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Artificial Intelligence being woven into fashion industry by digital pioneers 2023/1/17 source: Print

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The use of artificial intelligence, or AI, has become commonplace in everyday life and it is now weaving its way into the fashion industry, influencing what we see being worn on fashion catwalks around the world.

Dozens of outfits, designed by 14 different designers from Fashion x AI, graced a catwalk in Hong Kong last month, with all the designs created with the help of an AI software program called AiDA - or "AI-based interactive design assistant".

AiDA uses image recognition, detection and retention - and is the brainchild of AiDLab CEO Calvin Wong.

Wong believes that AI is just another tool for fashion designers willing to explore new boundaries.

Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro is one such designer - a trailblazer on the cutting edge of fashion in the Metaverse. She believes AI is a win-win for everyone.

"I have always the vision that no technology is going to be the enemy if you take the lead on that and appropriate that as a tool for your own creative process. I think it's really good for the customer because you just don't go to buy something. You are included in the narrative of that experience," said Casimiro, senior producer of online environment Decentraland and head of Metaverse Fashion Week.

She said that 3D virtual platforms that form a part of the Metaverse - like Decentraland - can be inspiring.

"I really like to wear digital clothing. I think experimenting with digital fashion on your avatar and the animations that we called 'emotes' in that digital body is really fun because you also see yourself from a different lens," said Casimiro

While AI might help inspire designers, it also raises new challenges in the digital age, including conflict between creatives and brand owners over intellectual property rights and trademarks.

"They want to control their brand. They don't want other people telling the brand's story but that's what artists do. So, there's always going to be conflict, lawyers will always be involved. I don't think that will change in the Metaverse. In fact, if anything, it's going to amp up," said Kal Raustiala, Professor of Comparative and International Law at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Legal concerns are not stopping advocates from pushing for a stronger collaboration between fashion and the digital sphere. Casimiro is spearheading only the second ever fashion week to be held in the Metaverse after last year's groundbreaking event.

"We're really trying to expand the reach of the event," she said.

She said that she's excited for what the future holds for the intersection of fashion, art and AI.

"So it's going to be a public area focused on the next generation of designers in the physical world but also in the digital, and bringing them to co-create," said Casimiro.


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