The winter of 2024 has already been fading. We are slowly starting to enjoy the sunshine more, drifting away from the seasonal blues to new horizons. Spring fashion is the messenger of things getting a bit more creative. Statements executed on the podiums slowly get a chance to spark some ideas on what we want to look like when everything is glowing bright. After the anniversary of generative AI booming last year, we ask with much enthusiasm: Is this the year of AI fashion?
The Evolution of Generative AI in Fashion and Design
Generative AI has been evolving in many aspects. Even though AI and algorithms have been in our lives for many years now, generative AI as a creative tool has never been so revolutionary with the things that it’s been offering to the creative sectors. Clothing is only one of those sectors that are yet to be influenced by the amplifying effects of generative AI but still hasn’t been explored as much as the music and writing industries. Innovation Agency, which is a part of London College of Fashion, has been exploring AI as a design assistant for a while. The head of the Innovation Agency, Matthew Drinkwater states that AI could be a “hugely beneficial tool” which might lead a big part of the creative industry.
Drinkwater and his team have been collecting data from different websites to create a pool of images which has now reached more than 40,000 contents. This work has even made the AI process faster than before, letting them generate quick designs from their smartphones and laptops. Senior partner of the international consultancy firm McKinsey & Company, Achim Berg and colleagues report that 73 percent of recently surveyed global fashion executives say their companies will prioritize generative AI in the upcoming year. This revolutionary tool helps many companies get ahead of the game by understanding the technology better while exploring AI’s capabilities of mixing, matching and stitching different patterns and layers together. While generative AI is quite new in the game, Achim also states that 62 percent of the fashion leaders have already been in use of AI, for its other capabilities, such as online shopping assistance and generating product descriptions.
Creative Possibilities of Generative AI in Fashion
Now that spring has sprung and AI is still developing, it has become such a fun tool to explore, experiment and execute. These 3 exes’ will not remind you of your ex, we promise. While there are still snitches and snatches whilst using different generative AI platforms, it is as fun as someone playing with synthesizers in the 20th century when the technology was new to them and there are many things to explore. An article in Business of Fashion explains that the accelerating nature of the industry, with great anticipation from the business owners as well as creatives, the early trials even showed a promising start, which holds great potential to become a part of the production chain of the design world.
Many brands have already been using generative AI in their design, due to lower costs, speed and creativity. Brands like Ganni have used AI in their runway for Spring/Summer 2024, proving that fashion AI could be a great way to hold on to trends, understand the consumers and keep the brand innovative. In addition to that, Collina Strada and Heliot Emil, two different fashion brands have ventured into collaborations with generative AI, introducing their previous designs to their AI tool, and adding new features and patches to their unique lines of clothing.
Generative AI has become such a great way to not only create moodboards, but also curate a portfolio of the ideas that are brought together by the designer. AI has already stepped onto the field of fashion in the last year. With new trials that excite the industry, we are looking forward to witnessing the amplified creativity that AI will bring to the fashion of 2024.