MENSWEAR  STYLE  TAXONOMY  DEVELOPMENT  
For  Fashion  Styling  AI  Engine  
   

 
   
 
 
 
Wenyu  Wang,  Yuan  Huang,  Yiwei  Lai,  Yinyu  Ding,  Jinzhi  Xu    
 
 
May  2018  
 

               
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EXECUTIVE  SUMMARY    
 
A  shift  from  brand-­centric  supply  model  to  customer-­centric  demand  model  by  realization  of  style  
personalization   through   data-­tracking   and   advanced   technology,   as   an   efficient,   effective   and  
effortless  method  that  guides  customers  to  the  right  products  based  on  individual  difference.      
During   the   three-­month   collaboration   with   Genostyle,   our   team   developed   a   start-­up   universal  
(Western)  menswear  style  taxonomy  via  curation  and  artificial  intelligence  (AI),  which  contributed  
to  the  first  database  for  menswear  algorithm  and  styling  engine.  
  

CONTENTS    
 
 
 

1.   INTRODUCTION    

2.   THE  TEAM    

3.   ARTIFICIAL  INTELLIGENCE  IN  FASHION  REVOLUTION        

4.   METHODOLOGY    

5.   MENSWEAR  STYLE  TAXONOMY    

                                       5.1.    MENSWEAR  STYLE    

                                       5.2.    REPRESENTATIVE  BRANDS      

                                       5.3.    REPRESENTATIVE  INFLUENCERS    

                                       5.4.    MIX  &  MATCH    

6.   RESULTS  AND  FINDINGS        

7.   OUTCOME  DISCUSSION      

8.   IMPLICATION  FOR  FURTHER  RESEARCH    

     

                 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 
 
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION  

This   project   aims   at   providing   up-­to-­date   style   taxonomy   through   algorithms   within   artificial  
intelligence   to   improve   customer   service   with   style   personalisation.   With   the   development   of  
menswear   style   taxonomy,   our   team   conducted   a   research   based   on   the   contemporary   style  
trends  and  brand  offerings  for  the  algorithms  both  training  and  testing.  This  research  is  conducted  
with  following  procedure:  
   
❖   Identification   and   research   on   representative   menswear   styles   to   update   Client’s  
Taxonomy   Database.   The   identified   style   taxonomy   includes:   (1)   Comprehensive  
styles   –   covering   most   ‘western   fashion’   styles;;   (2)   Relevant   styles   –   reflecting  
contemporary  tastes  and  styles    
 
❖   Identification  and  research  on  the  top  10  representative  brands  (or  collections)  of  each  
style.   These   brands   will   be   used   for   benchmarking   and   as   input   in   running   Client’s  
algorithms  for  the  application  of  ‘machine  learning’  in  styling  engine  (‘algorithm  training  
brands’)    
 
❖   Identification   and   research   on   an   additional   set   of   2-­3   representative   brands  
(collections)  of  each  style.  These  brands  will  be  used  to  measure  the  accuracy  of  the  
proprietary  algorithms  in  predicting  brand  style  (‘algorithm  testing  brands’)  
 
❖   Curate  representative  influencers  and  identify  specific  items  of  ‘mix  &  match’  looks  for  
each  style  
 
   
   
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

2.  THE  TEAM    
 
❖   Genostyle  
 
Genostyle’s  technology  enables  individual  customers’  preferences  and  styles  to  be  characterized  
and   tracked   by   computer   on   a   massive   scale,   making   possible   customization   and   online  
personalization  via  advanced  algorithms  and  Artificial  Intelligence.    
Shifting   from   brand-­centric   supply   model   to   customer-­centric   demand   model,   Genostyle   aims   to  
create  a  fashion  styling  AI  engine  to  understand  the  customer  and  power  the  chatbot  and  other  
digital   omni-­channel   experiences   with   unprecedented   levels   of   personalization,   with   advanced  
style  analytics  to  unlock  value  from  previously  untapped  sources  and  pioneering  science  of  ‘style  
quantification  and  algorithmification’.  
 
 
❖   Menswear  Style  Taxonomy  Research  Contributors  
 
The  up-­to-­date  menswear  style  taxonomy  based  on  the  contemporary  fashion  trends  and  brand  
offerings,  established  by  visual  and  styling  researchers  from  various  fashion  backgrounds.      
 
