For some, AI threatens the deeply human, creative essence of design. For others, it’s a powerful tool for efficiency — sparking ideas, cutting waste, and streamlining production. Regardless of perspective, one thing is certain: AI is reshaping the spaces we live in, the products we buy, and the clothes we wear.
Here, three pioneering designers share how AI is changing their creative practices.
Philippe Starck, Industrial Designer
In 2019, my “AI Chair” became the first mass-produced piece of industrial furniture created with artificial intelligence. I developed it with Kartell and Autodesk, exploring design free from cultural or sentimental bias.
The process was slow — three years of back-and-forth with the AI — but ultimately groundbreaking. Inspired by how a fetus’s hand forms through subtraction, we guided the software toward a solution, and within minutes, it produced a chair.
Back then, AI needed years to reach an idea. Today, it takes seconds. AI is not creativity itself, but speed — a way to connect massive amounts of information and deliver new possibilities.
Still, it lacks heart, poetry, and subconscious imagination. Real creativity remains uniquely human. For now, AI is a tool — like the telephone was. Designers should embrace its power, but never at the expense of their own intuition and vision.
My relationship with technology goes back decades, from working with early computers to exploring AI today. A few years ago, I asked: what if my 57-year fashion archive could live on through AI?
Now, an AI system categorizes my archive and generates fresh designs based on prompts. Recently, I used it to reinvent a popular striped dress — something I struggled to reimagine myself after so many variations. AI suggested new details: altered stripes, sheer panels, even collars. The results felt true to my brand, and customers responded equally to both my own and AI-generated pieces.
AI brings freedom from emotional attachment. Where I see limitations, it offers endless directions. While I share concerns that AI may replace jobs, I also believe it will create new opportunities, redefining how we work and live.
I still sketch by hand, cut patterns, and fit designs on real models. But AI adds an exciting new dimension to the process — one I can’t imagine ignoring.
