SUPPLIER INSIGHTS
WHEN AI GROWS UP: THE AGENTIC REVOLUTION CONNECTING 3D PRECISION WITH CREATIVE FLOW
Elizabeth Brandwood, ASCBI Event Director and Head of UK Operations at Style3D, talks to Footwear & Fashion Today about the use of Artificial Intelligence within the fashion industry, and how, with the right direction, it can become a helpful tool!
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n October 2024, the ASBCI held an industry conference exploring the risks and opportunities of emerging Artificial Intelligence technologies. Since then, the fashion and footwear industry has
fallen head over heels for AI-generated imagery. This year, the novelty has worn off, and the real revolution is happening
quietly behind the scenes. The industry’s most exciting developments are no longer about conjuring up pretty pictures out of thin air – they are about orchestrating the messy, complex journey from initial concept to a shelf-ready product. Fashion AI is finally growing up. But to understand how it’s maturing, we
need to clear up a common misconception: AI is the orchestrator, not the blueprint. While generative AI is brilliant at dreaming up mood boards, true physical accuracy doesn’t come from an algorithm guessing what an outdoor jacket or a leather boot looks like – it comes from robust 3D technology. The future isn’t about letting AI hallucinate a garment or a sneaker; it’s
about pairing the creative fluidity of AI with the mathematical certainty of 3D, locking them both inside a unified, agentic workflow.
Where the real work begins
Between the first flash of inspiration and a customer unboxing a new pair of shoes or a tailored jacket lies fashion’s toughest gauntlet. Technical design, pattern making, fit validation, grading, costing, and material sourcing require hundreds of micro-decisions. For global brands, this isn’t just an operational hurdle anymore; it’s an
existential one. As product lifecycles shrink and margins tighten, the ability to shepherd a creative vision through technical development without losing its soul – or wasting weeks on physical samples – is the ultimate competitive edge.
The rise of agentic AI and multi-agent workflows The next generation of fashion technology is shifting from static tools to agentic AI workflows. Instead of designers bouncing between isolated apps to sketch, edit, and sign off, the entire lifecycle is moving into a single workflow dedicated strictly to the parameters of that specific designed style.
Creation of a coat from sketch
to design and technical sketch for a tech pack (using AI), from Style3D
Imagine an ecosystem where: ¡ Multiple specialised fashion agents talk to one another ¡ A technical drawing agent translates a sketch into precision specs ¡ A materials agent cross-references sustainable fabric options and physical constraints via 3D data
¡ A merchandising agent flags cost implications and commercial viability on a shared digital board in real time
Rather than acting as a lonely assistant spitting out random concepts,
AI is evolving into a collaborative web. It connects design, technical development, and marketing across a shared digital workspace.
A collaboration tool across the entire business When AI and 3D tech lock arms, the impact ripples across every department in a fashion house. For designers, ideation, editing, and sign-off happen within a dedicated
style workflow, meaning the creative vision isn’t lost in translation during handovers. For technical teams, specialist knowledge in pattern making and fit is preserved and scaled, anchoring digital assets in physical reality using 3D accuracy. And for merchandisers and marketers, early visibility means marketing assets can be pre-rendered directly from approved 3D digital products long before the first factory sample arrives in London or Milan. The digital garment becomes a single source of truth, drastically cutting down on rework, sample shipping waste, and inter-departmental guesswork.
The next chapter The first chapter of fashion AI was defined by imagination and eye- catching imagery. The next chapter is defined by execution, precision, and collaboration. By letting 3D technology handle the physical physics of fashion while agentic AI manages the workflow, the industry can finally bridge the long-standing chasm between the design studio and the factory. The competitive advantage of tomorrow won’t belong to the brand that generates the most AI concepts – it will belong to the team that uses connected agents to turn great ideas into flawless products with unprecedented speed.
32 • FOOTWEAR & FASHION TODAY • AUGUST 2026 DOWNLOAD THE FOOTWEAR & FASHION TODAY APP NOW SPONSORED BY
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