Unveiling Fashion’s Futuristic Frontier: The First AI Fashion Show

- - Fashion Shows, Technology, Trends

The first AI Fashion Week 2023 (Photo Credit: Trendland)

In the ever-evolving realm of fashion, where creativity knows no bounds, a groundbreaking event has captured the world’s attention – New York City’s first-ever AI Fashion Week (AIFW). Though it was billed as a ‘fashion week’ the event was held on April 20 and 21, 2023 at Soho’s Spring Place, the iconic location of past IRL New York Fashion Week shows. The concept for the AI show was spearheaded by visionary minds at Maison Meta, the world’s first AI generative agency founded in New York City in 2022 by Cyril Foiret, in partnership with next-generation online retailer Revolve Group.

The first-of-its-kind event (which doubled as a competition), attracted over 12,000 registrations from global participants. Submissions from 133 digital artists and designers were selected and evaluated by an expert jury that included REVOLVE founder and co-CEO Michael Mente, Head of Fashion Innovation Agency Matthew Drinkwater, renowned makeup artist Dame Pat McGrath and Vogue Japan Head of Content, Tiffany Godoy.

Maison Meta unveiled the top 10 AIFW finalists, who were judged by another panel of industry experts that included Dame Pat McGrath, Vogue Japan’s head of editorial content, Tiffany Godoy, Céline casting director, Natalie Hazzout, and Erika Wykes-Sneyd of the Adidas Studio Web3. Maison Meta invited the public to take part by voting for the collections they liked the best on its website. Three of the winners will have their AI-generated designs produced and sold by REVOLVE for the real world.

At its simplest form, artificial intelligence is a field which combines computer science and robust datasets to enable problem-solving.

With strict guidelines in place, designers were not allowed to use prompts that relied on the work of exisiting designers’ work. Rather, they were encouraged to use heavily researched prompts in order to create wholly unique ideas. The results shattered preconceived notions by positioning artificial intelligence as a co-designer rather than a replacement for human ingenuity. Designers collaborated closely with the algorithms, guiding them to refine their output and infuse their distinctive artistic visions. This dynamic partnership between human creativity and machine learning algorithms birthed designs that were greater than the sum of their parts, displaying a harmonious synergy between man and machine.

Fashion Industry Early AI Adopters

Valentino was one of the first fashion houses to launch an AI-generated campaign, which blended AI-generated props & models and actual product photography with Photoshop. Fashion enthusiasts have also created their own idealistic brand mashups and campaign treatments with AI, such as the viral AI-generated Nike x Tiffany collaboration imagined by digital artist Rickdick using Midjourney.

The Future of AI for the Fashion Industry

This extraordinary union of technology and style is already refining the very essence of fashion, pushing the boundaries of human imagination and welcoming artificial intelligence into the design realm. Imagine a world where algorithms become brushes and pixels transform into fabrics, where data-driven creativity takes center stage.

The first AI Fashion Show served as a portal into this future, showcasing an ensemble of AI-generated designs that fused artistry and innovation in ways never seen before. This avant-garde spectacle transported attendees to a realm where fashion met artificial intelligence, and the possibilities seemed endless.

AI algorithms, fueled by vast amounts of fashion data and trained to detect patterns and predict trends, will be able to conjure designs that transcend the boundaries of human imagination.

Join UoF in celebrating the 10 AI Fashion Show winners who have, to quote the famous Star Trek line, “To boldly go where no man/one has gone before.” Click on each designer’s link to see their bio, the software used to create their designs and their entire AI collection.

I Fashion week top 10

Alves Knop – Brazil, Annatarian by Anna Leighton – LA, Anya Klyueva – Moscow and Aria Phenix – Braz

 

I Fashion week top 10

Chu/Rayshaun Smith – Houston, Gaby Roses – Uruguay, Gianluca Traina – Italy,  Matilda Mariano – Portugal

I Fashion week top 10

Ope/Style Star – USA and Paatiff/Jose Sobral – Portugal (Image credits: AIFashionweek.com)

As fashion continues its inexorable evolution, the first AI Fashion Show serves as a poignant reminder that the journey into the uncharted territories of fashion’s future has only just begun. If you’re interested in creating AI fashion we recommend checking out these artificial intelligence computer programs and prompts to generate images from natural text: Midjourney and Stable Diffusion. 

Brush up on your digital skills with UoF CAD Fashion Art lessons in Photoshop, Illustrator and 3D Browzwear software.

So tell us, are you ready to create fashion for the world of A.I.?

 

 

 

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Francesca Sterlacci & Antonia Sardone

Francesca Sterlacci is the CEO of University of Fashion (UoF) which she founded in 2008 as the first online fashion video library bringing the art and craft of fashion design and business to schools, libraries, organizations and the general public. As owner of her eponymous label for ten years, her collection sold in fine stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, Barneys and Nordstrom. As a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology for 11 years, she became Chair of the Fashion Design Department where she initiated the complete revision of their AAS and BFA degree programs, as well as wrote three certificate programs: Leather Fashion Design, Outerwear and Haute Couture. Francesca has also taught graduate level fashion design at the Academy of Art University San Francisco for six years, both on site and online. Her publishing accomplishments include: Leather Apparel Design, the Historical Dictionary of the Fashion Industry (First and Second Editions), the A-Z of the Fashion Industry, Leather Fashion Design and a 3-volume beginner series on Draping, Pattern Making and Sewing designed to complement the UoF lessons. She has also made literary contributions to both the Encyclopedia of Clothing & Fashion and You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Women. Francesca holds an AAS, BA and an MSEd (master’s degree in higher education). ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Antonia Sardone is a new contributor to the University of Fashion. She is also a freelance fashion consultant, stylist and writer. Antonia Sardone graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with a degree in Advertising Communications, Marketing and Fashion Journalism. She is an industry veteran having worked for WWD for over fifteen years and has strong relationships with designers worldwide. Today, Antonia Sardone continues to write reviews for WWD as well as work with many contemporary designers on a variety of projects from helping to re-launch their websites to writing their brand books. She enjoys raising her children to be creative individuals, as well as styling, writing and traveling.