One of the most beloved fashion events of the year, New York Fashion Week’s Fall 2024 season, was quite different from previous years. While this year, like every year, saw top brands showcasing their new collections, there was a twist: This year, prints created by AI were on the runway.
AI on the Runway: Redefining Fashion at New York Fashion Week Fall 2024
Seeing AI in the fashion world isn’t all that surprising, as many brands have been incorporating AI into their processes for some time now. However, AI has mostly played a backstage role. For tasks like calculating carbon impact, implementing virtual try-on technology, and optimizing supply chains, AI has been silently at work. But New York Fashion Week’s Fall 2024 season was different. At New York Fashion Week, AI took center stage, so to speak…
So, how did we see AI at Fashion Week? The answer lies in those beautiful prints. While there’s been much talk about AI’s involvement in various areas, prints hold a somewhat more symbolic meaning in the fashion world. Prints not only define designers’ seasonal collections but also set them apart from other brands. It’s a kind of signature…
Ethical Considerations and the Role of AI in Fashion Design
Fernando Garcia, Co-Creative Director of the Monse label, which used prints designed by AI for the first time at New York Fashion Week Fall 2024, stated, “Our design director found a way to make an eerie floral print feel very much of the brand. What we do is always take something that is familiar to you, like a flower, and fuck it up.”
As this statement suggests, prints truly are a brand’s signature. And when using AI, as Monse did, it’s possible to stay true to the essence of this signature.
As AI makes a swift entry into the fashion world, it brings with it some debates. The ethical discussions that began immediately after the introduction of AI software to the world are echoing in the fashion world as well. It’s worth mentioning two aspects of this debate regarding print making.
The first is the concern about AI replacing graphic designers. However, brands that incorporate AI into the design process are not worried about this because they see AI not as an employee replacing designers but as a tool assisting designers. In short, in the fashion world, for now, the approach to AI in print making is more like seeing it as a brush used by a graphic designer rather than as a graphic designer itself.
Navigating the Intersection of Fashion Design and Technology
The second focus of ethical debate is transparency. It seems that brands using AI in their designs may need to disclose this, as customers demand transparency. In fact, this aspect of the debate is being discussed across all creative sectors. In the publishing world, for example, readers are demanding that publishers using AI in translations disclose this in the credits.
Like any new technology, discussions about AI are likely to continue for some time. And these discussions indicate that there is a need to establish a common ethical understanding regarding the use of AI, which affects countless industries. When we manage to harness the numerous benefits of AI, spanning from ideation to execution, production to marketing, user experience to sustainability, while also safeguarding humanity, all sectors can look forward to a very interesting, appealing, and bright future.