RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has undergone a remarkable transformation in the fashion industry in recent years, emerging as a vibrant and dynamic regional creative hub. Now, thanks to the power of artificial intelligence, more opportunities are emerging at a rapid pace.
Blending traditional influences with modern innovation, Saudi Arabian designers have captivated audiences around the world, redefining cultural norms and showcasing the Kingdom’s rich heritage through contemporary fashion.
The establishment of the Fashion Commission in 2020 has led to the creation of high-profile events such as Riyadh Fashion Week. One particularly innovative event that ran alongside Fashion Week in October was the Tasawar exhibition.
Created by social media platform Snapchat, “Tasawar” (Arabic for “imagine”) welcomed visitors to explore a virtual reality gallery showcasing the work of five Saudi Arabian designers, allowing guests to virtually try on clothes.
Abdullah Al Hammadi, managing director of Snapchat in Saudi Arabia, said the exhibition was the first in the Middle East to combine the worlds of technology and fashion.
“At Tasawar, visitors can visit five rooms of Saudi designers where they can learn about their stories and the different augmented reality technologies used in each room,” Al Hammadi told Arab News.
By adjusting the filters in the rooms, the theme can be changed, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the worlds of different designers and their sources of inspiration.
Among the five designers taking part in the exhibition was Mohamed Khoja, owner of fashion brand Hindamme, who praised the exhibition’s creative use of AI. “Snapchat’s ‘Tasawar’ is the best example of how AI can be effectively used in fashion,” Khoja told Arab News.
“We created the world of Hindamme and immersed users in both the digital and physical space. We also created mirrors where users can try on Hindamme’s digital creations, as well as special filters and lenses that take users on an experiential journey.”
A file photo showing attendees at the Tawassar exhibition, held in the King Abdullah Financial District from October 2 to 23 as part of Riyadh Fashion Week. (Provided)
However, as with other creative industries, concerns remain about the extent to which AI should be involved in the design process, and how its intrusion will impact fashion brands and culture in general.
Khoja believes AI can be a valuable tool for research, but says it shouldn’t be used as a primary design tool because it “can undermine the authentic identity and creativity of the designers themselves.”
“The AI is primarily a search tool that predicts what you want to see,” he says, “so as you search for different subjects, you’ll see AI-created mashups.”
“AI’s suggestions are interesting, but they don’t come from emotion. That’s why I don’t think AI will ever replace our natural creativity as designers.”
“But AI can be very powerful when used as a tool to perform routine functions and can save a lot of time and effort in that regard.”
Riyadh Fashion Week partnered with Snapchat to showcase the work of five Saudi designers in the Tasawar exhibition, which uses augmented reality and AI to connect the real and digital worlds. (AN photo: Rahaf Jambi)
Dalia Darweesh, personal stylist and editor at List Magazine, also sees AI as a useful tool that can create mood boards and looks based on a client’s body type, saving her a lot of time.
“When it comes to fashion brands, AI can help analyze future product trends and customer preferences,” she told Arab News. “In some cases, fashion brands can offer virtual fittings to make online shopping a seamless experience.”
She added: “One of my favourite companies using AI is Taffi Inc., an online platform that offers personalized styling services through AI assistants in addition to professional stylists.”
“I don’t like the idea of AI taking over the world, especially in the creative industries. But if AI can help with tasks or delegate them, it’s essential to use it.”
Fashion journalist Mohammed Yousif is similarly cautious about AI’s applications in the industry. “AI can help significantly reduce the number of errors,” he told Arab News. “It can also help sustainable brands achieve better results from an eco-friendly and ethical system.”
Riyadh Fashion Week partnered with Snapchat to showcase the work of five Saudi designers in the Tasawar exhibition, which uses augmented reality and AI to connect the real and digital worlds. (AN photo: Rahaf Jambi)
But, he adds, “When it comes to the creative process, I think designers lose sight of the core of their job here. A designer’s job is to come up with ideas, choose fabrics and colours. That’s what differentiates one designer from another and creates the identity of a brand.”
“I also believe that creativity is a human trait. Even if AI is creative, it will never be as authentic or impactful as a human.”
