The fashion AI glossary
Plain-language definitions for the 97 terms behind AI fashion photography, virtual try-on, and on-model imagery. Written for the people running modern apparel brands and ecommerce stores.
360 Product Photography
360 product photography is a sequence of images that lets shoppers spin a product and view it from every angle in an interactive viewer on the page.
5 min read3D Fashion Design
3D fashion design is creating garments as simulated 3D models from flat patterns and fabric physics, so a brand can fit and present clothing before any physical sample is cut.
5 min read
AI Fashion Model
An AI fashion model is a photorealistic, computer-generated person used to present clothing in product photos and campaigns without a traditional photoshoot.
5 min readAI Fashion Video
AI fashion video is short-form clothing video generated from product photos or AI models, used for product pages, social, and ads without filming a model.
5 min readAI Influencer
An AI influencer is a computer-generated social media persona with a consistent face, style, and voice, used by brands to post content and run campaigns.
5 min readAI Model Swap
AI model swap replaces the person in an existing fashion photo with a different model while keeping the garment, pose, lighting, and background unchanged.
5 min readAI Upscaling
AI upscaling uses a neural network to increase an image's resolution while reconstructing realistic detail, instead of just stretching the pixels.
5 min readAlt Text
Alt text is the written description attached to an image so screen readers can read it aloud and search engines can understand what the picture shows.
5 min readApparel Photography
Apparel photography is the practice of photographing clothing for sale, covering flat-lay, hanger, mannequin, on-model, and campaign styles for ecommerce.
5 min readAssortment Planning
Assortment planning is the merchandising process of deciding which products, in what variety and depth, a retailer will carry for a given season, channel, or location.
5 min readAverage Order Value (AOV)
Average order value is total revenue divided by number of orders, the typical amount a customer spends in a single fashion ecommerce transaction.
5 min read
Background Removal
Background removal is the process of separating a product from its backdrop so the background can be deleted, made transparent, or replaced — now usually done by AI.
4 min readBias Cut
A bias cut places pattern pieces at a 45-degree angle to the fabric's grain, giving the garment stretch and a fluid drape that follows the body's curves.
4 min readBill of Materials (BOM)
A bill of materials (BOM) is the itemized list of every fabric, trim, label, and packing component needed to make one garment style, with quantities and specs.
4 min read
Campaign Photography
Campaign photography is narrative, marketing-led fashion imagery built around a concept to position a brand and sell a season, not just individual products.
5 min readCapsule Collection
A capsule collection is a small, curated set of versatile pieces designed to mix and match, often released as a limited line or brand collaboration.
5 min readCatalog Photography
Catalog photography is the standardized, high-volume product imagery a store uses across listings, built for consistency, accuracy, and fast browsing.
6 min readCGI Fashion
CGI fashion is fashion imagery created with computer-generated graphics instead of a camera — rendered garments, models, and scenes used for product visuals and campaigns.
5 min readClipping Path
A clipping path is a hand-drawn vector outline around a product that defines exactly which pixels stay and which get cut, used to isolate the item from its background.
4 min readCMT Manufacturing
CMT stands for Cut, Make, Trim — a manufacturing model where the factory sells only labor and the brand supplies all the fabric and trims.
5 min readColor Correction
Color correction is the post-production step that makes a product photo's colors match the real garment, fixing white balance, exposure, and tone.
5 min readColorway
A colorway is one specific color combination of a single garment style, covering the fabric, thread, trims, and hardware for that variant.
5 min readConversion Rate
Conversion rate is the share of store visitors who complete a purchase, calculated as orders divided by sessions and expressed as a percentage.
5 min readCroquis
A croquis is a quick, simplified figure drawing that fashion designers use as a reusable body template to sketch garment ideas on.
4 min readCut and Sew
Cut and sew is garment manufacturing that starts from raw fabric yardage, cutting pattern pieces and stitching them into a finished product from scratch.
5 min read
Dart
A dart is a stitched, tapered fold of fabric that turns a flat panel into a three-dimensional shape so a garment fits the body's curves.
4 min readDeadstock Fabric
Deadstock fabric is leftover textile material — from canceled orders, mill overruns, or dye errors — that a brand sources instead of buying new yardage.
5 min readDiffusion Model
A diffusion model is a generative AI architecture that creates images by starting from random noise and gradually denoising it into a coherent picture guided by a prompt.
6 min readDigital Fashion
Digital fashion is clothing that exists only as 3D or AI-generated files — worn by avatars, layered onto photos, or used to visualize products before anything is physically made.
5 min readDigital Sample
A digital sample is a virtual prototype of a garment — built in 3D or generated by AI — used to review fit, fabric, and look without sewing a physical sample.
