Tech optimist : One hopeful girl questions how developments in AI will change fashion
With almost every office workflow today being driven by an AI-powered tool, be it Gemini or Co-Pilot, the question of how AI will affect the fashion industry is widely debated amongst those obsessed with the latest fall trends. Many, myself included, are curious about how AI will impact certain aspects of fashion, particularly personal branding, creative integrity and sustainability. LLMs and predictive algorithms are most likely going to change people’s interactions with each other’s phygital selves, particularly as digital fashion evolves. I contacted some experts to hear their thoughts on the matter.
Recently there has been a shift in how we market ourselves to one another- no longer through brand names and logos but through online identity archetypes and aesthetics like fairycore or tomato girl. Considering AI’s influence and convenience, what will the next craze be and how will it affect those consuming products to emulate individuality? I believe that the microtend cycle will inevitably slow down as consumers grow bored and critical of endless products lacking in quality and longevity, especially as recession indicators, expensive groceries and criticisms of “performative men” go viral amongst fashion content creators and help those obsessed with seemingly raw authenticity find new communities. I hypothesise that those monetizing parasocial relationships and engaging in subtle marketing will continue to sell their lifestyles for as long as they are able to prove their humanity. Outside of influencer marketing, I believe that classic quirky editorial shoots will have renewed appeal, and will likely be edited with the help of AI tools and elements.
Additionally, how can we mitigate AI’s energy consumption and use it to aid the creation of VR and AR fashion (think companies like DRESS X)? Even AI integrated into design tools like CLO3D could help as a means for sustainable self-expression, as AI can create garment patterns with minimal textile waste. whilst also slowing down the ever-rapidly polluting fast fashion industry? AI powered second hand shopping tools like Phia help slow fashion lovers to find their dream pre-loved pieces and slow down the consumption cycle of the ever growing fast-fashion industry. Other fascinating potential solutions include bio textiles created by knitting / crocheting bioplastic polymers or living pieces such as Iris Van Herpen’s bioluminescent dress.
RE_CONSIDERED:
RE_CONSIDERED is an upcycling design house, dedicated to reducing waste in the fashion industry. Their proprietary product, Fabreco, is a solid material made from textile waste (offcuts from the manufacturing floor, and clothing that can't be resold or reworn). They create home decor, jewellery, and furniture out of Fabreco - turning their customer's waste into beautiful, usable, pieces of art.
On how we can manage fast fashion waste, either by consuming less or by engineering new solutions:
“First, we need a mindset and behavioural shift around consuming less. This isn’t about inventing something new, it’s about returning to older habits like repairing clothes, reusing items, and taking better care of what we already own. For example, learning basic sewing skills or using local repair services can extend a garment's life significantly. At the same time, modern tools can make these traditional practices more accessible- rental platforms like HURR or second-hand apps like Vinted and Depop encourage circular fashion. For items that do need replacing, innovations in bio-materials, like mushroom leather or lab-grown silk offer more sustainable alternatives to traditional virgin materials, reducing environmental harm. Combining old wisdom with new tech gives us a more sustainable path forward.”
On whether AI will slow down the fast fashion industry or whether a new generation of faster fashion evolve:
“On one hand, AI can help accelerate the fast fashion industry by predicting trends in real-time, automating design, and optimising supply chains for quicker turnaround (like we’ve seen with SHEIN). On the other hand, AI also has the potential to support more sustainable practices. It can reduce waste by improving demand forecasting, and power platforms that promote second-hand, rental, or made-to-order models. This being said, the environmental impact of AI itself is significant, raising serious questions about whether its integration into sustainable fashion would truly be a net good.”
Kayleigh-Ann Myles (Founder of Save The Planet Society):
On whether can we manage fast fashion waste by consuming less or by engineering new solutions :
“We can’t engineer our way out of a culture built on excess. Suzy Menkes once said that fashion should be about “grace, not speed.” That’s become almost laughably out of sync with the industry we see now powered by mass production, trend-hopping, and social media-fuelled impulse buys. As someone working in sustainability and ESG reporting, I’ve seen how companies often lean on “innovation” to avoid accountability. Circular tech, biodegradable materials, digital IDs, these are tools, not saviours. They mean nothing if we don’t cut the volume. The most radical solution isn’t a new fabric, it’s old wisdom: buy less, wear longer, repair, repeat. Fashion waste is a design failure, yes, but it’s also a failure of values. We’ve outsourced responsibility to the supply chain for so long that we’ve forgotten the most basic truth: waste starts at the sketch. No solution is sustainable if it ignores the overproduction crisis driving everything else.”