 
Wendy  Wang    
Majoring   in   MA   Fashion   Retail   Management   in   London   College   of   Fashion   with   a  
Fashion   Design   Background,   worked   as   researcher   and   editor   for   trend   forecast  
website   just-­style.com,   visual   merchandiser   for   Uniqlo   and   training   manager   for   Zara.  
Expert  at  problem  solving,  coordinating  and  management.    
 
 
Jinzhi  Xu    
Majoring   in   MA   Strategic   Fashion   Marketing,   with   a   dual   BA   degrees   in   Radio   and  
Television   Journalism   and   Business   Administration.   Worked   for   Tencent   in   China.  
Jinzhi  Xu  expert  at  both  communication,  business  and  Internet  operation.    
 
 
Yinyu  Ding          
Majoring   in   MA   Strategic   Fashion   Marketing   and   coming   from   a   fashion   design  
background,   working   part-­time   at   multi-­brand   store   Machine-­A   in   London.   Expert   at  
fashion  styling  and  design  in  menswear  of  both  mainstream  and  niche  fashion  brands.  
Used  to  work  as  a  fashion  PR  and  fashion  editor.  
         
  

 
Yiwei  Lai      
Educated  in  Fashion  Styling  in  Milan  and  Fashion  Psychology  in  London,  worked  as  
stylist   and   photographer   in   collaboration   with   various   indie   magazines   and   fashion  
commercials   for   four   years   across   Europe,   as   well   as   a   consultant   of   fashion  
communication,  creative  direction  and  influencer  branding  for  both  fashion  retail  and  
wholesale  companies  in  China.    
 
 
Yuan  Huang  
Majoring  in  MA  Strategic  Fashion  Marketing  with  a  Bachelor  Degree  in  Auditing  and  
background   of   finance   and   business.   Worked   for   Istituto   Marangoni.   Expert   at  
applying  business  and  digital  knowledge  to  fashion  industry.    
 
 
 
 

3.  ARTIFICIAL  INTELLENCE  IN  FASHION  REVOLUTION    

Recently,  a  trifecta  of  ubiquitous  and  powerful  computing,  big  data,  and  the  development  of  deep  
learning   have   brought   about   a   revolution   in   artificial   intelligence.   Artificial   intelligence   can   help  
fashion  businesses  align  supply  and  demand,  scale  personal  service  and  design  better  products.  
The  business  shift  from  brand-­centric  supply  model  to  customer-­centric  demand  model  is  drawing  
more   and   more   attention.   One   of   the   most   remarkable   artificial   intelligence   contributions   to  
fashion   was   the   evolution   of   visual   search.   Designers,   merchandisers   and   buyers   can   all   work  
with   artificial   intelligence,   to   predict   what   customers   really   need,   before   they   even   know   about  
themselves.   The   computing   devices   that   now   fill   our   everyday   lives   generate   large   data   sets,  
within  “deep  learning”,  algorithms  analyze  data  and  generate  trends,  deliver  prediction  and  carry  
out   specific   tasks   such   as   image   identification.   By   2020,   the   market   for   machine   learning  
applications   will   reach   $40   billion,   according   to   International   Data   Corporation,   a   marketing   firm  
specializing  in  information  technology.  
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
  

4.  METHODOLOGY      

❖    Preliminary  Research    
Aiming   to   have   an   overall   idea   of   menswear   in   fashion   industry,   as   well   as   to   ensure   the  
authenticity  and  reliability  of  the  outcomes,  our  team  conducted  a  preliminary  research  for  the  
development  of  menswear  style  taxonomy  from  trend  forecast  website,  books,  social  media,  
mass  media,  experts  consulting  and  interviews.  
   
❖   Visual  Data  Collection      
The  major  sources  of  the  images  collection  throughout  the  project  are  the  male  fashion  style  
blogs,   male   influencers   in   social   media,   menswear   brand   lookbooks,   menswear   runways  
shows,  male  fashion  websites  and  mass  media.  
   
❖   '3  Taxonomy'  to  '1  Taxonomy'  
Three  taxonomies  (Fig1.)  were  identified  divergently  in  the  first  phase.  However,  pushing  the  
process   from   divergence   to   convergence   was   time-­consuming   as   the   team   was   trying   to  
integrate   sub-­styles   into   the   macro-­styles   classification.   Considering   overlapping   styles,   the  
team   united   similar   terms   and   developed   appropriate   definitions   to   generate   the   final   style  
taxonomy.     Under   each   macro-­style   category,   there   are   sub-­styles   to   illustrate   the   style   as  
well   as   the   description   to   avoid   misunderstanding.   For   instance,   surfer,   skaters   and   outdoor  
styles  are  classified  under  'Active'  style  category.  The  term  'Active'  was  selected  over  'Sporty'  
due  to  the  wider  spread  of  active  style  than  sporty  style.  

