The Use of AI in Luxury Fashion
The Use of AI in Luxury Fashion
By Brooklyn Hoffmann — April 13, 2026
Luxury brands are often viewed as the pinnacle of fashion with a focus on timelessness, high investment value, and heritage. Products are often handmade and crafted with premium materials. Luxury brands tend to produce items in limited quantities, which results in high demand and a lofty price tag. However, the recent rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology may tarnish the legacy that many luxury fashion brands have accumulated over decades.
The use of generative AI tools to create social content and advertising has been a recent topic of debate in the marketing industry. While AI can be used as a cost-cutting mechanism for a brand’s marketing, it also presents significant risks to the labor market, the environment, and one’s own cognitive function. Creatives across genres often view AI as harmful to the originality and sustainability of products. This was exhibited through the harsh criticism that Gucci received following AI-generated images posted to promote its Milan Fashion Week show.
Gucci has dominated the luxury fashion industry for over a century and is recognized globally for its high-quality craftsmanship and timeless designs. Following Creative Director Alessandro Michele’s resignation in 2022, Gucci encountered a period of declining sales and a lack of standout products. Demna, former artistic director of Balenciaga, joined Gucci as creative director in July 2025, marking Gucci’s Fall 2026 show as Demna’s runway debut for the fashion house.
Demna’s collection garnered immense attention prior to the show due to the AI-generated images posted as a teaser. Alongside real pictures of Sophia Loren exiting a Gucci boutique in 1966 and Michelangelo’s David were synthesized images of a satellite in space, a horse on the beach, and a woman in a fur coat at a café, just to name a few. The origin of the pictures wasn’t clear at first, but Gucci soon added a tag to the posts indicating that they were generated using AI, which subsequently sent critics into a heated debate over the technology’s involvement in luxury fashion.
Backstage at the Milan show, CNN asked Demna if he thought Gucci’s use of AI was controversial. Demna replied: “I don’t think so! I think this is 2026. I’m using things as a tool. If I can use it to do something that gives me a quick idea or visualization of something, why shouldn’t I?”
For many, the answer to Demna’s question of “Why shouldn’t I?” is blatantly clear: when an acclaimed fashion brand uses AI to quickly create campaigns, a multitude of photographers, models, marketers, and content creators are neglected.
Branding relies on human insight and is a product that forms when creative minds are utilized in group settings. When brands replace real people who have experience in the fashion industry with artificial intelligence, they risk losing unique design characteristics, high-quality reputations, and respected images. For a brand like Gucci—which boasts high prices that reflect its “luxury” label—the affordability of a campaign isn’t a problem. This forces consumers to question the craftsmanship and creativity behind the products, and it also begs the question: Can fashion be considered luxury if the branding isn’t?
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