These new fashion collections were designed by AI

By Marc Bain

(CNN) — When Revolve and Maison Meta, an AI-centric creative agency, teamed up for the first AI Fashion Week this April, the promise was always that the online retailer would turn garments from the top three collections submitted to a design competition that ran during the fashion week’s proceedings into physical products — and sell them.

That first drop is here.

The initial release includes 10 to 12 pieces from each of the winners, ranging from a $1,598 pleated taffeta dress to a $228 one-shouldered top. All are designed with generative artificial intelligence and manufactured by Revolve. Some of the items are fairly traditional, as clothing goes, such as a red miniskirt or pistachio-colored leather trenchcoat. Others, though, show off AI’s disregard for standard clothing construction, like a sequined navy blouse with hand-engulfing satin sleeves and a bolero-esque shape that looks like it would only keep the wearer’s chest covered in a digital world with no wind or movement.

Two of the winning collections came from designers with no fashion background. First-place winner, José Sabral, who calls his new brand Paatiff, has a background in architecture, as did the second-place winner, Matilde Mariano, whose brand is called Molnm. Both are from Portugal. The final winner, who goes by the name Opé Stylestar — which is also the name of their brand, Opé — was born and raised in the US and worked at Betsey Johnson before becoming a stylist.

The goal is to allow the winners to set up brands they can run independently if they choose, said Cyril Foiret, founder and creative director of Maison Meta.

The winners designed their collections using AI image generators Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, and in some cases editing in Photoshop. To produce the physical garments, each spent time with the Revolve team in Los Angeles working on product development and sourcing materials, according to Nima Abbasi, a partner at Maison Meta. Revolve handled all the manufacturing itself.

“Technology is a big competitive edge for Revolve,” Michael Mente, the company’s co-founder and co-chief executive, said in a press release. “Through AI, we’re able to explore new emerging designers, brands, and trends that we are known for delivering in unique ways.”

Fashion is among the many industries rushing to explore ways in which the new crop of generative-AI tools could be useful. Because of the technology’s ability to quickly generate high-quality imagery, design is one of the applications where it could have the greatest impact. Brands such as Collina Strada and Heliot Emil are among those already testing the tools.

But in Abbasi’s view, one of the key learnings from AI Fashion Week is that the technology can also allow people who don’t necessarily have training in fashion to produce innovative designs.

“You need vision, you need creativity and then you need to learn the tools,” he said.

Revolve and Maison Meta are now preparing for the next AI Fashion Week, set to take place in two parts: The first will run from November 16 to 19 in conjunction with the PhotoVogue Festival in Milan; the second will see the event return to New York from November 30 to December 1.

Revolve will again produce items from the winning collections of the design competition as physical garments, though there will be five winners chosen rather than just three, according to Maison Meta.

This article was originally published by The Business of Fashion, an editorial partner of CNN Style. Read more stories from The Business of Fashion here.

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