The use of AI in the fashion industry has grown significantly in recent years. The global market for AI fashion was reportedly at $270 million in 2018 and is projected to grow to $4.4 billion by 2027 — proof that companies are recognizing the extensive potential of AI. Some feel threatened by AI, thinking it will eventually take over the jobs of creatives and designers, whereas others see it as a tool.
— The objective is to bounce ideas back and forth to make you think better and also to speed up the process so that designers can be more sensitive to the market’s needs, says Kim Wong, founder of the fashion design platform AiDA to digital platform Jing Daily. Wong likens AI design to using a sewing machine. It needs human input for results.
MidGAN
Elmo Mistiaen, the founder and Brussels-based designer of the brand @Aidesign.png, designs clothing collections using artificial intelligence. The designer is influenced by street fashion in combination with oversize proportions and some elements of surrealism. The collections are not real, and hence not able to be bought.
Mistiaen uses the AI tool MidGAN from the research lab MidJourney to create his images. A generative adversarial network (GAN) is trained on a dataset of images and then able to generate new images that are similar to those in the training set. It does this by using a system of two neural networks — a generator and a discriminator — that work together to create new images. The generator creates an image, and the discriminator tries to determine if the image is real or fake. The generator then uses the feedback from the discriminator to improve its image-creation abilities, and the process continues until the generator is able to produce highly realistic images.
CALA
CALA is an AI-powered operation system for the fashion industry. The idea is for CALA to be a step-by-step tool for fashion brands. From product ideation to e-commerce enablement and order fulfilment, all under the roof of the same digital platform. Andrew Wyatt co-founder and CEO of CALA hopes AI will lower the barrier for new designers to enter the industry and for veteran designers to use it as a way to innovate their ideas and overcome creative barriers. CALA uses Dall-E’s AI system, unlocking the possibility for users to create new design ideas from text descriptions or through uploaded reference images. Dall-E uses a process called ”diffusion”, it starts with a pattern of random dots and gradually alters that pattern towards an image when it recognizes specific aspects of that image. This creates realistic images stemming from the text descriptions.
GORE-TEX x NEWFACET
In this year’s Paris fashion week, Gore-Tex showroom invited to an encounter through the past and the future. The clothing line called Selected Memories of Functionality combines two different AIs to create an imaginary Gore-Tex collection. Human curator @advanced.research joined forces with graphic designer @new.facet to create the pieces. Using actual Gore-Tex products from the 1980s and 1990s in combination with different themes such as sustainability, versatility, mobility and keywords such as imaginary, the pieces were created through the text-to-image application stable diffusion. ”Newfacet” is an experimental project researching the possibilities of artificial intelligence within future fashion.
JACQUEMUS x NIKE
Designer Marco Simonetti of RAL7000STUDIO has experimented with AI and created a concept collection while playing with the idea of a collaboration between JACQUEMUS and Nike. The collection gives exclusive ski vibes with snowboard boots, puffer duffels, elastic ski masks and knitted sunglasses. The designer envisions the collection to be displayed in a pop-up space in the Courchevel slopes. The pop-up itself is also made in AI. The JACQUEMUS X Nike pop-up store space in Courchevel would be the ultimate destination for skiers and snowboarders to find their next season’s wardrobe and accessories.
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