Research and Reflections on Fashion, AI, and the Future of Creative Work
The fashion industry is being reshaped by artificial intelligence — from design and forecasting to education and labor. My research investigates how technology, culture, and ethics intersect in this new landscape. Below are selected studies and projects that illustrate how fashion programs, educators, and businesses can navigate the AI era with integrity, creativity, and care.
Featured Insight
Navigating the Future: Essential Skills for Fashion Graduates in the Era of AI
As AI transforms every stage of fashion — design, merchandising, retail, and sustainability — the skills expected of graduates are evolving. This study analyzed 2,892 job postings to identify the competencies employers now seek, revealing rising demand for digital fluency, collaboration, and AI-driven design. The findings call for an urgent rethinking of fashion curricula to align with industry realities and maintain the creative and human dimensions of the field.
→ Presented at ITAA 2025 | [Abstract Forthcoming]
Recent Publications
Navigating the AI Revolution: Integrating Artificial Intelligence in an Undergraduate Writing Course
Integrating AI into a fashion writing and cultural studies course introduced students to the opportunities and limits of machine-generated language. Through compare-and-contrast activities and ethical discussions, students learned to critique AI’s precision and its lack of human authenticity — skills essential for future creative professionals.
→ Presented at ITAA 2025 [Abstract Forthcoming]
The Digital Divide: Scaffolding Technology Training at a Minority-Serving Institution
This paper documents how a minority-serving apparel program addressed inequities in digital access by embedding software training — from Adobe and Excel to Browzwear 3D and PLM concepts — throughout the curriculum. The project demonstrates that increasing technological access for underrepresented students is not only an equity imperative but also a workforce necessity.
→ [Read Abstract]
Intercultural Mentored Research to Impact Student Success
In this project, students conducted research on underrepresented designers and non-Western dress histories, contributing to the redesign of costume and fashion history courses. The initiative reframes the traditional “white curriculum,” builds intercultural competence, and shows how mentored research empowers students to see themselves in the future of fashion.
→ [Read Summary]
Are Unpaid Internships Just as Valuable?
Published in the International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning, this national study of more than 5,700 students compared the experiences of paid and unpaid interns. Results show that both forms offer similar mentorship and career clarity, challenging long-held assumptions about internship value — and raising important questions about equity and labor practices in creative industries.
→ [Publication Link]
In Progress
- AI, Fashion, and the Collapse of Caution — on how fear and speed are driving premature AI adoption in design, retail, and education.
- Entertainment Value or Behavioral Conditioning? — exploring gamified consumption and AI-driven reinforcement in fashion retail.
- After the Fire: Building a Future from Burnout — on resilience and imagination in an era of acceleration and algorithmic dominance.
Current Research Focus
- The ethics and future of AI in fashion
- Education and workforce development in an automated economy
- Intercultural design, equity, and representation
- The social psychology of creativity and digital labor
- Human-only skills in an AI-saturated world
About This Work
Together, these projects map a through-line: fashion is not just adapting to AI — it is redefining what it means to create, teach, and connect in an algorithmic age. My goal is to keep the human, ethical, and cultural dimensions of design at the center of that transformation.