Thread

Summary

Thread is a free online personal styling service, which was launched in 2012 in London. The personal shopping service learns about a consumer’s style, before serving up the best recommendations for clothes he or she should buy, with help from the platform’s algorithms and stylists. The company is on track to become a major player on the fashion landscape after securing £16.7m in funding from the H&M group.

History

Thread is a free online personal styling service, which was launched in 2012 in London. The personal shopping service learns about your style, before serving up the best recommendations for clothes you should buy, with help from the platform’s algorithms and stylists. The site uses online stylists, as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to create a personalised way to shop.

Thread has succeeded in securing a comprehensive offering. Among the hundreds of brands it stocks, there is a healthy mix of luxury- contemporary- and high street options. “If you try to do it with one, it doesn’t work,” O’Neill tells Guardian. “With just humans, it’s not scalable unless you charge a lot of money for it and then if its just algorithms, they don’t understand creativity and taste… by combining the best bits, we create an experience that we think is better than either can [provide] alone.”

Its service works like this: sign up without any payment- browse a selection of different styles and choose- and provide details about your age, fit and price range. Thimble searches through Thread’s wardrobe of app. five hundred partner brands ranging from high street retailers such as River Island and Marks Spencer to luxury brands like Burberry to offer the appropriate choices.

“We’ve been able to design Thread to be an AI-driven company from the beginning,” O’Neill told Evening Standard. “For example: as you use the service, it’s keeping track of what you look like, which clothes you look at: are you browsing for brown brogues or jeans, and based on how you behave, it’s learning to get better and better.

Thread has raised $22 million in a Series B funding round from Balderton Capital, Beringea, Forward Partners, and H&M group’s investment arm H&M CO:LAB, with participation from Maurice Helfgott and Sebastian Picardo. The company intends to use the funding to hire more AI specialists and ramp up its brand marketing efforts. The company has raised more than $40 million in funding so far.

Vision

Since its inception in 2012, Thread has aimed to revolutionize the online shopping experience by blending the personal touch of styling with the efficiency and accuracy of artificial intelligence. Positioned at the intersection of technology and fashion, Thread’s vision is to make style accessible to everyone. The platform accomplishes this by learning from users’ preferences and feedback to tailor clothing recommendations that reflect individual tastes. With its unique combination of machine learning algorithms and human stylists, Thread aspires to bring a personalized shopping experience to millions, redefining what it means to have a personal stylist.

By offering a curated selection that spans high street, contemporary, and luxury brands, Thread envisions itself as a one-stop destination where users of all backgrounds and budgets can find clothing that feels made for them. Recognizing that neither humans nor algorithms alone can meet the demands of modern consumers, Thread has prioritized a balanced approach, allowing both elements to complement each other in the recommendation process. This hybrid approach means that each user’s experience is tailored not only to style and fit preferences but also to nuances like creativity and taste, aspects that purely algorithm-driven platforms often lack.

Looking forward, Thread’s vision continues to be guided by its core principles of accessibility, personalization, and growth through technological advancement. With significant funding from industry leaders, Thread is poised to scale its operations and enhance its capabilities, especially in AI, to refine user experiences further. The company’s ambition is to grow its reach, empowering more individuals to find and develop their unique style while keeping the shopping experience seamless and deeply personalized. Through continuous improvement in AI and stylist integration, Thread aims to become the premier online styling service, embodying the future of personalized fashion.

Mission Statement

Thread’s mission is to make it easier for men to dress well by transforming the way they shop for clothes. The goal is to simplify the fashion experience, removing the stress and overwhelm that often come with endless choices. By combining the expertise of human stylists with advanced algorithms, Thread offers personalized recommendations tailored to each user’s style, fit, budget, and brand preferences. This approach ensures that every shopping experience feels effortless, helping men find clothes that genuinely reflect their personality and taste.

Thread’s commitment to personalization deepens as users spend more time on the platform. The technology continuously learns and adapts to each individual’s preferences, refining recommendations to become even more relevant with every interaction. This dynamic and evolving process makes shopping not only convenient but also enjoyable and intuitive, supporting men in dressing with confidence and ease. Ultimately, Thread’s mission is to provide an accessible and seamless styling service, empowering every man to build a wardrobe he feels great in.

Leadership Team

Founders Kieran O’Neill, Ben Kucsan, Ben Philips

Recognition and Awards

Threads is recognised for being a personal shopping service that learns about your style, before serving up the best recommendations for clothes you should buy, with help from the platform’s algorithms and stylists.

Products and Services

Thread’s service is designed to offer a personalized shopping experience by combining the creativity of professional stylists with the precision of AI. This innovative combination allows Thread to provide men with individually tailored outfit ideas, style advice, and product recommendations that cater specifically to their preferences. With over 1,000 of the world’s best brands available on the platform, users have access to an extensive range of styles, from high-street staples to luxury pieces, all curated to fit their unique tastes, sizes, and budgets. Thread makes fashion accessible without requiring a subscription, keeping its service entirely free for users, which sets it apart in the online styling space.

At the heart of Thread’s service is a commitment to customization and convenience. When a user shares their style, size, budget, and preferred brands, the AI learns and adapts over time, providing increasingly relevant suggestions as preferences evolve. This dynamic approach ensures that each user’s personalized shop feels like a true reflection of their current style journey, with recommendations that grow more accurate as the user engages with the platform. Whether looking for a complete wardrobe refresh or just a few new pieces, Thread makes it easy for men to shop confidently, helping them build a wardrobe that suits both their lifestyle and fashion sense effortlessly.

References

• Official website
• Online fashion platform Thread scoops H&M funding
• H&M leads investment drive into startup Thread Retail Gazette
• H&M invests in AI e-commerce site Fashion United
• H&M invests $13M in AI-driven menswear startup Thread Retail Dive
• London-based fashion e-commerce startup Thread lands $22 million tech.eu
• Facebook page of Thread Facebook
• Twitter page of Thread Twitter
• LinkedIn page of Thread LinkedIn
• H&M’s investment arm just took a stake in AI menswear personal shopper service Thread Evening Standard
• Thread Marketing Week
• Thread YCombinator