Exploring the Role of AI in Fashion Design

By now, most of us are aware that artificial intelligence (AI) is influencing almost every sector of the workplace. But whilst it seems understandable that this technology can help with data-heavy tasks, organising our to-do lists or writing emails, it can feel counterintuitive to use it within creative industries such as fashion design. Whilst AI is meant to think like a human, it doesn’t have an imagination – it’s strongest at recognising patterns, not coming up with original ideas. So does it have a place in the fashion industry?

In this post, we explore four ways AI may actually be able to help during the design process – not to remove the human element, but to give creators space to come up with their greatest ideas yet.

Understanding the customer

Most designers for fashion brands have an ideal customer in mind. This person influences the shape, fit, colour scheme and even the material of the clothing, ensuring that the design will sell well. Most companies will gather information about this customer via focus groups, online research and questionnaires, but this is time consuming, and there’s a limit to how much information a small team of people can gather. Plus, if you’re a solo designer, any research will take away from your creative time.

AI can help you dive deeper and gain key insights more quickly, searching the internet to gather information and pulling it together to create a customer persona. Additionally, it can bring together several datasets – for example, from social media and also from stores – to create a comprehensive picture of customer behaviour. Not only does this free up time within the team, but it can also reduce bias, creating personas based on data, rather than preconceived thoughts.

Trend prediction

One of the exciting – but often challenging – parts of fashion is that it is constantly changing. Not only is it seasonal by nature, but what’s on-trend also changes what companies need to produce to keep their customers happy. Whilst there’s been a move towards ‘timeless’ pieces in recent years, for sustainability reasons, that doesn’t mean there’s not a certain overall look that represents the style of the moment.

AI can help designers predict upcoming trends and see what is gathering interest online. Not only does this help inspire new looks, but from a commercial standpoint it means that products are more likely to be popular. It can also help business leaders make data-driven decisions about the direction the brand should go in the future.

Converting sketches into designs

Many designers find that their best inspiration comes when they’re out and about, leading them to jot down ideas in notebooks. It could be a motif, a full design, or simply some rough notes – but there’s still a way to go before this becomes a piece of clothing.

AI can help bring rough sketches to life, helping designers see their vision and share it with other people. AI programs may also be able to spark inspiration by providing alternatives, showing the design on different models or showing the designer similar products that they may have created before. 

Reducing waste

With sustainability at the forefront of an increasing number of customer’s minds, fashion businesses have to make changes if they want to stay competitive. Whilst AI can primarily help with reducing waste once the garment has gone to production, it has a role to play in the design and development stage too.

Technology can be used to create realistic images of how an item will look on a range of people, without even having to have a mock-up made. With this information, designers can tweak their plans until they have something they’re happy with. Only at this point will the prototype go into production – saving metres and metres of fabric that would have otherwise been wasted.

Making way for creativity

Rather than removing the need for human creativity, AI can act as a valued assistant, gathering valuable information for the designer and making their life as easy as possible. Whilst the entry of AI into creative industries can feel scary, with proper boundaries and respect for human input, it will become an important part of the fashion world.