AI in fashion: the authenticity question
By katie trahair-davies
Fashion is a constant state of flux: both creating and feeding off the creative impulses and desires of the individual and the collective. Driven by politics of the personal and of the society that has borne us. Shaped by cultures past, present and future.
Perhaps more than ever, the word ‘flux’ gives definition and recognition to the transitional practices driving the fashion industry into its newest iteration. This is no revolutionary statement; critics of the industry are consistently quick to lament the forever increasing speed at which the market is turning. Fashion has always worked in flux, I hear you cry! Think of the very nature of trend cycles and cultural history itself!
Yet, in many ways the shifts in fashion that are defining the 2020s are seismic like never before. And most notably of all these changes lies the exponential growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is rewiring our reality, having almost imperceptibly crept into every facet of society until it suddenly became unignorable.
Akin to many other sectors, the fashion world welcomed AI slowly, and in some cases, hesitantly. However, rightful wariness has given way to open-armed acceptance: it is now predicted that the AI fashion market will reach $60 billion by 2034, with annual growth rates peaking at over 40%. Nyima Jobe reported for The Guardian that “the consultancy McKinsey predicted last year [2023] that generative AI could add $150bn to $275bn (£120bn to £220bn) to the operating profits of the fashion and luxury sectors within the next three to five years”- a tough statistic to ignore in the face of the industry’s competitive nature.
Yet, it is not just the ‘operating’ side of fashion that is being transformed by AI tools: the recognition and prediction of each coming season’s trends is now driven by remote analysis. Once the fabled task of fashion elites, the decision of what will be ‘in’ has been relegated to a data-focused task, driven by mass market performance and an obsession with figuring out what will click on social media.
The most prevalent use of AI can be found amongst High Street brands, with much of their future strategy based around automating the customer experience and internal business strategies. For example, popular chains such as H&M and Zara now use AI to help predict future trends. This strategy has been capitalised on by fashion AI strategists, Heuritech, a Parisian company that works with New Balance, Skims and Prada to empower AI to notice and build trends months before they hit the popular market.
Similarly, Levi’s has launched an AI initiative that centres around increasing diversity in their online models. This is part of a larger trend of AI usage that centres around not only automating, but personalising, the online shopping experience: allowing customers to see clothes on a more diverse range of models and, in some cases, to virtually ‘try on’ clothes before purchasing. Notably, Levi’s approach was received with considerable backlash, as it increasingly appears that brands will do anything but actually hire a diverse cast of models.
These changes are also present within the realm of runway fashion, with 2023 heralding the first digital fashion show, courtesy of AI studio Maison Meta.
These business and production-focused enhancements equally have a knock-on impact into more creative areas of the industry: with more time and less money spent in the business sectors, brands are able to better focus and fund their efforts artistically. This has already been evidenced statistically, with the use of generative AI at Zalando having reduced the company’s image generation costs by 90%, freeing up a massive amount of money for creative use.
Despite the allure of these innovations, the negatives must not be ignored. Many ethical issues are quickly emerging, with the boundaries of identity and ownership being blurred. When H&M announced in March 2025 the creation of 30 digital versions of existing models, critics were quick to question if the models had consented to this venture. In the wake of this, the Fashion Workers Act was established in New York from June 2025, “mandating that models give explicit consent before their likeness is used in AI applications”.
Similarly, certain brands’ recent choices to relegate diversity to the realm of AI has been accused of further entrenching the biased hierarchy that rules many economies. As Katherine Singh rightfully points out, “there can be many implications; including the potential to exploit some often marginalized communities financially. It also means they’re potentially profiting off of experiences and identities that they don’t entirely understand.”
As we look forwards into the future both near and far, it is undeniable that AI will be part of fashion’s journey. For many, however, the impact remains unclear.
1: SUSTAINABILITY
The sustainability question has long been a blight on the fashion industry, with high waste outputs and water usage, alongside rampant unethical labour. However, many sources are now arguing that AI may actually be an unexpected savoir. Allegedly, the automation that AI will allow in all stages of the supply chain will help to lower the numbers of employees bound in unethical labour. Stella McCartney has already taken advantage of this technology, partnering with Google Cloud on an initiative that increases supply chain transparency through cloud-based data. AI will also diversify the routes by which people can enter the industry and the criteria of job roles themselves: switching from labour-intensive tasks to a larger focus on managing AI systems. Furthermore, the ability to try on clothes virtually will reduce the recent rise in waste issues related to returns of online clothing orders and the carbon footprint this incurs.
However, this argument is crucially negated by the increasing evidence that AI itself stands as a silent environmental killer. Akepa recently reported that by 2030, AI will be using the same amount of energy that Japan uses today. So, whilst it may allow the fashion industry itself to lower waste levels, this burden will only be shifted onto, and even exacerbated by AI technologies and producers.
2: AUTHENTICITY
In a similar pivot to that of Levi’s aforementioned online marketing initiative, SheerLuxe took the concept of AI models one step further, introducing ‘Reem’, an “AI enhanced team member” in 2024. This gained a lot of criticism on social media, as people questioned the sensitivity of this move in light of pressures on the fashion journalism industry. Why not spend the resources and funding that it took to create Reem on actually hiring a truly diverse team?
This indicates a wider push of brands choosing ease and efficiency over authenticity. As the industry moves further into the cycle of mass production, it also disregards brand relations beyond the level of exploiting the consumer as far as possible.
May this swing the other way? It is possible that customers will start to crave authentic, slightly less sleek personal interactions- with real people behind the fashion becoming a coveted commodity in the customer experience. This potentially will help bolster the public opinion of boutique brands, a phenomenon which can already be spotted in the narratives pushed on social media.
3: CREATIVITY
Finally, the importance of creativity. As is apparent in the arguments put forward by the industry and its analysts, the usage of AI will drive fashion towards greater efficiency in all of its practices. And with efficiency, there often comes the death of creativity. Whilst the growing trend of fashion being modelled solely as business cannot be solely attributed to AI, there is a definitive link due to the ease of business-enhancing tools that it provides.
If the research process for this article bestowed one truth, it is that analysts and strategists are heavily pushing the adoption of AI within fashion organisations. Article upon article, alongside many studies, state ways in which fashion houses should be capturing the benefits of AI to streamline business models and creative processes.
Yet, what is the creative process if not winding? If an industry built on the foundations of the artistic process is boxed into strategy models, it is tenable that this energy is slowly going to be drained. Instead, efforts must be driven towards optimising the innovative side of AI. The industry is rarely scared by change, and this attitude should remain in the context of such emerging technologies. There are many creative advantages that can be reaped through a strategic adoption of Artificial Intelligence, if care is taken.
Whilst this is a heavily explored issue within fast fashion and commercial routes, it is equally important to consider what the advent of AI will mean for smaller designers, specialist artisans and Haute Couture. These designers, who often struggle to compete with fashion powerhouses due to issues of cost and exposure, will increasingly be able to outsource cost-incurring tasks to AI systems. Additionally, these creative minds are perhaps the most likely to choose to use these tools ethically, focusing them towards enhancing their design process and making fashion that truly pushes the boundaries of the digital age.
Or, will they, in fact, be the people most likely to resist? This will only be decided by the future - or in a conversation with an AI chatbot.
Image Credit: Ollie Turan