   
Figure1.  Three  Initial  Taxonomies    
 
❖   Mix  &  Match  Looks  Curation    
Along   with   the   style   taxonomy   established,   2-­4   representative   influencers,   12   representative  
brands  and  40  mix  &  match  looks  (4  looks  for  each  macro-­style  and  items  were  identified  from  
the  looks  with  links  to  product  information)  were  identified  from  the  visual  data  collection  at  the  
first  stage.  The  selected  brands  are  critical  for  the  advanced  algorithms  training  and  testing.    
  

5.  MENSWEAR  STYLE  TAXONOMY    

 
As  the  outcome  of  this  project,  10  menswear  style  are  categorized  from  multiple  sub-­styles,  which  
are  70’S,  Activewear,  Futuristic,  Normcore,  Occasion  wear,  Pop,  Rebel,  Smart  casual,  Streetwear,  
Western   wear.   The   representative   brands   of   each   style   are   listed   below.   However,   considering  
the   diversification   of   certain   brands,   slight   overlapping   between   different   styles   is   unavoidable.  
For   each   style   we   selected   4   relevant   mix   &   match   looks   for   each   style   category   with   links   to  
product  information  of  the  identified  items.  
 
5.1.    Menswear  Style  Categories          
 

   
  

 
 

5.2.    Menswear  Representative  Brands  

❖   70s    
Brands  Balmain/  Tom  Ford/  Roberto  Cavalli/  Raf  Simons/  Balenciaga/  Dior  Homme/  Missoni/  
Etro/Dirk  Bikkembergs  
 
❖   Active  
Brands  Adidas/  Nike/  Under  Armour/  New  Balance/  Skechers/  Reebok/  North  Face/  Champion/  
Converse/    Puma/  Columbia/  Asics/  Fila/  Yeezy  

 
 
   
     
  

❖   Futuristics            
Brands  MISBHV/  Riccardo  Tisci/  Katie  Eary/  Alex  Mattsson/  Bobby  Abley/  Nasir  Mazhar/  Mugler/  
Stoneisland/  Qasimi/  Kris  Van  Assche/  Boris  Bidjan  Saberi/  Enfin  levé    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
❖   Normcore            
Brands  Lemaire/  Joseph/Acne  Studio/  Etdues/  Barena  /Rag  &  Bone/  Common  Projects  /  Officine  
Generale/  James  Perse/  A.P.C/  Incotex/  Our  Legacy/  Folk/  John  Smedley  
 

       
❖   Occasion  Wear            
Brands  Church’s/  Kingsman/P.Johnson/  Tom  Ford/  Turnbull  &  Asser/  Lavin/  Thom  Sweeney/  
Cheaney/  Dunhill/  Ermenegildo  Zegna/  Salle  Privee/  Saint  Laurent/  Bottege  Veneta/  Tod’s/  Dior  
Homme/  Hermèsa        
     
❖   Pop  
Brands  Kenzo/  Calvin  Klein/  Libertine/  Prada/  JW  Anderson/  Loewe/  Fendi/  comme  des  garçons  
play/  Missoni/  Billionaire  Boys  Club/  Moschino/  Desquared2/  Adidas  Y3/  Faith  Connextion/  
Eyepitizer  
           
❖   Rebel            
Brands  Vivienne  Westwood/Saint  Laurent/Rick  Owens/  Yohji  Yamamoto/Philipp  Plein/  Diesel  
Black  Gold/  Ann  Demeulemeester/  Telfar/Frankie  Morello/Koch/John  Richmond    
 
   
  

❖   Smart  Casual    
Brand  Reiss/  Paul  Smith/ Emporio  Armani/Bottega  Veneta/Ralph  Lauren/Calvin  Klein/  Hugo  
Boss  /Salvatore  Ferragamo/Hermès/  Etro/Hogan/Ted  Baker/Tommy  Hilfiger/Mango  /H&M/  
Kapten  &  Son/Selected/Massimo  Dutti/Piaget/Lacoste  
   
