Are AI stylists revolutionising the fashion industry?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been a part of our lives for years. Initially, its role was mainly to work quietly in the background, enhancing our experiences with apps and websites. But with the advent of easily accessible generative AI models, it has become a new buzzword. 

Although AI has found various applications in the fashion industry, McKinsey & Co. predicts that generative AI will contribute an additional $150 billion in revenue to the sector over the next three to five years.

AI applications for styling make life easier for consumers. These applications can scan through vast amounts of information to present curated options based on body type, skin tone, silhouette preferences, occasion, and more. These recommendations can help individuals look and feel great while staying on trend without spending much time. 

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For online shoppers, AI can enhance the buying experience by enabling accurate virtual try-ons. AI tools improve augmented reality (AR) experiences through object recognition, natural language processing, and real-time data analysis, making AR more interactive. These tools, using computer vision and augmented reality, simulate how a garment would look on a customer, reducing the need for physical fittings. Additionally, using AI to help consumers make more informed decisions is a significant step towards reducing return rates, benefiting brands, consumers, and the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of each purchase.

It is important to note that human stylists train the machines on the data that AI relies on. In my view, AI helps sift through the clutter for consumers, but being fashion-forward will always require a human stylist. 

Historically, fashion stylists have been responsible for breaking fashion norms and presenting new trends. These trends encompass not only how one might dress but also how emerging technology is used in creating imagery and how the landscape of casting has evolved to become more diverse and inclusive. 

Fashion styling is a vast field with varied applications beyond editorial, commercial, and personal styling, and it is expanding with new technology. 

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Bryan Boy, a seasoned fashion influencer, recently commented on haute couture, expressing his interest in collections that reflect the current times, the zeitgeist. Seeing, unlike sight, is culturally and socially influenced. The way the human eye sees, absorbs, and categorises information, and the way the human brain connects the dots to produce creative influences, is more complex than the linearity of way machines work. Imagine a day when a celebrity uses AI to decide what to wear for a red-carpet event—I don’t see that day coming anytime soon. AI models take years to learn. 

A human being, living and consuming media in real-time, can make more informed decisions faster. AI, used to make tasks like searching for information, triangulating data for more accurate results, and making personalised shopping recommendations, is a boon for the entire industry. However, in matters of creative expression and the future of fashion imagery, the place of the human stylist will always be above the AI stylist. Try to produce an image that cross-references India’s moon landing with how fashion reacted to America’s first moon landing. The human mind, particularly that of a trained fashion stylist well-versed in the history of fashion and acutely aware of current world events, social and political, is better equipped to produce outcomes that captivate and persuade discerning consumers.

While AI stylists are revolutionising the fashion industry by making processes more efficient and customised, the irreplaceable human touch of creativity and nuanced understanding of cultural and social contexts ensures that human stylists will continue to play a crucial role. AI and human stylists together will shape a more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable future for fashion.

Shalini Gupta, associate dean (fashion styling), Pearl Academy.

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