AI Fashion Design

Written by Tirsa Parrish

Technology has become such an integral part of our lives that most of us don’t even think about it. Artificial intelligence (AI) seems like a new and, to some, scary advancement but you likely use it everyday without knowing. Siri and Alexa are AI as is the autocomplete when you’re texting and the grammar check in your email. AI in fashion seems counterintuitive because we often think that only the human brain can be creative when it comes to design.

AI Trends

AI is in the headlines and a topic on late-night talk shows because it’s so readily available and produces some amazing results (outstanding or hilarious is in the eye of the beholder). ChatGPT is an AI that will interact with the user in a conversational way after simple text prompts. It made the news because students quickly realized they could use the software to write entire essays for their schoolwork.

Others have used this technology to make songs. Not only will ChatGPT write the lyrics based on the user's input, but it will generate the melody and chord progression with more specific information.

DALL-E is an AI that creates high quality images and art. Synthesia is an AI that makes complete videos. All these programs paved the way for generative AI used in fashion design. About 60 percent of creators have used the AI platform Midjourney to create their pieces for the upcoming AI Fashion Week. This AI has a robust image set that gives really high-quality images so they are more realistic or fantastic depending on the direction you want the designs to go.

There are many ways AI can be used in the fashion design process. AI algorithms can predict trends and analyze customer preferences. With this information, fashion businesses can create designs that are more likely to be popular with their target market and reduce the risk of producing designs that don't sell. The technology can also help reduce marketing costs, hyperpersonalize customer communications, and speed up processes.

AI Fashion Week

New York will host the first AI Fashion Week (AIFW) April 20 - 21 at Spring Studios. This will be a showcase of collections from emerging AI designers. It features both online and in real life (IRL) collections for attendees, showcasing artists’ renditions of virtual runways, clothing collections, accessories, and much more. The event is a competition for the designers with the public judging via the AIFW app and in-person. Ten finalists from the April show will move on to round 2 in May. There, a jury of industry experts including  Michael Mente, Revolve CEO and co-founder, will pick three winners. 

AI Generated fashion expected for the competition. Left to right: Maison Meta, METAMORPHIX, Dreaming Digitally. Images via fashionweek.ai

A key design requirement is that it must be possible to physically produce the garments submitted. This requires the human designers to step in, revise and amend their input prompts for the AI to ensure the output is eligible.

This is where fashion expertise comes in. “Translating the design into a production process will be needed,” says Holger Harreis. “Right now, human intelligence will still be needed in this step. Parts might be generative AI-supported, but it will stay human-centric for a while.”

The winning collections will be made with support from AIFW’s fashion-tech incubator and sold online, either via Revolve or Fwrd, Revolve’s luxury site, depending on the garments. Designers will receive support throughout the launch process, including with pattern making, sample development and marketing and communications. 

According to Cyril Foiret, founder of digital publication Trendland and AI creative studio Maison Meta, the event is specifically designed to bridge the physical and the digital. “It’s about mixing both worlds together,” Foiret says. 

Image via pinecrestfabrics.com

Jena Nesbitt, Trendforcaster

Jena Nesbitt from Pine Crest Fabrics is making her debut at AIFW. Nesbitt is passionate about digital evolution in the fashion and textile industry. She has spent her career doing trend forecasting for the fashion industry and she believes this gives an advantage in working with AI.

Trend forecasters spend their time looking at images and describing them. This skill set gives her the language necessary for Midjourney to understand and translate her text prompts to start and edit her AI design process. 

The inspiration for Jena’s collection is the intersection of history, nature, and culture. She is based in Oregon and loves the Painted Hills. This is a local area of great natural beauty but it is also steeped in history. It is an area of geologic significance with extensive fossil beds and unique flora and fauna.

The indigenous people were nomadic so didn’t settle in this area but rather moved through it seasonally. These ideas were put into the text prompts to create the designs but the landscapes are also used as the virtual backdrops for her show.

Images courtesy Jena Nesbitt, Pine Crest Fabrics

AI Changing The Fashion Industry

As a macrotrend in fashion, Jena sees the effects of environmental and societal footprint from production practices and where we choose to make clothing. But in the push to limit the negative effects, there has been a lot of talk about 3D design.

It’s a different idea than physical clothing but one that will be among the first integrations of the AI technology into fashion production. She sees it integrating into image 2D or 3D modeling as well. The AI generated images will still have to be cleaned and perfected to make them usable in the physical world.

The next step would be into 3D patternmaking. This technology will change the workflows and processes currently used. Designers will still come from a point of inspiration and find a way to make that into clothing and tell a story through their designs.  

Human Ingenuity Is Still Needed

Experienced fashion professionals are still needed to translate many of the AI generated designs into something that is feasible for construction. These designs need to be interpreted into something for the physical world. Even for designs that will be based in the digital world like NFT clothing and accessories, an understanding of patternmaking and construction is necessary to make the desired shapes. 

In the initial adoption, many designers may use AI as an inspiration sketchbook. The output will be images that are far more detailed and intricate and that can be easily adjusted unlike if you were making a digital or physical drawing or making a physical prototype for a  photoshoot. All of these mediums can be time consuming and expensive. Traditional design also has the limitation of the designer’s own imagination.

AI can help a designer find things they didn’t recognize as beautiful or that would have been conceptualized on their own. A discussion is already being had around how derivative AI designs could become as they need specific prompts. Are creators using AI really coming up with new ideas or is the AI just merging ideas from other people so coming from a unique imagination.

Download the AIFW app to follow the show live and vote for your favorite collections!