5 min readDirect-to-Consumer (DTC)
Direct-to-consumer is a model where a brand sells straight to customers through its own channels, skipping wholesalers and retailers to control price, data, and experience.
5 min readDrape
Drape is how a fabric falls and folds under its own weight. It determines whether a garment flows softly over the body or holds a stiff, structured shape.
4 min read
Ecommerce Product Photography
Ecommerce product photography is the practice of shooting and preparing product images specifically for online stores, marketplaces, and product detail pages.
6 min readEditorial Fashion Photography
Editorial fashion photography is narrative-driven imagery that uses clothing to tell a story or convey a mood, prioritizing concept and atmosphere over product clarity.
6 min read
Fabric Hand
Fabric hand is the tactile impression a textile gives when touched: its softness, smoothness, stiffness, and warmth. It is the feel buyers judge before they buy.
4 min readFit Model
A fit model is a person with measurements matching a brand's sample size who tries on garment samples so the design team can perfect the fit before production.
4 min readFit Session
A fit session is a working meeting where the design and technical team assess a sample garment on a fit model and record the changes needed before production.
4 min readFlat Sketch
A flat sketch is a two-dimensional technical drawing of a garment laid flat, used as the construction blueprint inside a tech pack.
5 min readFlat-Lay Photography
Flat-lay photography arranges a garment flat on a surface and shoots it from directly above, producing clean, low-cost product images for ecommerce listings.
5 min read
Garment Sampling
Garment sampling is the iterative process of producing physical prototypes of a design to verify fit, construction, and materials before bulk production.
5 min readGenerative AI
Generative AI is a class of machine learning models that create new content — images, text, audio — by learning patterns from large datasets rather than retrieving existing files.
6 min readGhost Mannequin Photography
Ghost mannequin photography shoots a garment on a mannequin, then edits the mannequin out so the clothing appears to hold its own three-dimensional shape.
5 min readGSM (Fabric Weight)
GSM is grams per square meter, the standard measure of how heavy a fabric is. It predicts thickness, opacity, durability, and how a garment will drape.
4 min readGusset
A gusset is a small fabric panel inserted into a seam, often at the crotch or underarm, to add room, movement, and strength where a garment is stressed.
4 min read
Hanger Photography
Hanger photography is the practice of shooting a garment hung on a hanger against a plain backdrop to show its silhouette, cut, and drape for ecommerce listings.
5 min readHero Image
A hero image is the large primary image a shopper sees first on a product or landing page, the single visual that decides whether they keep looking.
4 min read
Image-to-Image
Image-to-image generation uses an existing picture as the starting point for an AI model, so the output keeps the source's structure while changing its content or style.
6 min readImage-to-Video
Image-to-video is an AI technique that turns a single still photo into a short moving clip, adding motion and camera movement while keeping the subject intact.
5 min readInpainting
Inpainting is an AI editing technique that regenerates only a masked region of an image while keeping the rest untouched and consistent with it.
5 min read
Lead Time
Lead time is the total time from placing a production order to receiving finished goods, typically 8 to 20 weeks for apparel.
5 min readLifestyle Photography
Lifestyle photography shows a product in a real-world setting being used or worn, so shoppers can picture it in their own life rather than on a blank background.
5 min readLine Sheet
A line sheet is a sales document that presents a fashion brand's collection to wholesale buyers, with product photos, style numbers, pricing, sizes, and order terms.
5 min readLookbook
A lookbook is a curated set of styled fashion images that presents a collection as complete outfits to inspire shoppers and communicate a brand's aesthetic.
5 min read
Made-to-Order
Made-to-order (MTO) is a production model where a garment is manufactured only after a customer places the order, aligning output with actual demand.
5 min readMannequin Photography
Mannequin photography shoots garments dressed on a form to show three-dimensional shape and fit, often edited into the invisible ghost-mannequin look.
5 min readMinimum Order Quantity (MOQ)
Minimum order quantity is the smallest number of units a manufacturer will produce in a single order, often 50 to 500 pieces per style for apparel.
5 min readModel Release
A model release is a signed agreement from a person photographed that grants the right to use their likeness commercially, which AI-generated models depicting no real person remove the need for.
5 min readMood Board
A mood board is a curated collage of images, colors, textures, and references that captures the look and feel of a collection, shoot, or brand direction in one view.
4 min readMSRP
MSRP is the manufacturer's suggested retail price — the price a brand recommends retailers charge shoppers for a product, used as a pricing reference rather than a binding rule.
5 min read
On-Model Photography
On-model photography is product imagery that shows clothing worn by a person so shoppers can judge fit, drape, and styling instead of viewing the garment flat.
5 min readOutpainting
Outpainting is an AI technique that extends an image beyond its original edges, generating new background that matches the existing style and lighting.
