The Role of AI in Fashion Design & Fashion Textiles Manufacturing

AI isn’t just a tool to make funny Instagram pictures or write like a pro. These days, AI is a handy assistant for every manufacturer, and fashion brands are finding it particularly inventive. Fashion design embraces the usefulness of AI to research and analyse data and algorithms to determine fashion industry trends and what consumers want and transform AI insight into innovative products we all can’t wait to purchase.

This combination of AI technology and human creativity transforms the textile industry, enabling manufacturers to give customers what they want. AI also assists in the manufacturing, dyeing and design processes, making the fashion industry a most exciting one to be in right now.

Creating Fashion Garments With AI

Now, AI in fashion is commonplace. With AI, fashion products are conceived, created and crafted with unimaginable care and detail. Creatives are using AI technology to assist them in generating everything from unique patterns to AI-generated body models that mirror a specific individual’s size and body shape. Tailoring has never been so exact since AI!

But it doesn’t end there… AI assists fashion brands in customising our personal preferences to how garments function, from making them warmer, cooler, hyper-allergenic or durable, to ensuring they don’t harm the planet. Sustainability is foremost in everyone’s minds, and with AI assistance, we can protect the earth for generations by reducing waste, energy and water.

The result of using AI is phenomenal – we are making informed decisions to produce fabrics and design patterns that are contemporary and true to what the customers want and need. AI is giving the fashion industry a whole new perspective.

An article in the Guardian discussed Fashion Week, specifically February’s shows at London Fashion Week and how they showcased several AI-generated outfits. “…Industry insiders have expressed a growing optimism about what the technology can do for the sector – from improving diversity to making the path from design desk to store floor short,” it said.

It quotes the head of London’s College Fashion’s Innovation Agency, Matthew Drinkwater, who talks about AI being a “hugely beneficial tool” for creative processes and the fashion “industry as a whole”.

“These tools are allowing people from very different backgrounds to begin to have a foothold in the industry. And for me that feels really new and exciting,” he said.

How Artificial Intelligence is Being Used

According to McKinsey, generative AI could add £120 to £220 billion to the sales of the global fashion industry’s clothing and luxury products. By using “raw text, images and video”, AI creates “3D designs and realistic virtual models” which are expected to influence fashion brands significantly at every level.

How will it do this? AI can convert “sketches, mood boards and descriptions” into 3D designs. AI can also customise garments for individual customers, “identify and predict trends” and “personalise the online consumer journey”. And that’s just the start. The article includes further mind-boggling ideas like AI assisting with inputting sketches with details of “fabrics, colour palettes and patterns” to create an “innovative, limited-edition” product. With AI the possibilities are endless.

Analysing Design Trends

AI has made it easier to support creative designers and manufacturers analyse market trends and understanding precisely what their customers want so they can increase sales. They don’t need to be instinctive; AI gives them the facts at their fingertips that explain the styles, colours, fabrics and designs that will resonate. They also have data from AI on strategies to assist them communicate with consumers about each new product. AI assists them in segmenting their market, tailoring garments to specific audiences and analysing what competitors are doing to establish what works and what doesn’t in this fickle, ever-changing industry.

This data from AI is all instant; it’s happening right now, and everything you learn is the most updated information. Tracking what’s happening online with AI, particularly on social media, enables designers and clothing manufacturers to have the latest figures at their fingertips. This way, AI tells you can what’s coming – future trends and forecasts that give you a headstart in producing what your audience will want.

Generative AI & London Couture

Generative AI has assisted fashion in creating clothing everybody desires. But this type of AI also done wonders for high fashion, as, thanks to AI, this niche can now manufacture fashion-forward, one-of-a-kind items, a new standard in every high fashion product. Top design brands like Stella McCartney use alternative leather fabrics and innovative plant-based materials created by Generative AI.

The new fashion revolution includes fabric choices and pattern creation from AI to make the latest garments stand out. Quality is exceptional and innovation remains of the highest order.

