How AI Is Reshaping the Art of Couture
As with most industries, the fashion world is experiencing change and transformation through artificial intelligence. Even haute couture, traditionally focused on one-of-a-kind pieces dreamt up by designers and meticulously hand stitched by tailors, is getting a boost from mechanical learning. While design is the ultimate domain of the couturier, creatives can use AI to augment that work, generate complex patterns, and simulate various textures that allow for greater experimentation.
Brands use AI for hyper-personalized fittings, which is useful in individual fittings for haute couture. Virtual avatars, created by analyzing a client’s body shape, posture, and aesthetic preferences, are used by brands including Prada and Balenciaga. Rather than making a physical sample, the avatars are used as models for custom clothing and virtual fittings that help clients visualize how garments would fall on their bodies.
Perhaps the most powerful way AI is being harnessed in fashion is through data-driven approaches to assess consumer behavior and create products that align with the market’s shifting demands. Prada, for example, has experimented with AI to evaluate customer behavior and anticipate fashion trends. Prada’s AI-driven insights enable deeply personalized shopping experiences across in-store and online experiences.
By leveraging customer preferences and purchase history, the brand can deliver highly relevant product recommendations and tailored service interactions. This type of AI use can help brands gain a competitive edge in the luxury sector.
Left Image: Anrealage’s 2025 Paris – Tokyo collection, designed by Kunihiko Morinaga, used AI to create LED-infused fabrics that change color and pattern Right Image: Anrealage’s 2025 Paris – Tokyo collection, designed by Kunihiko Morinaga, used AI to create LED-infused fabrics that change color and pattern Photos by Thierry Chesnot/Getty
Brand websites use AI tools to explore individualized recommendations based on former purchases and social media activity. Alexander McQueen and Gucci use AI tools to predict a customer’s style preferences, recommend clothes that fit their physique and tastes, and even predict fashion trends the customer may like.
AI is also making its way into fashion marketing. Demna, artistic director at Gucci as of summer 2025, used AI to generate images and voice crossover videos during his tenure at Balenciaga. Iris van Herpen, known for her tech-forward designs involving laser cutting, 3D printing, and innovative materials like silk blended with steel, used AI to generate mystical campaign images for an aquatic-themed collection in 2023.
Along that same vein, in 2020—while the world was in lockdown—Ralph & Russo created an AI-generated avatar to present their haute couture collection. And in 2023, Valentino’s Essentials line campaign was shot using AI and is regarded as a groundbreaking campaign that set an example for how luxury brands can successfully incorporate new technologies without losing the core characteristics that define them.
Haute couture is a labor-intensive process, where one dress can take thousands of hours to handmake. With AI, that process can be optimized. AI-powered robots can cut fabrics, stitch, and even do embroidery. In an industry increasingly focused on sustainability, AI tools can help reduce waste by cutting fabrics in more efficient ways or by analyzing the life cycle of materials, from sourcing to end-of-life disposal. Overproduction is a significant reason for fashion waste. Using AI to track and predict demand, luxury brands help ensure the correct number of products.
Additionally, AI use in textile manufacturing creates innovative fabrics that respond to environmental factors like temperature or light, and can change color, texture, or shape when exposed to heat or electricity. This technology can be seen with brands including Moncler, Coperni, and Anrealage, which all used AI to either create stunning marketing campaigns or to actually create LED-infused fabrics that change color and pattern by using various lights—essentially turning clothes into wearable screens.
It is clear that many luxury brands do not fear embracing innovative ways to highlight their individual creations. These technological developments can be exciting for the adventurous customer and might be the next frontier in haute couture, where the intersection of artificial intelligence meets human artistry.
