Lebanese designer Rami Kadi is taking virtual fashion to new levels. To create his spring couture collection, he fed reams of information into a computer, using AI algorithms to propose combinations of motif, fabric, color and technique.
The computer suggested 10,000 possibilities, of which he selected 40 to make his real-world couture designs — elaborately embellished dresses and separates with an eclectic mix of patterns, colors and cuts.
At his Paris presentation, he quashed concerns that computers might make designers redundant one day. “The computer is trying to make our lives easier,” he told WWD. “It suggests things that we didn’t think of.”
The virtual world informed the holographic shimmer of many of the designs, Kadi explained. But the three-dimensional effects of many of the looks — the origami folds, pleats and over-embroideries of his bridal gown, a statement dress created with ruffles of fabric in pink and white with a heart motif or the ostrich-feather embellishments of a cropped bustier cocktail dress, for example — were more tangible in a real-world setting, although their colorful esthetics would also stand out in the metaverse.
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Kadi’s experimentation with virtual fashion does not stop there. Next week, he will launch a collection of NFT clothing, claiming to be the first designer from the Middle East to do so. And his designs are intended to be worn, even in the virtual realm. “I’m the first in the world to do NFTs with utilities,” he said, intending for people to buy his designs to dress their avatars. “We are catering to a bigger market. We would like to see more female people in the crypto world.”