Could advances in AI fashion design signal the beginning of the end for the industry?
As companies start to experiment with artificial intelligence, experts have begun to question whether machines can truly be creative when it comes to clothing
Amazon’s new artificially intelligent fashion designer may not be ready to vie with real-world fashion giants, but it raises questions about the fashion industry’s creative future.
Hong Kong tech expert Tak Lo, who runs the AI start-up factory Zeroth, says he is captivated by AI’s creative advances. Lo expects to see further advancements in the industry, believing that creativity is less complicated than people think. “The creative process is actually very standardised,” he says.
According to Lo, at their most basic level, designers essentially analyse previous work, assess what is trending, then test a few styles – some are commercially successful, others are not. In his view, a mathematical model can mirror that process. “If you break down the creative process in this way, it’s not surprising that an algorithm can follow the same process and create fashion,” Lo says.
China’s AI industry has this one huge advantage over the US
Futurist William Stubbs also believes that AI is set to disrupt the fashion sector and says some powerful creative precedents already exist. For instance, video game designers can use computer algorithms to design levels, characters and more, Stubbs says. In fact, one design studio, Hello Games, crafted a self-generating, artificial universe called No Man’s Sky.