INTERNATIONAL
17.02.2023|
The Mills Fabrica,
Hong Kong & Online
The rapid development of technology in the areas of artificial intelligence, advance materials and online retail has created a multitude of innovative opportunities for fashion practitioners to create, present and commercialise their products. Speakers from a variety of backgrounds such as industry experts, fashion innovators, and influential academics will gather to engage in active discourse to discuss how advanced technologies can disrupt the future of fashion.
Fashion X AI 2022-2023: International Symposium will be conducted in hybrid mode, and is open to the public; interested parties can register for in-person or online attendance through our event’s website on a first-come-first-serve basis.

SYMPOSIUM
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
The Mills Fabrica
17 February 2023
10:00 AM – 5:30 PM HKT (GMT +8)
English
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM AGENDA

17 February 2023, Friday
4/F, The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
(How to get to The Mills)
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Registration
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Opening Ceremony
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Spray-on fabric “Instant couture dress”
A viral fashion moment was born during Paris Fashion Week in September 2022, when Fabrican founder and CEO, Dr. Manel Torres, sprayed a dress on supermodel Bella Hadid as the finale of a runway show. The viral moment captured the imagination of designers, product innovators, and consumers, seeking sustainable “mass customisable” products and flexible, efficient production processes that reduce environmental impact. Fabrican’s Sprayable fabric technology uses fibres recycled from discarded clothes and other fabrics. The sprayable fabric can be washed, reused, and finally, when the garment has come to the end of its use, re-dissolved to create new articles. Fabrican is committed to developing manufacturing for a circular economy, from sourcing of raw materials and utilising energy-efficient technologies. Dr. Torres founded Fabrican in 2003, after developing the technology at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College, London. Fabrican continues to explore ever-wider applications of the technology, including in apparel, automotive, and healthcare.
SPEAKER
Dr. Manel Torres
Managing Director, Fabrican Ltd
11:00 AM – 11:30 AM
The Computability of Narrative and the Possibility of AI Generated Content (AIGC)
We believe technology empowers human imagination. How can machine intelligence improve our ability for creating contents and communicating with audience? Dr. Ling Fan, a scholar and entrepreneur, will present his research on the conceptual framework of the computability of narrative, and business applications of AI Generated Content (AIGC).
SPEAKER
Dr. Ling Fan
CEO, Tezign.com
Director, Tongji University Design AI Lab
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
AI X Fashion: Understanding, Interaction and Creation
AI has an emerging presence in design arena in terms of creating generative visual styles and personalising the user experience. This talk will discuss how AI interacts with fashion at three levels, namely understanding, interaction and creation as well as its applications. Various emerging market ready applications, such as AI based Fine-grained Fashion Attribute and Colour Recognition System (Mixi) for enhancing shopping experience and assisting fashion brands to drive the clickthrough rate and revenue, AI based Interactive Design Assistant for Fashion System (AiDA) for fashion designers to lead AI for streamlining their creative process and facilitating their inspiration, etc. will be introduced.
SPEAKER
Prof. Calvin Wong
CEO & Centre Director, AiDLab
Cheng Yik Hung Professor in Fashion, School of Fashion and Textiles,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
Discussion Panel: AI for Enhancing Creativity
Designs and art created by artificial intelligence has a powerful presence in the new realms of creativity. The latest innovations have utilised AI as supportive medium or accessible platform for the design and development. The panel will discuss how AI can be harnessed for creative processes to generate positive impact in the creative industries.
PANEL CHAIR
Dr. Chloe Ki
Assistant Professor, School of Fashion and Textiles, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
SPEAKERS
Ms. Zowie Broach
Co-Founder, Boudicca
Head of Fashion MA Programme, Royal College of Art
Dr. Ling Fan
CEO, Tezign.com
Director, Tongji University Design AI Lab
Prof. Calvin Wong
CEO & Centre Director, AiDLab
Cheng Yik Hung Professor in Fashion, School of Fashion and Textiles,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Lunch Break
1:45 PM - 2:15 PM
Advanced Technology and Humanistic Design
Charles Johnson is an innovation leader who has forged a career in design for human performance and sports culture working for brands such as Puma, Adidas, Converse, and Ralph Lauren. His design studies at Carnegie Mellon University not only established his appreciation for applied research and technology but also defined his approach to design. His presentation will showcase the use of advanced digital technology in the design, development and validation of products and experiences and his work in biodesign - using nature as a design tool. He will cover the topic of Humanistic Design - using the power of design to do good - and both the role artificial intelligence can play in it as well as the challenges that it presents.
SPEAKER
