers deciding both the mall trip and the extra gift cost too much. And online doesn't magically solve it. If people consolidate trips, they may consolidate carts too—fewer little add-ons, fewer impulse gifts, and more pressure on retailers to discount delivery. Carter's just reiterated its full-year outlook, but fuel is another cost pressing on holiday margins after tariffs. Strong 10.5% U.S. retail comps show demand, but they don't make the final mile any cheaper. From Business Wire:
True Fit, the global leader in fit and sizing intelligence, and Glance, an AI personal shopping platform transforming the way consumers discover and shop, today announced a collaboration to integrate True Fit’s personalized size and fit recommendations into Glance’s agentic commerce experience.
Here's a new twist in the virtual try-on AI-commerce race: True Fit and Glance are putting size intelligence inside the agentic shopping layer. The render can make a jacket look great; the fit call is what keeps it from becoming a return. And True Fit says it bases those recommendations on actual purchase and return outcomes, not just a size chart and a flattering avatar. That's a better input—if it performs at scale. Hundreds of millions of shoppers is press-release math; the useful number is return-rate reduction. If Glance can answer "will this fit me?" before a shopper ever reaches a retailer site, marketplaces have one less reason to own discovery. Glossy writes:
Pinterest brought its phone-free experiment to London Fashion Week on Sunday, asking 50 guests at Claudia Smith London’s debut couture show to put their phones into beaded bags as the runway began. Guests could take their phones out for the finale, when all 12 looks appeared together, and keep them out for the after-party.
Fifty people at Claudia Smith London's debut couture show put their phones in ruby-red beaded bags, then got them back for the 12-look finale. Beautiful stunt. And Pinterest very carefully made sure nobody missed the posting window. The pitch is simple: watch the runway without scrolling, then get the official images by QR code and share afterward. Pinterest wants to be where taste takes shape before a shopper settles on a label. And Claudia Smith actually used Pinterest to build the colors, textures and silhouettes for this collection. Fine—there's a real creative loop there. But a phone pouch at the British Museum doesn't prove discovery turns into purchases; it proves people like a free beaded bag. Pinterest sponsored the execution, not a sales result. I'd want to see whether people search for Claudia Smith and save those looks after Sunday—then whether that eventually moves sell-through. Have feedback, story ideas, or a correction? Email us at fashionbusinessdaily at lantern podcasts dot com. We read every note, and use your input to make Fashion Business Daily better.
We're watching for Sharon Price John to take over as Carter's new Chief Executive Officer next month. Links to every story are in the show notes, so take a look at the ones that caught your attention. That's Fashion Business Daily for today. We'll be back tomorrow. This is a Lantern Podcast.