Designers are finally embracing artificial intelligence at New York Fashion Week, with brands including Ralph Lauren and Alexander Wang debuting high-tech new innovations.
Ralph Lauren, which was one of the first major fashion brands to begin selling clothes online 25 years ago, has launched Ask Ralph, an in-store AI assistant that engages customers in conversation and make style suggestions. The tool can answer specifics, like how to style a certain blazer, and general questions like whether you should pair black and brown.
Unveiled earlier this week by David Lauren, Ralph’s son and the company’s chief innovation officer, Ask Ralph was created in partnership with Microsoft and OpenAI and has been integrated with the brand’s shopping app.
“Part of fashion is exposing yourself to newness and evolving,” David Lauren said in an interview with New York Magazine.
As part of his comeback fashion show later this week, Alexander Wang is relying on AI for runway backdrop art — telling Glossy, “I like to embrace change and what’s next… AI allows us to reserve our human mindset for bigger things.”
Vivrelle, which rents designer handbags, launched a new AI tool, Ella, that offers styling advice and suggests the brand’s own products as well as clothing from partners Revolve and FWRD.
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Glance AI is hosting NYFW parties to celebrate its new fashion app, featuring virtual try-ons and a shopping experience curated to your taste.
While mass-market companies like Walmart and H&M already embraced AI for everything from advertising to “trend-sensing design tools” that accelerate clothing production, many high-end designers have resisted.
Earlier this year, Brandon Maxwell told Fashionista, “I don’t know enough about AI, to be honest with you, but I believe in the craft of making by hand and the artisans in New York” — while Trish Wescoat Pound said, “Technology? I have no idea.”
When Vogue ran a Guess ad with an AI-generated model in its August issue, the magazine was criticized. Likewise, J.Crew got slammed as embracing “AI slop” by The Cut when it used AI models in a campaign last month.
The fashion week shift may be because integrating AI is inevitable — and lucrative. Fashion AI is already a $3 billion industry and, according to Precedence Research, projected to reach $60 billion by 2034.
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