Artificial intelligence cannot replace the creativity of fashion designers

AI is revolutionizing the fashion industry, but it will never replace the innate creativity of designers, according to the leader of a groundbreaking initiative.

Calvin Wong, a pioneering fashion innovator, has introduced the Interactive Design Assistant for Fashion (AiDA), the world’s inaugural AI system guided by designers. AiDA employs image recognition technology to accelerate the journey from initial sketches to the runway.

Wong explained, “Designers provide fabric prints, patterns, color tones, and initial sketches, and our AI system can identify these elements, offering additional proposals for designers to enhance and modify their original concepts.”

He emphasized that AiDA’s strength lies in presenting “all possible combinations” for designers to explore—a feat previously unattainable in the design process.

An exhibition at Hong Kong’s M+ Museum in December showcased collections created by 14 designers using this tool. However, Wong emphasized that the aim is to “facilitate designers’ inspiration” rather than “replace a designer’s role or their creative abilities.” He added, “We must cherish the innate creativity of designers.”

Wong leads the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design (AidLab), a collaborative effort between the Royal College of Art (RCA) in Britain and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where he serves as a fashion professor.