(Reuters) – At the Fashion X AI show in Hong Kong, attendees noted a certain “alien” quality to the new clothes modeled on the event’s narrow catwalk, and the designs were, in fact, not quite human.
The show featured more than 80 outfits from 14 designers, all created with the help of artificial intelligence software AiDA, short for “AI-Based Interactive Design Assistant.” The software was developed by Hong Kong-based AiDLab PhD students and academics.
Masked in monochromatic blue, in outfits that ranged from jackets to sheer skirts, the models strutted through lines of critics and fashion designers.
Attendee Cynthia Tse said she felt like she was witnessing the future of fashion at the December 19 show.
“I think covering the face is definitely alien and exciting,” Tse said.
According to AiDLab CEO Calvin Wong, the software was created to serve as a “support tool” for designers.
“AiDA is an assistant for fashion designers just to help them, you know, work together,” Wong said. “Designers and AI can work together to create the final collection.”
The AiDA system supports artificial intelligence technologies such as image recognition, detection and image generation, Wong said. Designers can upload draft sketches, materials and color palettes to a virtual mood board, and the software’s algorithm generates blueprints that designers can tweak and add their own flair to.
The system can produce a dozen fashion templates in 10 seconds, saving designers precious time, Wong said.
Hong Kong-based fashion designer Mountain Yam has been using AiDA for the past six months and said it has not only saved him time, but inspired him.
“Our relationship is comparable to a romantic relationship in that I gradually got to know her (AiDA), and she gradually got to know my own designs,” Yam said. “Based on my lines, styles and databases, the system will propose something to me that I may never have considered, but it (AiDA) thinks it’s right for me. Therefore, I think we are developing a long-term relationship.”
Fashion designer Yulia Tlili said she hoped the AI designs would be more at the forefront of the collection, noting that they were not as radical as the futuristic collections she had helped design when she began her career.
“I think AI is full of possibilities and it’s really an amazing opportunity for students and teachers to really collaborate in this very interesting field,” Tlili said.
AiDA was officially launched with the Fashion X AI program and is available to designers in Europe and Asia Pacific.
(Reporting by Joyce Zhou. Writing by Joseph Campbell. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters.
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