“How can AI enable development of novel design processes, that will support the co-creation of future fashion?”

AWAYTOMARS is a pioneering fashion technology company that aims to democratise fashion design through collaboration via a novel digital gaming platform.
Supported by the UAL Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology, SME R&D Programme*, AWAYTOMARS is developing a co-creation game that will inform future fashion design methods, powered by generative visual AI.
The co-creation game will enable designers to create with each other and AI. Resulting design work will inform both AWAYTOMARS own in-house collections for limited edition retail online, and generate collaborations with fashion brands and designers globally. To date AWAYTOMARS has been invited to develop special projects with companies such as Missoni and Harvey Nichols.
The research and development project is aimed at creating a form of game that is engaging, fun and playful. ‘Players’ may be both professional designers and consumers. Certain ingredients will be provided as tools, such as colour, print and texture palettes. Everyone ‘playing’ will essentially contribute in some form towards final data driven design work and in so doing will be credited for their contribution.
The project engages with the concept of an ‘Ideas Economy’ where each idea and contribution to a final collaborative design is rewarded by a token, importantly as a form of ‘visual rights’ system in tracking creative contribution to the final co-created garment.
The game will establish opportunities to expand on the definition of an ‘Ideas Economy’, pioneering an approach with significantly wider application. A diverse AI/Human fashion co-creation database will be developed in the process. The role of AI in the creative process will also be explored as an educational tool for both professional designers and consumers.
This R&D project addresses both themes of the BEYOND 2020 conference ‘Chaos’ and ‘New Opportunities’.

*The Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology Collaborative R&D Partnership is part of the Creative Industries Clusters Programme, funded by the Industrial Strategy and delivered by the Arts and Humanities Research Council – www.bftt.org.uk
Author: Dr Shama Rahman, R&D Project Lead working with the Digital Anthropology Lab, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London.