Asked whether AI could create a lasting “digital legacy” for top fashion designers after their death, Yousif was skeptical: “I don’t think it’s a smart idea to program fashion because fashion breaks down when it becomes repetitive,” he said.
“Maintaining identity is important, but I don’t think we would be able to enjoy John Galliano’s work today if Christian Dior had done so. The same can be said about Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld. They both managed to preserve the style of their founder in a way that aligned with the latest trends in fashion, while at the same time bringing their own creativity.”
“You can’t predict the future of fashion, so why should a designer dictate the future of a brand? Maybe your style won’t be relevant in the future. Many of the brands we know today would be forgotten if they hadn’t hired designers with new styles. Think Gucci or Tom Ford.”
Riyadh Fashion Week partnered with Snapchat to showcase the work of five Saudi designers in the Tasawar exhibition, which uses augmented reality and AI to connect the real and digital worlds. (AN photo: Rahaf Jambi)
But that doesn’t stop budding and established fashion designers from experimenting with this technique and incorporating it into different parts of their creations.
Speaking at the WWD Global Fashion Summit in Riyadh on June 6, American fashion designer Noma Kamali said her brand will release a full collection created with the help of AI this October and will experiment with how to interpret Kamali’s designs of the past.
“This is not a copy of Norma Kamali. It’s something new, and I can tweak it and tinker with it,” she says, “but I plan to live to be 120 years old eventually, so when I pass the baton on, my team will be trained to use it, too.”
She added: “I teach them to think like me and act like me, to use what I think when I create my collections.”
But Kamali also has concerns. “AI is not a creative person. AI is hard to replace,” she says. “AI can support creative people and expand their capabilities. And creative people can use AI as a tool.”
Many designers seem to agree that AI’s greatest strength when applied to the fashion industry is its role as a research assistant, and Rakan Al Shehri, brand and design leader at Adrar, believes one of AI’s major advantages is how it accelerates the creative process.
This section contains relevant reference points arranged in the (Opinion column).
“Previously, creatives often turned to platforms like Pinterest, Shutterstock, Pexels and social media to create mood boards and visuals for different design disciplines,” he told Arab News. “With AI, it is now possible to create highly accurate visual references at an early stage in the creative process.”
“For example, if we’re designing a brand identity for a fashion retailer specializing in men’s clothing, we want to translate the brand’s story into a cohesive visual tool for their marketing campaigns, social media, website, etc.
“Once your story is ready, you just need to access Midjourney (an AI generator) and write a prompt that will generate a ton of visual references for you. This way, instead of spending hours searching through a vast visual library for inspiration, you can gather inspiration and create a mood board in just a few minutes.”
Al Shehri said another major advantage was “cost efficiency.”
“For freelance designers, external tools and stock image websites are expensive and often beyond the budget of a project,” he says. “With AI, you can access unlimited visual elements for free or for a reasonable price.”
One of Al-Shehri’s favorite programs is Midjourney, a generative AI similar to OpenAI’s DALL-E that creates images from natural language descriptions. “In my opinion, Midjourney is the best AI image generation platform available today,” he said.
“There are a lot of easy to use features, one of my favorites is the /blend feature. This allows you to blend your older visual styles with your latest work to quickly generate and explore new styles.
“I use Midjourney almost daily and would highly recommend it to anyone in the creative industry.
AI-generated photo. (Courtesy)
Another generative AI that’s becoming popular among fashion designers is Krea.ai. “Krea builds amazing art-driven, web-based tools that give you more control over the generated visuals, which is great for visual art rather than commercial graphics,” Al-Shehri said. “I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting with the tool.”
Luma Labs’ “Dream Machine,” which creates high-quality, realistic videos from text and images, has also revolutionized the creative process.
“Luma Labs specializes in video and motion generation, and some of my favorite photographers and art directors use the technology a lot,” Al Shehri said. “For fashion photographers, it’s an incredibly useful tool.”
For now, at least, fashion designers need not fear being replaced by AI Armanis or robot Rabannes. Instead, Al-Shehri says, designers can use these tools to streamline and speed up their work.
“Overall, AI today is an incredible tool to enhance the creative process for artists and designers,” he said.
