What Does the AI ​​Design Hype Mean for Fashion?

In late December 2022, months after the official collaboration had debuted, images of a visually delicious Jacquemus x Nike ski collection surfaced. The smooth textures, soothing hues and cartoonish silhouettes immediately attracted netizens in China and the rest of the world. The catch? They were not physically real.

Created by shoe designer Marco Simonetti and his co-founding collective RAL7000STUDIO, all clothing and accessories are digital only – created by artificial intelligence (AI). But that didn’t stop social media from exploding. TikToker @ebonybrownstyle sums up the buzz, declaring that Simonetti “has the fashion world on edge.”

The fact that the AI ​​pieces of the RAL7000STUDIO saw more interest than the actual Jacquemus x Nike collection itself shows just how much potential the technology has. According to Simonetti, AI concepts can be simply explained as “the ability of a computer to exhibit human-like abilities, stimulating and enhancing human creativity, with the goal of finding innovative ideas and thought processes.”

Fueled by the ideas of actual designers and artists, AI software can use these as fuel to produce endless designs. “With AI, any creator has the ability to evolve any initial idea or sketch into multiple design options, creating unlimited iterations of the same concept,” adds Simonetti. It’s a quick creative process. He believes that, if endorsed by brands and luxury houses, designers can use their time more efficiently.

One of the bags created by AI for RAL7000STUDIO’s Jacquemus x Nike. Photo: RAL7000STUDIO

As Simonetti points out, all the major sportswear brands are already working with forms of the technology, and luxury houses have used it in their fashion. Global market for AI fashion was RECITED to $270 million (RMB 1.8 billion) in 2018 and is projected to grow to $4.4 billion (RMB 29.8 billion) by 2027; proof that companies are recognizing the vast potential.

Also making moves in the space is Code-Create, a spinoff of the Artificial Intelligence in Design Lab, which introduced the world’s first fashion design AI platform Aidan in December 2022. says the company’s co-founder Kim Wong Jing Daily that there are benefits beyond reducing workload.

“The goal is to bounce ideas back and forth to make you think better and also to speed up the process so that designers are more sensitive to the needs of the market,” says Wong, who likens AI design to using a sewing machine. It needs human input for results.

In that case, the myth of AI stealing real design jobs can be partially debunked. Designers should think of themselves as working alongside computers, rather than against them. Although naturally, as the knowledge of these design concepts feels foreign to most creators in 2023, there is still a sense of dread.

Patrick McDowell, founder of his London-based fashion label, asks if we should trust AI “like we would trust a design team to create pieces for us? The worry is, will they take it over completely ? Will it render us useless? It’s scary. But maybe it’s the future.” He emphasizes the importance of human emotions in fashion design, which cannot be replicated in the same way. “Fashion is much more than just a great product. We buy the story and the brand.”

He notes how the implications of technology extend beyond notions of creativity and the individual. “As someone whose roots are in sustainability, this is also a question I have. Can we use AI to solve these issues? Can AI ensure that we treat people and the planet right?” In fact – and although it may initially seem to raise the issue of overproduction (in terms of the sheer amount of what it can produce) – there is a important benefit for saving waste.

The rapid response nature of AI means it can meet regional needs. And so production no longer needs to be done six months in advance, which means a reduction in overscaling. This is an essential benefit: in terms of pollution it is the fashion industry second, after the oil and gas sector.

Accounts like AI Clothing Daily have so many fans who wish digital clothing could be purchased. Photo: AI Clothing Daily Instagram

While sustainability may be the moral rationale for AI design, it’s the actual visuals that are winning over consumers. From the Jacquemus x Nike collection of RAL7000STUDIO, to the inventions that emerge from @AIClothingDaily, there is an added complication to these sci-fi concepts. It has brought a whole new dimension to design. With the recent explosion of NFTs, it should be noted that the creativity and art of Web3 often relies on AI design and algorithms. As this sector enters the world of fashion, the implications for the future could be huge.

As Simonetti notes, “AI can give a luxury brand the opportunity to engage a wider community of potential consumers by creating new areas of action, halfway between dream and reality.”