Hey fashion, it’s time for a new look!
Artificial intelligence (AI) in fashion has emerged as a powerful tool with the potential to revolutionise design, garment production, marketing and customer experience. We’ve previously explored the applications of AI in the fashion industry spanning design, LCAs, compliance reporting and more, highlighting the opportunity to automate admin-heavy tasks and enhance efficiency, allowing you to focus on creativity. Yet, despite its shiny promise to do all the things, many fashion executives remain hesitant to incorporate AI into their processes. Understanding industry reluctance and barriers to AI adoption is crucial for overcoming these challenges and unlocking AI's full potential. Below we explore the common obstacles and how they can be addressed to drive innovation and growth in the fashion industry.
Lack of Understanding and Expertise
One of the primary barriers to AI adoption in fashion is the lack of understanding and expertise. As a highly creative and artistically-driven field with well-established traditional methods of working, many fashion executives may not be well-versed in AI technologies, leading to a disconnect between AI potential and its practical application.
To overcome this, investing in education and working with experts is essential. It’s not enough to just work with any AI solution provider. Collaborating with a platform that has domain expertise is necessary for understanding the nuances and processes uniquely faced by the fashion industry, in context. CircKit works closely with fashion industry experts, from ex-buyers to CSR managers, to build AI-powered tools that the industry actually wants and needs. Additionally, hiring data scientists and AI specialists who can work alongside creative teams can ensure a smoother integration of AI technologies.
High Initial Costs and ROI Concerns
The implementation of AI technologies often requires significant upfront investment. For many fashion brands, particularly smaller ones who are often at the forefront of creativity and innovation, the high cost of AI solutions can be a substantial barrier. Alongside this, the return on investment of AI initiatives might not be immediately apparent, leading to hesitation. Starting out with a small pilot project (such as a conscious range) could help your brand test out new AI applications, measuring impact, demonstrating quick wins and tangible benefits to give you greater confidence in future investment. CircKit is dedicated to serving both global fashion brands and independent designers, democratising AI advancements across the industry with a range of affordable subscriptions to suit all needs.
Data Quality and Synchronisation
AI relies heavily on data, and with supply networks that often work across borders through various suppliers and stakeholders, data sources in the fashion industry tend to be fragmented and inconsistent. Poor data quality and integration issues can hinder the effectiveness of AI solutions, making it difficult to generate accurate insights and predictions. Implementing robust data management practices to clean, standardise, and integrate your data across different departments and systems is crucial for overcoming this barrier.
CircKit’s Harmonise does this by offering a ‘single source of truth’ for brands, standardising your organisational product and ESG data across departments, eliminating data silos, and ensuring everyone works from the same information.
Integration with Existing Systems
With many fashion brands still operating on legacy systems with outdated technologies, integrating AI solutions can be technically challenging. Many of these systems may not be compatible with advanced AI tools, leading to integration issues and inefficiencies. While many of the solutions that exist today work by retrofitting AI onto legacy systems, CircKit is built from the ground up with its very own proprietary machine-learning model at its core. We understand that interoperability is key. With our data hub and open API, CircKit seamlessly integrates with your existing systems enabling greater ease of use.
Creative Ownership & Integrity Concerns
As experimentation with AI continues to permeate creative spaces, valid questions arise about who owns the rights to these creations and how credit should be allocated. Concerns around intellectual property and fair recognition often put AI and traditional designers in opposition leading to scepticism and fears around their creative contributions being overshadowed. We believe in leaving creativity to the true creative visionaries (that’s you).
Instead, CircKit’s Simulate tool focuses on measuring the potential impact of your design choices, offering real-time assistance to integrate sustainable and circular options from the start. With 80% of a fashion garment’s circularity determined during the design and range planning process, AI can help you consider new approaches, unlocking greater creativity and innovation.
Integration with Existing Systems
The adoption of AI in the fashion industry is not without its challenges, but overcoming these barriers is far from impossible. By addressing concerns related to understanding, cost, data quality, integration, and creative integrity, fashion executives can unlock the transformative potential of AI. Partnering with a fashion-specific data harmonising AI provider, starting small before scaling up and focusing on the environmental impact of your designs can pave the way for a seamless integration of AI technologies. As the fashion industry continues to evolve, those who embrace AI will be well-positioned to lead in innovation, efficiency, and sustainability.
