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CHARLBURY (Oxfordshire) – A “co-pilot”, not a rival. Generative artificial intelligence is transforming and improving the world of fashion and luxury, but it can never replace human inventiveness and creativity: this is the positive message from Anca Marola, Chief Data Officer of LVMH, responsible for the technological development of all and 75 brands of the group in different sectors. «Generative AI has revolutionized the sector in just a few months – said Marola, in England to participate in Voices 2023, the summit organized by Business of Fashion at Soho Farmhouse near Oxford -. It is a precious assistant along the entire supply chain and makes each phase more efficient and quicker, from design to prototype and from merchandising to advertising.”
A Louis Vuitton bag, for example, goes from design to prototype quickly thanks to 3D printing, but that’s just the beginning. «A bag has 130 elements and many prototypes are never made – said Marola -. It used to take two weeks to scan ten years of history and predict the cost, whereas now not only does it take two minutes, but the result is more accurate.” AI can now accurately predict the production costs of each individual item along the entire journey, create the most effective brand communication and target advertising to the right recipients, allowing you to spend your budget more effectively. “Generative AI added 30% on average to orders, because more targeted merchandising and marketing leads to more purchases,” the manager said. Data is now a strategic business asset and it is therefore crucial to have relevant and up-to-date data, but in the end “the important thing is not the technology for our sector, but the design and customer experience”.
Until recently the creative aspect was isolated from the transformation induced by new technologies, but generative AI is revolutionizing the sector. Many fear that it could interfere with the creative process and even replace designers. These fears are unfounded, according to Marola: «AI is used with great enthusiasm by our designers as a useful tool for experimenting, with shapes, colors and materials, because it allows them to realize their creations much more quickly, but no AI will ever replace the original ideas that only a human being can have.”
A machine, however sophisticated and advanced, will not be able to recreate two typically human characteristics that are crucial for the world of fashion and luxury: empathy and creativity. «My prediction is that these skills will indeed be increasingly precious and valued in the future», she underlined. LVMH has just signed a partnership with the prestigious Human-centered AI Institute at Stanford University to launch joint research projects on the interaction between humans and computers, on the evolution of design and on supply chain management.
The fashion world is “obsessed” with artificial intelligence and according to a recent survey, 73% of industry executives say it is their number one priority for 2024. The targeted marketing aspect that generative AI enables is particularly interesting. Using it, BoF created the Brand Magic Index, managing to “measure” the distance between brand and customer. Taking 50 major brands, the algorithm created with the help of psychologists as well as computer scientists studied all the content generated by the brand (marketing, advertising, social media) on a global level, then overlaying it with the content generated by consumers on social media to verify which messages sent by the brand are correctly received by existing and potential customers.