By Stuart Kerr, Technology Correspondent
Published: July 4, 2025 | Last Updated: July 4, 2025
👉 About the Author | @liveaiwire | Email: liveaiwire@gmail.com
On a Paris runway last month, a new collection stunned critics—not for its flamboyance, but because it had been entirely designed by an algorithm. The fashion world, once rooted in human creativity and intuition, is now rapidly embracing artificial intelligence to predict trends, generate designs, and streamline production. But in a sector driven by identity and originality, many are asking: what happens to fashion when machines call the shots?
Predicting Taste at Scale
AI first entered the fashion scene as a predictive tool. Brands began using algorithms to analyse social media, runway images, and e-commerce data to forecast colour palettes, silhouettes, and fabric choices. Today, platforms like Heuritech and Google Cloud Vision go even further—interpreting millions of Instagram posts to detect emerging micro-trends weeks before they hit the mainstream.
In early 2025, Zara’s parent company Inditex reported that its new AI forecasting engine cut unsold inventory by 19% in Q1 alone. By better aligning supply with demand, the system saved millions in production costs while reducing environmental waste.
From Sketchpad to Screen
Designers are increasingly turning to generative models like DALL·E 3 and RunwayML to create prototypes based on prompts ranging from “cyber-Victorian evening wear” to “eco-conscious streetwear for rainy cities.” These tools allow brands to experiment with new styles without the time or cost of hand-drawn sketches or physical samples.
One standout example: luxury house Balenciaga recently unveiled a capsule line co-created with an AI trained on its past 30 years of collections. While the human creative director signed off on final selections, the AI produced hundreds of viable concepts in under an hour—a task that would take a human team weeks.
According to Fashion Innovation Agency at London College of Fashion, AI-generated design is now part of at least 42% of product development cycles in Europe’s top 50 fashion houses.
Ethical Fit or Faux Pas?
But not everyone is celebrating. Critics warn that automating design risks homogenising fashion—replacing personal expression with pattern recognition. “You get what the data already knows,” says Claudia Meziani, an independent fashion futurist. “That’s not creativity—it’s echo.”
There are also intellectual property concerns. In 2024, a group of indie designers sued an AI platform after discovering it had trained on their lookbooks without permission. The case is still pending in the EU Court of Justice and could shape future legislation around dataset transparency and copyright in fashion tech.
Fast Fashion Gets Faster
Perhaps nowhere is AI’s impact more dramatic than in fast fashion. Companies like Shein and Boohoo are using machine learning to adjust production in near real-time, based on consumer clicks, returns, and social media chatter. The result? Clothes go from concept to doorstep in under 72 hours.
While efficient, this speed raises sustainability alarms. A 2024 report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation warned that AI-driven acceleration may undermine global efforts to reduce fashion waste and carbon emissions.
Environmental watchdogs are now calling on brands to pair AI with circular design principles, ensuring machines optimise not just for speed, but for longevity and reuse.
Fashioning a Future Together
Still, AI isn’t replacing designers—it’s redefining their role. Instead of starting from a blank canvas, creatives now curate, refine, and reinterpret what algorithms propose. It’s a collaboration: the machine offers options; the human applies meaning.
Many in the industry see this as an opportunity to democratise design. With AI tools becoming more accessible, small labels and independent creators can now compete with big brands in speed, scale, and sophistication.
As consumers increasingly demand transparency, sustainability, and personalisation, AI may hold the key to delivering all three—if applied thoughtfully.
The runway, it seems, is wide open.
Sources:
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Inditex Q1 2025 Investor Report
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EU Court of Justice Case Reference No. 2024/C/FAI-2921
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