Should fashion be afraid of artificial intelligence?

New York, June 2023 The Marc Jacobs fashion show is causing a stir. First of all, because the models go by at breakneck speed, every 3 minutes, with a watch in hand. Then, because the show brochure, which should describe the designer’s inspirations in a few words, is written by… ChatGPT, a language model developed by OpenAI. A first. For Marc Jacobs, known for his sardonic humor, satire exercises emptiness. Way to go for this representative of Generation Distance as well. But Marc Jacobs isn’t the only one trying to break into this universe. After Metaverse and NFTs, generative artificial intelligence is a new technology that shakes the environment and enforces its codes. And in fashion, where constant innovation is synonymous with survival, many are trying, with varying degrees of success.

Last April, back in New York, the first Fashion Week was held, which was completely dedicated to AI. Founded a year ago by Frenchman Cyril Fouire, Maison Meta (no relation to Mark Zuckerberg’s company), which specializes in generative intelligence, the initiative gave young creatives of all backgrounds and backgrounds the opportunity to showcase AI-based collections. .

Parade in the form of publicity stunts

Completely dematerialized, this Fashion Week therefore took place online and on screens at Spring Studios in Soho. Understand. no real models, no real clothes, but runway images created exclusively by generative AI like Stable Diffusion or Midjourney (for the most popular). To be able to present 15 to 30 looks, the candidates therefore “fed” the AI ​​software with a few words of instruction and inspiration (read the box at the end of the article) before reworking the produced images in Photoshop. . Decor, models, backstage, front row, accessories, everything was there and the result was quite stunning, despite a few mistakes that betrayed the interference of the car. Three finalists were chosen from over 350 entries by a panel of judges, which included makeup artist Pat McGrath. The three winners (including several architects from Portugal) will soon have the opportunity to see their creations produced and sold on the Revolve e-commerce website.

Many brands also use AI to launch viral campaigns or change their codes. The young Casablanca label, founded by Franco-Moroccan Charaf Tajer, has completely designed its spring-summer 2023 campaign using artificial intelligence to create images in collaboration with British photographer and artist Luke Nugent. As for the house of Chanel, it has been admitted that the apprentice digital wizards are revisiting the legendary Numéro 5 bottles in a fashion line designed by artificial intelligence and photographer Guido Mocafico (for the magazine Exhibition) One thing is certain, the world of fashion is feverish. It’s normal, according to a recent report by the McKinsey consulting firm, artificial intelligence could generate $150 billion to $275 billion in revenue for the fashion and luxury industry in the next three years. And add $2,600 to $4,400 billion to the global economy every year.

AI is already in vogue everywhere

For Vincent Gregoire, Director of Nellie Rodi’s Trends Office, we are on the brink of major disruption in the industry because “the rate of adoption of these new tools is stratospheric.” If AI seems like a new fad, in practice its applications are already established in business, “particularly in the areas of marketing research and customer experience, or probabilistic calculations to know what will work in relation to mined data. from social networks,” explains Vincent Gregoire. Signs indeedultra fast fashionThe likes of China’s Shein are already using AI and algorithms to partially design product models that will flood the market; this is called “assisted creation”.

Entrepreneur and artist Paul Mogino knows these subjects well; a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence (he is the head of the creation studio Aurèce Vettier and the data mining startup Stabler), teaches at the French Fashion Institute. on topics related to technology and artificial intelligence and notably collaborated with Gucci for a virtual perfume collection. He says. “Design saw the first wave of AI adoption between 2013 and 2018, when algorithms became more accessible to small businesses. Now we’re seeing a second wave fueled by the fact that we have interfaces that are easier for the general public to use. We’ve talked a lot about ChatGPT, but there are already much more sophisticated AIs in the fashion profession, such as this tool developed by academics in Hong Kong, AiDA, used by fashion students, which allows you to create look and go. to the final copy.’ As a true techno-enthusiast, Paul Mohignot believes that AI is not really a threat and believes that “only people who don’t know these topics well say that AI will completely ‘automate us’.”

For him, people remain the basis of creativity. He adds: “The future is hybrid. For example, a campaign shot in physics, which, however, will integrate parameters whose forms are created by artificial intelligence… It is this ping-pong between machine and man that will enable the creation of rich and new images. Production studios are already interested in coming up with some pretty crazy sets visually.” Some have embraced it, like Undiz recently, which offered images for an ad campaign with AI-generated models and settings (but swimwear that was well thought out by humans). But what happens to the imagination if it’s the machine that samples and rearranges everything instead of the designer’s brain? What about creativity?

Deus vs machine.

Paul Moginot is clear that artificial intelligence is another tool available to designers. “Obviously it depends on the creative approach of the houses. But I’m thinking, for example, of Balenciaga, whose artistic director Demna once explained that to design his shows, he put the team’s inspirations in very small “shelves” and then did a kind of synthesis, combining Balenciaga’s own the vision. codes to render your own interpretation. This preparatory work approaches the activities of the AI. One of the most relevant collaborations between artificial intelligence and fashion for me is the collaboration of pioneering artist Robbie Barratt with Acne Studios in 2020. He trained artificial neural networks with images from all the brand’s past collections. The end result was interesting, it made it possible to introduce unexpected patterns, particularly in cuts… AI is a bit of a reinvention of the mood board,” he concludes.

Vincent Gregoire joins him. “AI is an extraordinary help for creators, especially for this generation Z born with a digital culture. We are in the midst of a new wonder, a new aesthetic of re-creation, hybridization, a kind of delicate creative corpse, sometimes with copyright issues that this culture of sampling has spawned. He elaborates. “Of course, this can enrich the creativity, but the imagination must already be there… Nothing can replace the person, the lived experience, the experience, the emotions and the small flaws that make up the creativity of the big names in fashion. » Before the warning. But who knows, maybe we’ll see the return of an eccentric and brilliant designer like Galliano or McQueen. May the god of AI hear it.

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