For more inspiration, view our comprehensive guide to Fabric Innovations in Textile and Design.

The Role of Sustainability

Finding sustainable fabrics and processes, especially new and innovative ones, will set you apart from your competitors. Use AI to determine quality fabrics created using advanced technology to make them soft, durable and environmentally friendly. AI can also teach you about new and faster processes for manufacturing products, the most advanced digital printing processes to use, and the newest and most exciting methods of automating difficult design processes like embroidery and weaving.

You can learn more in our informative guide, Digital Textiles in Retail Fashion. And if you’d like more data and news on sustainable printing, read the definitive blog, Sustainable Textile Printing UK: How Fabric Print Processes Will Change in 2025.

You can use AI to assist you in your sustainability goals. Here’s how:

Sustainability is an Imperative

According to an article in Fashion United UK, entitled Fashioning a Better Future for 2025, the time has come for fashion brands to “commit to actionable change” as it’s a “non-negotiable imperative”. Their suggestion?  “By designing for longevity and creating systems for reuse, brands can shift the focus from fast consumption to mindful ownership. Moreover, advancements in materials science, such as bio-based fabrics and lab-grown alternatives, hold the promise of reducing the fashion industry's environmental footprint while maintaining the allure of innovation.”

Energy-Efficient Processes

We can’t be expected to know everything about being energy-efficient. We need updated AI data about energy consumption so our processes and businesses save energy in every possible way. If we keep updated through AI with what is happening, we can reduce the energy we use in every aspect of our design company, and lower greenhouse gas emissions, too.

Product Waste Reduction

We know that fast fashion manufacturing processes lead to excessive plastic production and waste, with garments going to landfill. AI assists in various ways, including reducing waste in your production processes and the everyday running of your business. AI also assists by forecasting trends, as we mentioned earlier, helping designers decide the clothing that will sell, and helps with pricing to increase sales. With AI, you can keep updated on how to use resources wisely to eliminate waste, and improve quality control. The more you can reduce your impact on the environment, the better. There are ways you can do this if you’re prepared to try, so let AI assist you wherever possible.

Optimise Your Design Process With Technology

AI can assist in making your design manufacturing process more efficient, faster and, of course, more sustainable. Ideally, we need produce fashion items sustainably with fewer raw materials and less energy. We also need to ensure that every process, from ordering to delivery, uses less energy. By using AI tools, we can do this.

Tracking Trends with Analytics

We’ve found a few AI analytical tools to help you. Let’s explore:

·      The AI app Green Story monitors businesses’ carbon footprints and tracks how frequently people wear a garment to prolong its lifetime.

·      Want to know consumers’ reactions for the past 15 years? Brandwatch offers this marketing insight gleaned after researching more than 1.7 trillion social media posts about fashion trends. Search by keyword to find out what the public says about your brands or topics related to your business.

·      Talkwalker is another excellent AI tool with 3 distinct products covering customer-, marketing-, and social intelligence. Customer Intelligence includes product reviews; Market Intelligence includes conversations with customers, and Social Intelligence tracks more than 40,000 logos and products found on images and videos in social media.

Conclusion

You can use AI in every aspect of your business to transform your fashion brands, starting with conceptualisation and design, through to the final product. Using knowledge from these tools, you can ensure your design processes are more sustainable and efficient. You can hone your marketing and customer service skills and absorb insights that will help you predict future trends. With the right mindset, AI can even help you be more creative and innovative in design.

Be adaptable. Let AI enhance your business and your creative juices. It lets you explore new ideas and find exciting innovations that will allow you to stand out from your competitors. Use AI in every way you can to be more sustainable. Help revolutionise fashion brands by finding new ways to be more efficient, reduce waste and find more sustainable methods for every stage of fashion manufacturing.

''Fashion entrepreneurs lead the charge for progress in sustainability, embracing the United Nations' goals. Through powerful partnerships, we tackle challenges and seize opportunities, driving change across industries. Together, we can shape a green future for all entrepreneurs.''  

– Artemis Doupa, maake Co-Founder