❖   Streetwear  
Brands  Stüssy/  Supreme/  Palace/  A  Bathing  Ape/  Neighborhood/  Fuct/  Vans/  Converse/  Alife/  
Undefeated/  Billionaire  Boys  Club/  10  Deep/  The  Hundreds/  Diamond  Supply  Co./  SSUR/  Crooks  
and  Castles/  Blvck  Scvle/  Dope  Couture  
         
❖   Western    
Brands  Calvin  Klein/  Vetements/  Sam  Hill/  Amiri/  Sheplers/  Tommy  Hilfiger/  Levis/  Lee/  Buffalo  
Jackson/  Banner&Oak/  Duluth/  Lucky  Brand/  Jacob  Cohen  
 
 
 
 
     
5.3.    Menswear  Representative  Influencers  

 
   
  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         
  

5.4.    Menswear  ‘Mix  &  Match’  Looks  

 

         
  

   
 

 
     
  

6.  RESULTS  AND  FINDINGS  

 
Our  team  classified  10  styles  including  20  influencers,  118  fashion  brands  and  210  products.    
 
Genostyle  aims  to  classify  brands  by  styles  rather  than  merely  shapes  and  color  with  the  AI  
algorithms.   The   purpose   of   this   algorithm   testing   is   to   find   out   how   much   the   machine  
classification  can  be  consistent  with  manual  classification  within  the  outcome  of  the  machine  
learning   process   with   the   developed   menswear   taxonomy   and   representative   brands,   and  
how  much  is  the  deviation  between  these  two  classifications.    
 
Result   shows   that   in   the   first   match   test,   the   coincidence   rate   of   manual   classification   and  
machine   prediction   has   achieved   82%.   In   the   first   two   match   tests,   the   coincidence   rate   of  
manual  classification  and  machine  prediction  has  reached  92%.   Among  these  styles  testing,  
the   accuracy   of   the   first   prediction   of   Normcore,   Rebel   and   Western   styles   is   already   over  
90%.  According  to  the  hit  ratios  of  the  first  two  predictions,  the  Futuristic  style  category    is  the  
most  difficult  to  be  identified  through  the  algorithms.    
   
 

   
 
Figure  2.  Algorithms  Prediction  Test  
 

   
 
Figure  3.  Prediction  Accuracy  of  Each  Style  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

7.   OUTCOME  DISCUSSION      

Our  team  was  assigned  to  conduct  research  on  menswear  styling  taxonomy  and  have  delivered  a  
research   report   with   10   male   style   taxonomies   that   established   the   first   database   for   Genostyle  
menswear   styling   research   engine   during   the   three-­month   collaboration.   The   research   report  
contains   the   representative   looks   collection,   representative   influencers,   definition   of   each   style  
taxonomy,   representative   brands   of   each   style   and   the   curation   of   ‘mix-­n-­match’   looks   with  
identified   items.   Although   the   development   of   the   rising   technology   Artificial   Intelligence   (AI)   is  
intriguing   and   drawing   more   and   more   attention   from   almost   every   domain,   the   application   of  
such   technology   to   the   front-­end   in   fashion   is   still   not   common   yet.   The   team   was   honored   to  
work  with  Genostyle  as  members  of  explorers  to  investigate  the  possibilities  in  applying  Artificial  
Intelligence   to   ‘style   recognition’   by   co-­creating   and   elaborating   the   style   database   for   machine-­
learning.The   final   outcomes   resulted   from   a   profound   research   with   an   integral   process——
experts  consulting,  peer  interviewing  and  literature  reviewing  in  the  preliminary  steps,  a  divergent  
and   convergent   analysis   and   categorisation   conducted   within   the   visual   research   and   images  
collection,  a  deep  understanding  of  each  style  definition  and  finally  the  representative  information  
respectively  classified  to  the  corresponding  styles.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8.  IMPLICATION  FOR  FURTHER  RESEARCH    

As   the   first   team   to   work   on   the   ‘style-­customisation’   for   menswear   through   algorithm   with  
Genostyle,   this   research   can   be   considered   as   a   prototype   of   developing   the   menswear   style  
categorisation.   A   basic   provision   of   representative   brands,   influencers,   looks   and   items   frames  
the   repertoire   of   personalising   the   fashion   style.   Future   research   can   focus   on   further   image  
collection  with  the  established  style  taxonomies.  As  the  database  of  representative  images  grows,  
more  style  taxonomies  will  emerge  thus  improve  the  ability  of  style  research  engine.