New York may be the stage, but Los Angeles watched closely. At this month’s New York Fashion Week, designers unveiled a new tool in their creative arsenal: artificial intelligence.
From AI-assisted sketches to algorithm-generated mood boards, technology didn’t just inspire it actively shaped collections. Some designers used AI to predict fabric drape and silhouette, while others collaborated with machine learning models to generate entire print patterns.
The result was a mix of excitement and unease. Audiences gasped at hyper-modern gowns that looked pulled from digital dreams, but questions lingered: what does authorship mean when a computer plays muse?
For L.A.’s design scene historically a place of experimentation the news hits differently. With Hollywood embracing AI in film and television (sometimes controversially), the city’s fashion designers are now confronting the same questions. Could AI democratize design, opening doors for underfunded creators? Or will it devalue the hand, the stitch, the instinctive imperfections that make fashion art?
Critics argue the technology risks creating homogeneity, a sameness that flattens individuality. But one thing is clear: the conversation about AI and fashion isn’t futuristic anymore. It’s already on the runway.
