Would you still love a $500 T-shirt if you knew it was designed by AI?

Sounds (“Music”) and Images (“Art”) have been somewhat conquered by GenAI; it’s never been easier to create slop that’s “close enough” to the real thing. Creatives have taken notice, with 73% of them now believing that AI will significantly impact their industry.

Fashion has up until now been somewhat disconnected from these conversations. Sure, it’s a creative sector, but it also has glamor… and a certain exclusivity that makes AI’s infinite abundance seem gauche in comparison.

But times are changing, and even the Milanese are now asking if machines could craft the kind of cultural cachet luxury designers have spent lifetimes building.

Three researchers — Page Moreau from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Emanuela Prandelli from Bocconi University, and Martin Schreier from WU Vienna — recently added complexity to this debate with a research paper titled, “Generative Artificial Intelligence and Design Co-Creation in Luxury New Product Development: The Power of Discarded Ideas.” Their research explores whether generative AI can compete with human designers when it comes to luxury fashion… and how consumers may react to machine-made chic.

Can AI design fashion luxury?

The researchers teamed up with AwayToMars, Missoni, and IBM Watson to create and sell t-shirt designed either by human designers or by AI. The AI, IBM Watson, was trained on designs previously discarded by AWTM, using machine learning to generate new design ideas based on recurring features and patterns. They conducted a controlled experiment with over 1,000 participants and analyzed real sales data of the t-shirts over 20 weeks.

The results? Consumers preferred AI-designed t-shirts — but only if they didn’t know they were designed by AI. When the source was revealed, consumer enthusiasm waned. Sales data showed a whopping 127% increase for AI-designed shirts compared to human-designed ones.

Turns out, when fashion is sold without disclaimers, AI might just have a better eye for the cutting edge.

What does this mean for the Fashion Industry?

• AI-designed products can outsell human creations. In fact, AI-generated t-shirts outsold their human-designed counterparts by more than twofold in the study. This means that any sense of superiority capitalistically-inclined designers may have needs to be adjusted to a new reality.

• Consumer perception of AI is still a barrier. When consumers were informed that designs were AI-generated, their willingness to pay for the garments decreased (“Knowing that a luxury fashion item was designed by AI reduced consumers’ responses towards it.”) This reflects an ongoing distrust of AI’s creative capability. Some may be tempted to hide the use of AI in the face of these results, but consumers also value transparency, while laws are being proposed to improve that transparency. This no doubt will be the toughest nut to crack in the near future.

• AI can enhance brand identity. The AI-designed shirts more effectively embodied Missoni’s signature zigzag patterns and brand codes compared to the human designs. This can be well-received by customers, and can reinforce a brand identity if used properly.

• “Trash” is more useful than we think. The AI drew inspiration from designs that had been previously discarded — transforming “waste” into wearable art. This highlights how AI’s capacity to learn from mass data can unlock the value of overlooked ideas. This is without a doubt my favourite part of the study.

How do we move forward?

This is a lot to take in; enough to give fashion executives some vertigo. While they get their bearings, there is a few things the fashion community can push for.

We need to implement mandatory AI disclosure in product descriptions

Transparency is crucial. Consumers should know if an item was designed by AI, even if it impacts their perception negatively. If 44% of participants disliked AI-designed fashion when informed, brands need to confront this distrust head-on to avoid backlash. “AI aversion” (as another study called it) suggests that transparency is necessary but should be handled with care. Brands might want to frame AI’s role in a positive light by focusing on efficiency, sustainability, or co-creation to mitigate negative perceptions​.

Fashion Houses need to expertly blend AI with humans

The AI designs from the study could have been reviewed and improved by designers, I’m sure. Allowing designers to steer AI’s outputs could preserve the “luxury touch” that customers associate with human creativity while benefiting from AI’s efficiency. This may even lead to better margins and perhaps (?) better pay for artisans who surely deserve it.

Fashion houses need to establish strict, all-encompassing guidelines to future-proof their expertise

This includes establishing standards for what training data is used… and what data cannot / should not be used. AI in creative industries often relies on massive datasets, some of which are sourced unethically. Ensuring AI is trained ethically on licensed or voluntarily contributed data is key to gaining consumer trust. Nothing says luxury like ethics… right? Right?

Above all, consumers need to be educated

Brands should invest in educating consumers on the strengths of AI for design — including sustainability and efficiency, where algorithms are likely well-placed to have an impact. Highlighting how AI uses discarded materials creatively, as seen with Missoni, could positively shift consumer sentiment.

Where the research paper falls short

While Moreau, Prandelli, and Schreier’s study brings some interesting insights to light, it is not without flaws. For one, all participants were business school students — hardly representative of the global, diverse consumer base of luxury fashion.

It also didn’t explore whether consumers would prefer designs if AI had been marketed as an “assistant” rather than a “creator”. Furthermore, the research only touched upon visual identity, ignoring other sensory elements such as fabric texture and craftsmanship, which are crucial in luxury fashion.

For future research, I’d love to see how AI fares when tasked with creating high-fashion couture pieces rather than simple t-shirts. How does it navigate avant-garde aesthetics or evolving cultural nuances? Probably not very well.

Are designers doomed?

Generative AI in luxury fashion is like a bold new fabric. One that can dazzle but also fray under scrutiny. If handled with care, AI could provide a much-needed spark of innovation while pushing the boundaries of design.

The key lies in its careful integration, transparency, and cooperation with human expert. A future where AI complements, rather than replaces, human creativity isn’t just desirable… it might be our only shot at saving the soul of luxury.

Good luck out there.