4 min read
Pattern Making
Pattern making is the process of turning a design idea into the exact set of paper or digital templates that cut a garment's fabric pieces.
5 min readPhoto Retouching
Photo retouching is the post-production editing of a product image to remove flaws and standardize appearance without misrepresenting what ships.
5 min readPlacket
A placket is a finished, reinforced opening in a garment that makes it easier to put on and gives fasteners a sturdy place to attach.
4 min readPose Control
Pose control guides an AI image model to place a generated person in a specific body position, using a skeleton or reference image as a constraint.
5 min readPrint on Demand
Print on demand (POD) is a fulfillment model where a garment is printed and shipped only after a customer orders it, so the brand holds no inventory.
5 min readPrivate Label
Private label is apparel made to a brand's own specifications by a third-party manufacturer and sold exclusively under that brand's name.
5 min readProduct Detail Page (PDP)
A product detail page (PDP) is the ecommerce page for a single product, carrying its images, price, description, options, and add-to-cart action — the page where the buying decision is made.
5 min readProduct Drop
A product drop is a limited release of merchandise at a set time, often in small quantities, used to create urgency and demand around a launch.
5 min readProduct-to-Model
Product-to-model is the process of turning a flat or product-only garment image into on-model photography by placing the item on an AI-generated model.
5 min readPrompt Engineering
Prompt engineering is the practice of writing and refining the text instructions given to an AI model so it produces the specific image or output you want.
5 min read
Reference Image
A reference image is a picture fed into an AI generator alongside or instead of text, used to guide the style, composition, subject, or garment of the output.
5 min readReturn Rate
Return rate is the share of sold items or orders that customers send back, a metric that runs especially high in apparel because of fit uncertainty.
5 min read
Sample Size
Sample size is the base size a garment is developed and perfected in before pattern grading scales it up and down into the full size range.
4 min readSell-Through Rate
Sell-through rate is the percentage of received inventory sold in a given period, calculated as units sold divided by units received times 100.
5 min readSelvedge Denim
Selvedge denim is fabric woven on a shuttle loom so its edges finish themselves into a clean, frayproof band rather than needing to be overlocked.
5 min readSerging (Overlock)
Serging, or overlocking, is a stitch that trims a fabric edge and wraps it in looped thread in one pass to stop fraying and strengthen seams.
5 min readSize Chart
A size chart is a table mapping garment sizes to body or product measurements so online shoppers can pick the right fit without trying clothes on.
4 min readSize Grading
Size grading is the process of scaling one approved pattern up and down into a full range of sizes while keeping the garment's shape, fit, and proportions intact.
5 min readSize Inclusivity
Size inclusivity means designing, producing, and merchandising clothing across a wide body-size range so the same styles are available to every shopper, not only standard sizes.
5 min readSKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
A SKU is a unique internal code a retailer assigns to each distinct sellable variant of a product, used to track inventory, sales, and reordering.
5 min readStyle Transfer
Style transfer is an AI technique that takes the look of one image — its color, lighting, and texture — and applies it to the content of another.
5 min read
Tech Pack
A tech pack is the technical document a designer hands a factory: every measurement, material, stitch, and trim needed to produce a garment exactly as intended.
5 min readText-to-Image
Text-to-image is a generative AI technique that produces a new picture directly from a written description, turning a prompt into a photorealistic visual.
5 min readToile (Muslin)
A toile, or muslin, is a test garment sewn in cheap fabric to check a pattern's fit and silhouette before cutting the real material.
4 min readTopstitching
Topstitching is a line of stitching sewn so it shows on the outside of a garment, used to reinforce seams and edges and to add visible detail.
4 min readTrims
Trims are every component of a garment other than the main fabric — zippers, buttons, labels, thread, elastic — serving both function and finish.
4 min readTrue to Size
True to size means a garment fits as a shopper expects for its labeled size, so they do not need to size up or down from their usual size.
5 min read
Virtual Photoshoot
A virtual photoshoot generates product and on-model imagery with AI from existing garment photos, with no studio, photographer, model, or shoot day.
5 min readVirtual Try-On
Virtual try-on is technology that digitally places a garment onto a person or model so shoppers and brands can see how the clothing looks worn without a physical fitting.
5 min read
White Background Photography
White background photography shoots a product against a pure white backdrop so the item stands alone, the format most marketplaces require for main images.
4 min readWhite Label
White label is a generic, ready-made product sold to multiple retailers who each rebrand and price it as their own.
4 min readWholesale
Wholesale is the B2B model where a fashion brand sells products in bulk to retailers, boutiques, or distributors at a discounted per-unit price for resale to shoppers.
5 min read
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