Fashion, like all creative industries, is caught between wild creativity and its bottom line. Today, as consumer expectations change and the fashion is democratised – with consumer preferences increasingly influencing designers’ work – that tension is more apparent than ever. Big brands have for years looked toward technology to make them more profitable. But can modern tech inspire creativity?

Recently WWD reported on how Watson, IBM’s new Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution, was used during New York Fashion Week. The fastest data cruncher in the world, Watson was tasked with uncovering emerging trends within the fashion industry.

After analysing 467 runway images, Watson was able to extract the dominant colours of the styles, repeating patterns and create a “web” which illustrated who influenced who and which designers were “on trend” and which were not. (For a detailed overview of the experiment, read WWD’s article).

But how can all this data be used? Well, for one thing it could be used to keep a finger on the pulse of the world of design, which would be incredibly useful for fast-fashion companies trying to produce on-trend attire quickly.

But, perhaps more excitingly, it could also be used to inform the creative process itself. By seeing where fashion as a whole is moving in real time, designers will be able to take in a more comprehensive vision of the way things are going. This could illuminate where their own ideas are coming from, and give them a more conscious understanding why they feel compelled to create the things they do – as well as to challenge their initial ideas.

What do you think? Is applying technology like Watson to the world of fashion a catalyst for creativity? Or does over analysis threaten innovation?

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