At Paris Haute Couture Week, the usual stars, Jonathan Anderson or Mathieu Blazy, were eclipsed by another designer. One name was on everybody’s lips: Alexis Mabille, for his SS26 show created entirely with generative AI. Regardless of Mabille’s real intent, the media and the internet quickly condemned him, lamenting the loss of craftsmanship, or praised his leap into fashion’s future. This effervescence revealed brands’ and consumers’ complex relationship with AI, oscillating between the rejection of new mediums perceived as jeopardizing haute couture’s integrity and the desire to address contemporary issues. This raises the question: how can fashion brands navigate the digital revolution, walking the thin line between engaging with contemporary debates and becoming victims of mainstream trends?
Designers in the Digital Age: a Constant Dialogue
Firstly, Mabille is radical in his use of AI but not a pioneer: many designers have already tackled the revolution. Although AI’s outburst is recent, we can trace the digital revolution to 2020 with the rise (and quick downfall) of NFTs, or acceleration of robotics and virtual technologies.
For his fall 2023 show, Marc Jacobs already explored the AI’s societal impact using ChatGPT to interpret his collection. The show only lasted a minute and forty-four seconds, mirroring society’s accelerating pace. Just as we desire instant access to knowledge using ChatGPT, Jacobs immediately gave us a collection and deliberately soulless notes. Fashion, in a rapid digital world, is no longer contemplated but rather consumed as one consumes a GPT response.
The Parisian duo Coperni developed a different stance, viewing technology as a societal shift opening new horizons. Bella Hadid’s spray-on dress marked a milestone in their technological journey. The dress is sprayed, as technology leads innovation and creation. Yet interestingly, humans are still the ones spraying the dress, maintaining a strong human presence and craftsmanship. In contrast, for their fall Winter 23/24 show, a pack of dog robots roamed the runway interacting with models. The spectator’s gaze was stirred between looking at them or the clothes, as if choosing between technology and heritage. In FW25 show spectators were sat in the midst of 200 streamers with their backs to the show. Once again, the streamer’s disinterest is not obnoxious, but questions fashion’s place in a digital world, bringing into one room two universes often framed as opposites.
All these designers were praised by the critics. Then what explains Alexis Mabille’s backlash? What line has he crossed? Or are we equally responsible? Likely Both.
Crossing the Line, the Public Outrage in the Age of AI
Firstly, Alexis Mabille was heavily condemned, but arguably for the wrong reasons. He later explained that he used AI to deceive the audience rather than praise it. People from all around the world wanted him stripped out of the “Haute-couture” label, condemning the lack of craftsmanship, and the apparent ease of such a show. This reaction is precisely the point of the show. As Marc Jacobs illustrated , in the age of AI we want immediacy, so we judged quickly. This response reflects a new social perspective: AI anxiety, a new element brands must take into account, that Coperni and Jacobs did not face to the same extent.
Another AI-using brand faced an important backlash: Valentino for its De Vain Digital Creative project. This set of AI ads were negatively received by the press and consumers. Dr Rebecca Swift, senior vice president of creative at Getty Images explains it by a perception of Ai as “less valuable”. The accessibility of AI generating processes is good for individuals, but audiences hold luxury brands to higher standards. The result? Using AI may quickly feel “lazy” or “less valuable. She also explained that the transparency of Ai-use, blatant in Valentino’s ads, is not enough to convince people.
A further issue is AI’s domination of the mainstream media’s agenda. As public discourse is centered around AI, brands that adopt it, like Valentino, risk appearing as adapting to mainstream media rather than being innovative. Hence, the line between a “good” or a “bad” AI integration depends on whether the brand sets a trend or follows it.
Becoming a Relevant Actor in the Age of AI
For this reason, brands like Gucci quickly understood how to use AI in a way that fits their narrative, disrupts the mainstream media agenda, and develops their connection with customers. In 2023, with its project “Future Frequencies” Gucci commissioned 21 AI-generated artworks by digital artists merging high fashion and AI. The artworks were made and bought, by the brand’s lovers, transforming AI into a participatory tool instead of a shortcut. More recently, its AI-generated Snapchat filter transformed users into members of “La Famiglia,” Demna’s new vision for the brand. These initiatives show AI as a lever to engage with people not by ads, but by creating a community-owned ecosystem: clients become actors.
From a business perspective, AI can ameliorate customer experience. GlanceAi, an AI intelligent shopping agent made an impression at the NYFW 2025 with an immersive pop-up to explore AI-powered looks. Similarly, this summer, Nike announced a beta version of NikeAI. For both initiatives, AI is used for personalisation and immersion.
But AI’s limitless business applications also raise controversy. Indeed, Shein goes beyond mere recommendations and integrates AI into its creation process: it analyses worldwide trends to generate an impressive amount of pieces in small quantities first and tests their appreciation with their Ai-run app. This bypasses any copyright duties and raises ecological questions of over-production.
So AI thus new marketing and business opportunities, but pushed to the extreme it exploits ultra-fast fashion’s flaws. Yet, the AI issue must not be confined to a “good-bad” Manichean vision: even brands that reject AI are shaped by its societal impact.
AI’s Invisible Influence
Analysing digital’s effect on fashion, Lee and Suh grouped co-occurring keywords from fashion trend data into thematic clusters. They identified four main clusters of ideas, notably “human- and nature-oriented design in a digital reality” or“new textiles reflecting digital technology” .These frameworks echo the questions raised by Alexis Mabille and Coperni: how far removed from humanity can fashion go? What happens when technology and craftsmanship merge into a new universe?
More interestingly, the second cluster presents “new textiles reflecting digital technology”, as some patterns and colors are shaped by our digital world. In other words AI and technology are reshaping aesthetics. Trend forecaster WGSN identified trending colors influenced by the AI revolution, such as “DIGITAL LAVENDER”, one of Jonathan Anderson’s favorite colors for Dior, or “Luminous blue” a prominent color of SS26, spotted at Jil Sander’s.
Generative AI does not need to appear on runways or campaigns to transform fashion because its introduction has changed the way we perceive ads and runways. Confronted with an image, we question whether it is AI-generated. As shows become increasingly screen-based, we desire more identifiable colors, appeasing and clear. The traditional editorial style is now easily reproducible with AI, as presented here with this imaginary Prada Campaign, exploiting this breach. Luminous Blue replaces Cerulean, and much like Andy Sachs discovering the politics of a new blue, designers may not fully recognise the new force shaping their choices: AI and digital tools have subtly transformed the way we see.
Conclusion
Brands do not evolve in a vacuum: they are inevitably shaped by the ongoing digital revolution, as consumers’ gaze changes and new tools emerge. But engaging with AI is a risky game: well made, it can enhance customer experience, develop a strong emotional link with consumers; when misused, it can reduce a brand to become a simple trend follower, diluting its identity. As hyper-realistic generative tools appear, editorial campaigns become more reproducible, promoting closeness and humanity digitally will become even more challenging. Reinventing how creativity is expressed might define the real future of fashion.
By Louis Pringault
