New York Fashion Week is the style set’s annual invitation to see and be seen, zipping between shows and documenting trends as soon as they strut down the catwalk. 2025’s iteration proved no different, with buzzy shows from brands like Coach, Cos, and Tory Burch. But there was a digitally charged undercurrent running through many of the collections this time around, and it concerns the future of AI in fashion.
Designers like Alexander Wang integrated the use of artificial intelligence into the design process, while Altuzarra offered a poignant and more subtle warning against the dangers of modern technology. Ralph Lauren took a different approach, launching a unique AI-driven tool that aims to change how we shop for luxury goods. This all occurs, of course, against a global backdrop of concern—and occasional outrage—regarding the role of AI in the creative process. But ultimately, whichever side of the tech divide your opinions may fall on, the fashion world’s inexorable march towards AI continues, and it’s only picking up speed.
Alexander Wang Gives AI The Wheel
Alexander Wang’s SS26 show was bound to be notable, as it marked the house’s return to New York Fashion Week after six years without a presence, but it also made waves for a different reason. The brand boldly embraced the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the development and creation of its Spring 2026 collection. Titled Matriarch, the collection featured AI-generated backdrops as well as a unique 3D-printed stiletto created in collaboration with HILOS, a software and production company. Notably, the Griphoria stiletto was created without the use of CAD files or any waste.
If you’re wondering what this spells for the future of fashion, Wang remains adamant that AI has a very specific role in the creative process, and it doesn’t involve replacing the human side. “I don’t believe AI is going to replace creativity—creativity is the only disruptor. And AI allows us to reserve our human mindset for bigger things,” he shared.
Altuzarra Explores Hyperreality
Altuzarra’s nods to AI were altogether more subtle, and were inspired by the dangers of today’s technology. The carefully crafted creations deliberately invited close and discerning attention, intended to mirror today’s world, where AI blurs the line between the real and the artificial.
“That we live in this bizarre, fun house world where we can’t really tell what things are, there was something about that that really attracted me,” Joseph Altuzarra explained. “The inspiration behind this collection came from this moment that I had on the street where I saw someone out of the corner of my eye walking by—I sort of caught what she was wearing and registered it, but then I did a double take and realised it was something completely different.” The collection’s exploration of this theme was nuanced, and lay in the detail and craftsmanship behind the floral appliqués and surrealist motifs—imploring the consumer to slow down and take a closer look in an age when attention is a commodity.
Ralph Lauren Says Forget Alexa, Ask Ralph Instead
Fashion’s foray into machine learning wasn’t limited to the runway this September. Against the backdrop of the fashion week calendar, Ralph Lauren debuted AskRalph, an AI styling assistant integrated into the brand’s app for users across America. Created in partnership with Microsoft and OpenAI, AskRalph acts as a virtual font of fashion knowledge, capable of answering styling and shopping conundrums while referencing the entire available Polo Ralph Lauren inventory. Users can ask Ralph to recommend outfits for specific occasions, give them styling options for an existing piece, and add items to their virtual shopping cart.
The decision to launch the initiative alongside the buzz of fashion week was deliberate, and signals that the American brand sees AI as an inevitable part of fashion’s future. The statement carries all the more weight when coming from a brand like Ralph Lauren, whose identity has always been entwined with heritage and timelessness. Ralph Lauren’s core appeal to luxury consumers has never relied on being at the cutting edge of technology, so what does it mean that they’re embracing it wholeheartedly? Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, David Lauren, the brand’s chief innovation officer and a key driving force behind AskRalph, acknowledged the initiative’s critics—but ultimately, he argued, “there’s no doubt that [AI] is going to become central as part of our world.”
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