Is Your Wardrobe Predicting an AI Bubble?

It’s not just Michael Burry comparing AI to the dot-com bubble, or dystopian reports that the tech could trigger massive unemployment, or even Berkshire Hathaway Inc. hoarding record cash: Fashion, too, is signaling economic danger.

After ruling sartorially for the past few years, the 1990s are finally giving way to another nostalgia trip: the 1980s. For retailers, the shift is necessary and much appreciated. Fresh looks help to drive purchases: Think the post-pandemic transition from skinny to wide-legged jeans. But for the broader economy the adjustment may be less welcome. The ‘80s, from which the latest styles take inspiration, was a period of excess, unleashing the animal spirits that led up to the 1987 stock market crash.