Mr. Charles Johnson
Design and Innovation Leader
2:15 PM - 2:45 PM
“Hi Siri, please build me a brand” — The Role of AI in Branding.
AI offers limitless potentials for brands to generate a vast array of options, allowing businesses to experiment with different branding solutions quickly and easily. The mere mention of AI may already trigger fear in marketers for replacing their jobs entirely. In fact, brand values, mission, and purpose may be just as important to consumer experience as its products or services. The entrepreneurial marketer discusses how this movement can empower entrepreneurs, creatives, and marketers to create, produce and promote fashion in an authentic way.
SPEAKER
Mr. Anson Shum
Vice President Marketing, SAUVEREIGN
2:45 PM – 3:15 PM
Artificial, Existing Aesthetic or Curious Intelligence? What is really required for Fashion designers of our future?
The research team of Neo Couture have reflected upon AI within the future of the highest of luxury, the most rare of positions within Fashion - Haute Couture. Initially thoughts are to have AI as a team member alongside Nature within an Orbital Organisational System (OOS) that might create new fluxus gravities in design. This needs further discussion to understand why this might be urgently needed. And to question how we might begin working with a system and set of techne ( crafting ) tools that are inclusive, in an interconnected network, within our planetary boundaries.
SPEAKER
Ms. Zowie Broach
Co-Founder, Boudicca
Head of Fashion MA Programme, Royal College of Art
3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Break
3:45 PM – 4:15 PM
Interrogating the Role of Digital Cloth in Future Fashion
As we advance towards 5IR, we challenge our existing systems, be they economic, societal, manufacturing or consumption. Inevitably, we see that the future landscape is a complex interwoven space that requires intra-action between these systems. The role that materials play within these systems is under review from many perspectives and in a state of flux. This presentation looks at the role of digital cloth in future fashion systems and proposes a new approach to digital cloth informed by natural systems data and computational modelling from the science community. It is part of the Neo-Couture research project and is funded by the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence in Design under the InnoHK Research Clusters, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
SPEAKER
Ms. Anne Toomey
Head of Programme, Textiles, School of Design, Royal College of Art
4:15 PM – 4:45 PM
Embracing the AI Revolution: Navigating the Adoption of AI in Traditional Industries
Artificial Intelligence has made significant strides in recent years, with large-scale models leading the charge. Many industries have recognised the potential benefits of AI and are in the process of embracing its advancements. However, the road to adoption is not without its challenges. Companies like Vivity AI are smoothing the transition by emphasizing both short-term benefits and long-term potential by providing AI platforms tailored to specific industries. In this presentation, we will delve into the latest trends in AI and examine the driving factors behind its recent evolution. Additionally, we will explore how industries such as fashion can take advantage of AI technology and how the adoption of AI can help traditional industries to remain competitive and innovative. The discussion will provide insights into how businesses can benefit from the ongoing AI revolution.
SPEAKER
Dr. Yu- Sung Chang Ph.D.
CEO, Vivity AI Inc.
4:45 PM- 5:15 PM
Discussion Panel: Future Materiality: Synergising intelligence, technology, and design
Craftsmanship is a core value of the fashion and textiles industry, although steeped in heritage, technology had often been utilised to enhance the quality, functionality, and aesthetics of the products. Technical innovation had brought about a multitude of benefits for material development, creative processes, and user interactions. This panel of practitioners will discuss how they have integrated advanced technologies in their designs and explore the future landscape of creative innovation in fashion and textiles.
PANEL CHAIR
Dr. Tommy Tse
Associate Professor, Media Studies Department, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam
SPEAKERS
Dr. Yan Tina Luximon
Associate Professor, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Prof. Jeanne Tan
COO & Centre Assistant Director, AiDLab
Associate Professor, School of Fashion and Textiles,
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Ms. Anne Toomey
Head of Programme, Textiles, School of Design, Royal College of Art
Dr. Manel Torres
Managing Director, Fabrican Ltd
5:15 PM
Closing of Symposium
Tour of Exhibition / Networking
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM COMMITTEE


PROGRAMME CHAIR

PROF. JEANNE TAN
COO & Centre Assistant Director
AiDLab
Associate Professor
School of Fashion and Textiles
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
COMMITTEE MEMBERS

DR. SUN YOUNG CHOI
Assistant Professor
School of Fashion and Textiles
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

MS. JENNY CHEUNG
Lecturer, Department of Design
Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi)

DR. CHLOE KI
Assistant Professor
School of Fashion and Textiles
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

DR. MAGNUM LAM
Assistant Professor
School of Fashion and Textiles
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

DR. TOMMY TSE
Associate Professor
Media Studies Department
University of Amsterdam