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Technology took on new shapes at London Fashion Week: KWK By Kay Kwok used ChatGPT for its catwalk playlists and Christopher Kane used AI in designing featured animal prints. What’s more, digital IDs gained traction. It’s all about metaverse activations.
ChatGPT & AI hit the runway
Last season, designers were very focused on the metaverse. Designers will use technology to help them create fall 2023 designs, as well as to track their supply chains and marketing music. For its runway show’s soundtrack, Shanghai-based brand KWK by Kay Kwok tapped a sound artist who used ChatGPT to generate the lyrics that played out alongside an accompanying violin. British designer Christopher Kane turned to AI for his designs of animal prints.
Aileen Carville is the founder of Asset Haus virtual asset management firm Asset Haus. She stated that brands can benefit from technology like AI and ChatGPT by understanding and using these technologies at scale. “Education through the fashion colleges will play a big role in preparing the new generation of fashion creatives for an AI-enabled industry,” said Carville. “Fashion designers need to invest in educating their staff to allow them to become familiar with the technology and new digital workflows.” For now, ChatGPT and AI are largely in the R&D stage — particularly ChatGPT. They are being used by brands in numerous business areas. This includes copywriting and design as well as customer service. In particular, AI is helping brands to personalize online shopping. ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot that uses OpenAI’s AI platform to allow people to communicate with AI and create content from its replies. Since launching in November 2022, it’s seen increasing use cases across different industries.
“Through tools like AI and machine learning, brands will increasingly be able to understand their customers’ preferences and create new operational changes to increase efficiencies and productivities,” said Maruschka Loubser, director of global partnerships at Microsoft. Microsoft has partnered with Emily Bode and several other global designers to integrate technology in their manufacturing processes.
London Fashion Week: Digital IDs in the spotlight
Digital IDs are a new way to design, however, not all emerging designers use them. At London Fashion Week on Saturday, Priya Ahluwalia, founder of 5-year-old British brand Ahluwalia, announced a partnership with digital ID startup EON and Microsoft. The collab is intended to bring full supply chain consumer traceability to Ahluwalia’s fall collection through digital IDs. Digital IDs allow customers to scan the ID and trace back the item into its second life.
“I’ve always wanted to build a brand that is transparent and open with the community and customers,” Ahluwalia said. “Working with EON on digital IDs has been a good way to experiment with how the technology can work for us, giving our brand fans more insight into the products and the creative story behind the garments.” Customers scan a QR code on a purchased garment to access the information on its origin and materials.
Digital IDs are already being used by Chloé, which launched with EON last October, as well as British luxury accessories brand Mulberry, which partnered with EON in June. They’re also being tested by LVMH and Chanel, as well as on the blockchain by French digital passport company Arianee. EON received support from Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet, through her company Imaginary Ventures. It is now poised for a pivotal role in high-fashion brands seeking transparency and authenticity.
“Emerging designers are often agile and can implement new technologies and features quickly, which paves the way for larger brands to understand all potential use cases,” said EON is founded in New York by Natasha Francke. Ahluwalia can be found in 41 shops around the world and has nearly doubled its annual revenue since 2021.
Microsoft was hired by Ahluwalia to develop a secondhand clothing application for Circulate. It launched in November 2021. The app, which allows sellers to upload photos of preloved garments, uses Microsoft’s Computer Vision API to analyze their suitability to be turned into new Ahluwalia garments and sort them into a database. Once a garment is accepted, a shipping label is sent to the user to mail it to the brand’s warehouse.
“This is now part of Ahluwalia’s business model. And some of these secondhand items have been used to create items in the new collection,” said Loubser.
“Technology plays a role in collaboration and preserving craftsmanship, especially in fashion,” said Ahluwalia. “Customers have responded well to our new technology integrations and enjoy having these new ways to connect with the brand.”
Microsoft invests in training future designers to use AI technology which will increasingly assist their design processes. This year, Microsoft reportedly plans to invest $10 billion in OpenAIThe creator of popular ChatGPT generative AI. It’s been extensively investing in AI since the launch of its own AI tool, Microsoft Azure OpenAI, in November 2021. Ahluwalia declined to specify whether her brand will also be leveraging AI, only sharing that it’s exploring different technology solutions.
In other LFW news…
London Fashion Week and the British Fashion Council have prioritized upholding London’s positioning as a creative hub for fashion. This season however, many fashion buyers and press members chose to bypass London Fashion Week and instead travel straight to Milan and Paris. This was due in part to the delays in event organizers’ correspondence and insufficient show ticket allocations.
“Influencers, celebrities and content creators are now prioritized because of easy media momentum. This momentum, however, is fleeting. Press and buyers need to be able to have a closer look at the collections to continue to do their job,” said a member of the local fashion press who asked to remain anonymous. “Building relationships with us is important. However, I often find myself writing about shows one season and then not getting invited to the following one.”
In other anonymous conversations during LFW, sources across the press and buyer categories echoed the feeling that fashion PR companies did not consider the negative impact on key relationships when prioritizing influencer attendance at this season’s shows. Celebrities making the show circuit this season included Alexa Chung; Dua Lipa’s sister, Rina; Romeo Beckham’s girlfriend, Mia Regan; and “Love Island” star Tasha Ghouri. They also called out a lack of access to information on brands’ new collections and delays in responses from PR companies.