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Could generative AI shape the future of fashion shows? The technology has become a talking point in the industry over the past year, but so far, not many brands have dabbled with using it in the creative process. With its Spring/Summer 2024 show at Copenhagen Fashion Week on Thursday, Ganni set out to explore the possibilities.
In collaboration with digital artist Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm and her studio Artificial Mind, Ganni created a purpose-built GPT (generative pre-training transformer) tool that uses a similar model to OpenAI’s widely used ChatGPT. Ganni’s AI was trained on data from the brand as well as online interviews with and social media comments from its community of fans and influencers, known affectionately as the “Ganni Girls”. Guests could then interact with the AI during the show, asking any question — speaking into microphones rigged to living trees dotted around the venue — and receiving a response tailored to Ganni’s view of the world. The idea was to "initiate ideas on living more responsibly", the AI said.
“It’s like stepping into a mystical forest filled with fashion magic and positive energy,” Ganni’s AI tool says when asked ahead of the show what to expect. “Trust me, it’s going to be unforgettable.”
The brand also used the AI to create the show soundtrack: after inputting some of the Ganni community’s favourite songs, it generated a playlist including Shakira’s ‘Whenever Wherever’ and Blackpink’s ‘Kill This Love’.
The idea came about after Nikolaj Reffstrup, who co-owns Ganni with his wife Ditte Reffstrup, began experimenting with ChatGPT earlier this year. With some basic prompts, he playfully asked what Ganni’s next collection should be. “This was a few days before we started working on SS24 with the design team, so I took the chat with me and read it out loud — that was the beginning of the whole thing,” recalls Ditte, speaking to Vogue Business from the Ganni studio before the show (Ditte is creative director; Nikolaj was CEO until 2018).
She had no intention of creating an AI-generated collection — a process that could raise problematic questions around originality and copyright. Instead, Ditte was fascinated by the idea of incorporating AI into the show itself. “We wanted a physical representation of AI at the show, for people to experience it and understand the story behind the beginning of this collection,” she explains, speaking to Vogue Business from the studio ahead of the show. “And, we wanted to work with Cecilia to make Ganni’s AI feel more humanised. She works between AI and art, and she has a soft, sensitive approach.”
The process wasn’t easy: it required a vast amount of data to accurately align the AI’s voice with the Ganni community and their varied interests, from sustainability to socialising. “The challenging part was to create AI that cares about sustainability and climate change without being boring,” says Waagner Falkenstrøm. To overcome this challenge, the brand had to feed in data from a very large community of Ganni Girls from all over the world. “As such the AI is like Ganni girls who love to dance all night and at the same time have a climate responsible mindset,” Waagner Falkenstrøm says.
This isn’t the first time fashion brands have sought inspiration from generative AI. Paris brand Coperni’s AW23 collection featured hand-painted jackets, inspired by an image of a robot and a lamb generated on AI art generator Dall-E. New York label Vaquera used Dall-E to generate patterns for its AW23 collection. And G-Star Raw designed an entire denim collection using AI technology. Meanwhile, from Mschf’s big red boots to Loewe’s pixel hoodie, other luxury labels brands are creating “hyper real” looks in real life inspired by AI generated imagery.
While the Ganni team didn’t use the AI to create the collection, some of the SS24 designs were inspired by the responses and a consideration of the intersection of the digital and real worlds, and of technology and fashion. Alongside the usual natural palettes and floral motifs associated with Ganni, the collection features sculptured dresses; foiled, metallic fabrics; and metal look organza flowers.
Beyond the AI activations, Ganni unveiled new collaborations during the show, including its second with New Balance and first with British eyewear label Ace & Tate. Model Paloma Elsesser opened the show, wearing a look from her upcoming Ganni collaboration, which will drop in Spring 2024, designed for all bodies. “Paloma is such a role model for girls everywhere,” Ditte says.
The show also debuted some of Ganni’s ‘Fabrics of the Future’, Ditte says, including Oleatex, a plant-based leather alternative produced using waste streams from olive oil production, and Algreen’s plastic-free and recyclable sequins made from seaweed and agricultural waste. “We’re always trying to find new solutions to improve our materials,” she says. “Sequins was a major one.”
Looking ahead, Ganni is undecided about whether or how AI should play a role in its shows or creative processes. But, for Ditte, the journey this season has been eye-opening. “It’s both exciting and scary what it’s going to mean for the future,” she says.
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