On whether AI will slow down or create faster fashion in the industry:
“I see two very different realities and which one becomes dominant depends entirely on the humans driving the machine. On one hand, we’re not just entering a new fast fashion era, we're entering a frictionless one. AI is stripping away the creative pauses that once shaped fashion: inspiration, sketching, sourcing, feedback. In seconds, it can generate thousands of trend-responsive designs based on TikTok or Pinterest data. That’s not creativity, it’s algorithmic mimicry. Fashion “has always been a mirror of the world.”
But what happens when the mirror is broken, or worse, made by machines scraping the work of uncredited artists? In this reality, AI accelerates the extractive cycle. It’s fashion without reflection, fashion without accountability.
But there’s another possibility. In the sustainability and ESG world I work in, we’re using AI very differently to slow things down, not speed them up. AI can help us meet climate targets by tracing and tagging garments from raw material to warehouse, tracking inputs, energy use, human labour, and emissions in real time. That means knowing not just what a product is made of, but who made it, where, how, and at what cost socially and environmentally. Imagine a system where AI ensures accurate sorting for reuse, where it flags violations in carbon reduction roadmaps, or identifies greenwashing claims before they hit the market. This is not about aesthetic generation, it's about data-driven accountability.So no, AI doesn’t have to fuel faster fashion. But if we let profit dictate how it's used, it will. The tool is neutral. The impact is not.”
Another important thing to consider is how governance in regards to AI and IP will evolve. The ethics around AI and creative work is a grey area. Perhaps it would be best to only scrape content that is no longer under copyright protection? Ideally, maybe AI companies would publish reports on their data usage and 3rd parties accessing it for transparency and would make AI a publicly available tool as well.
Irakli Beridze,Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, United Nations, UNICRI:
On how AI governance is evolving from a UN standpoint:
"AI governance is evolving towards a more inclusive, values-driven approach that balances innovation with responsibility. Innovation is critical, and regulations should not hinder it, instead, they must be designed to maximise the benefits of AI while minimising its risks. This applies equally to the creative industries, which are powerful drivers of culture, identity, and economic growth. Embedding principles such as transparency, accountability, and respect for human rights into AI’s role in the creative sphere will help protect creators’ rights, preserve diversity of expression, and foster public trust in the technologies shaping our shared future."
Additionally, many are wondering whether it truly is creatives vs. AI ? I am more inclined to believe that the future looks more like creatives with AI tools vs. the use of generative AI. I think the next generation of creatives includes creative coders, builders, craftspeople, makers, a combination of engineers and artists? That way, we are less likely to fall victim to AI taking the joy and sense of ownership out of creative endeavors. We should use tech to realise our ideas, not replace or hinder our thought processes. In terms of fashion- think robotic haute couture and the Instagram account @SheBuildsRobots.
Adrian Holme - Lecturer MA Art and Science at CSM
On whether AI will affect creative processes of individuals:
"This question of the diminishing of human creative satisfaction is something that goes back a long way, at least to the 1800s and movements such as Arts and Crafts. So it's an old concern. You also have the concept of 'alienation' in the writings of Karl Marx. Part of this, to crudely summarise, is that people begin to relate through commodities, and this alienates us not only from our work but from other people.
So we could see the advent of AI as one more aspect of 'automation' which threatens to alienate us from the product of our own labour, and from the process of creating, and also to alienate us from one another. At the same time it is more complicated... because the AI systems become incorporated into the creative process, just as Photoshop did, or InDesign or other 'tools'. And so they become part of the process of creation and can allow you to create things that would otherwise be impossible (think of the way 3D printing can allow you to make forms that would otherwise be more or less impossible, or at least fearsomely difficult to make). So like everything else it isn't a simple 'black and white' issue. It's more complicated."
Overall, my opinion would be that AI is both incredible and necessary in certain spaces , for instance, in medical advancements or aiding by creating solutions to sustainability issues. If it is carefully scaled and its energy and water usage are reduced and offset by companies it would work wonders within modern society. AI is an interesting tool within creative industries, especially if it is used to refine or assist within creative or design processes, not as an absolute replacement for designers. Furthermore, as it stands LLM’s are not yet able to generate or “create” completely new or unique ideas, they are only able to draw on what already exists in their databases, so they do require human input in some capacity. Ideally, I feel that creating an AI that can be ethically used and that takes equity into account would be unbelievably beneficial.
Written by Sophia O'Connor A GLITCH Magazine Contributor
Words by Adrian Holme, Irakli Beridze, Kayleigh-Ann Myles
