AiDLab Culture x AI: The Future of the Fashion Industry

AI and fashion merged together in the ‘Kan Tai Keung x AiDLab x Hong Kong Fashion Designers Show’ this week.

Organised by the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab), with the Culture and Creative Industries Development Agency (CCIDA) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR Government) as the lead sponsor, the event took place at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London.

Expertise from both the technology and fashion industries partnered for an event that drew inspiration from renowned Hong Kong artist Dr. Kan Tai Keung. Five Hong Kong fashion designers were selected to use AiDA - an AI-based design technology from AiDLab - to inform their creative process.

“Culture X AI is a great platform to showcase Hong Kong's creative innovations on the world's stage by synergising the elite practitioners of culture, design and innovation,” says Professor Jeanne Tan of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. “It is a great honour to collaborate with Dr. Kan Tai Keung to push the boundaries of culture and AI to create fashion designs that are not only seen on screen but also in reality.”

AI ‘illuminates the runway’

Founded in 2009, AiDLab is a pioneering research platform that focuses on the integration of AI with design. It was formed by both the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Royal College of Art (RCA) in the UK, and is funded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the InnoHK Research Clusters. 

AiDLab has since established a reputation for leading research that drives innovation and sustainability in the world of AI. 

“This collaboration successfully demonstrates the creative outcomes of the cultural masterpieces of Dr. Kan and the creativity of Hong Kong designers' fuse with artificial intelligence technology,” comments Professor Calvin Wong, Centre Director of Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AiDLab). 

“Although we are now in an AI era, creativity is still the most valuable asset for design practitioners. Treating AI as an assistant and embracing it in the creation process will be the future of the fashion industry.” 

“We want to establish a platform for the designers or for those people who are passionate in design, they can use our AiDA system to put their design on the platform,” he says.

AiDA is a web-based platform. It does not use AI to replace design, but instead helps designers to prepare mood boards for their designs. By uploading their moodboards to the online platform, AiDA aims to help designers inform key design elements of their brand.

Significantly, the AI model is not trained on other people’s designs, as mentioned during the press briefing ahead of the fashion event.

“AI is unavoidable even for the fashion and design industries,” Professor Calvin Wong tells AI Magazine. “We must embrace it in the conventional design process.”

Embracing AI as an inevitability

This is a powerful example of how AI can be leveraged within a creative industry as a copilot tool, rather than a supplement to creativity. 

Among some of the highlights of the event were how AiDA was incorporated into the outfits designed by five Hong Kong designers. Each designer presented their collection at the V&A show, which seeks to shape the future of fashion design through combining AI with human creativity.

Each outfit collection was based on five artistic phases of Hong Kong artist Dr. Kan Tai Keung’s creative journey: ‘Pop Ink Art’, ‘Psyche in Motions & Honour to Master’, ‘Landscapes Fresh Appearance', ‘Brush Stroke from My Mind’ and ‘Timeless Ideas & Contemporary Emotions’. 

Speaking ahead of the event, Dr. Kan said: “In addition to sharing my passion for ink painting, I encourage artists not to become dependent on AI but instead embrace how the technology can work in unison with their creative spirit. 

“More importantly, we must face the challenges of any new intelligent technology in the future with an open mind to create a better future.” 

Although multiple industries are having to confront the realities of AI and what it could mean for business, here creativity remains the most valuable aspect of the design process. For those involved in this project, embracing AI as part of the early stages of creativity is being regarded as the future of the fashion industry.

Professor Calvin adds: “The AiDA system is treated as an assistant. It facilitates design instead of directly using AI to generate the output."

******

Make sure you check out the latest edition of AI Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Tech & AI LIVE 2024

******

AI Magazine is a BizClik brand