Week III March 2023 - SamJ Studios

This week, I'll ignore the crisis we all experienced last weekend for the sake of all our mental well being, and I'd like to focus more on an in depth text conversation I had about AI and its future impact on the fashion industrial system as a whole. It is a bit spooky that gpt4 has been released this week, days following this conversation. During conversations with Claire Silver and a few other AI driven creatives or entrepreneurs in Paris, I have come to adopt AI into my method of thinking and approach it with a more critical mind. Until this year I have greatly ignored the impact of AI on anything other than my twitter algorithm, but I am now excited to explore the possibilities for the future.

My initial approach to AI in fashion was of the following:

I think that AI will mostly help with the business of the fashion industry when it comes to the manufacturer to consumer pipeline although I don’t know how

Most of the way I’ve seen AI used so far is to eliminate tedious and menial tasks from existing digital workflows (coding websites, autofocus cameras, or personal photoshop tutorials) but fashion has an interesting history with how it came to be industrialized in the 1800s given that the loom was the first ever “computer” and originated punchcards/binary code.

My understanding of fashion’s history with the loom and other automated systems of manufacturing served to create the ready to wear culture we see today so I don’t think there is much left of the industry for AI refinement. Fashion is one of the few industries where the manufacturing lead the way in which consumers interact with the product (as we saw the development of fashion houses in the 1860s, into couturiers, then RTW in the 1960s) so I think with digital fashion changing how the consumers continue to engage with fashion we might see a new use case for AI but I’m not sure we’ll see AI have a significant impact on the traditional fashion industries in the way that ecommerce did.

Unless someone makes me eat my words 😭

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In response I got an interesting idea that AI could be used to directly enable a consumer to prompt their own bespoke garments to be manufactured and delivered directly to them. I think the pros of this is obviously it would fiercely limit the current issues of over production and the leftover deadstock materials. I was initially extremely resistant to this concept though, as I think that there is a specific knowledge of how the fashion consumer engages with the industry and how they prefer to shop. I think that most shoppers aren’t looking to do mental gymnastics and mentally synthesize an entire outfit each time they go shopping, but rather find comfort and excitement to align themselves with specific brands and trends as participating in fashion is a deeply social activity. I think the role of AI in this way is overestimating the level of creative  freedom consumers want when looking to participate in the fashion industry.

Fashion Sustainability in the hyper trend cycles of fashion

This sounds a bit like I’m a fashion fascist but my belief is that we all have the capacity to create our own garments with specific fabrics, colors, patterns, etc. already through the information of the internet available with tutorials but we are not seeing an increase in people interested in making their own clothes. As I taught myself how to sew and make my clothes during the lockdown, I am always surprised at how many people only chose to participate in current styles rather than fashion as a creative outlet.

Consumer trends in fashion

In the end we came to the conclusion that AI could be built to essentially be a bespoke digital tailor. A website stocked with basic garments that one could prompt an AI to shift in any direction. For example, adding ruffles or extending the sleeves, maybe even choosing a different fabric or color.

Learning to embrace AI further, I tried to ask ChatGPT to write this week's letter but it wasn't as interesting as what I had already written through my conversation. I’ll include some outtakes of the prompt results that I did find important, granted they aren’t particularly revolutionary.

ChatGPT:

"That being said, AI can be a valuable tool for designers. For example, it can help to identify emerging trends and predict consumer demand, allowing brands to make more informed decisions about their collections. It can also help with the production process, optimizing the supply chain and reducing waste… …But we need to make sure that the data is representative of all people, regardless of their gender, race, or sexual orientation. This means ensuring that AI is trained on diverse data sets, and that designers are educated on the importance of inclusivity and diversity."

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Sorry this week is very text heavy. I try to balance a mix of visual media with text but this week was a lot of cereberal exploration, so thank you for making it all the way to here! Lastly, for my music recommendation, I found this today in my YouTube home page (thanks algorithm) and it really made getting ready this morning fun. Here's a perfect throwback meets funk remake:

Slay the house down besties,

SamJ