In the Age of Artificial Intelligence.. London Designers Celebrate the Hands that Make Fashion

- This season, it seemed that many of the designers participating in London Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2027 wanted to remind everyone of one fact: these clothes were made by humans. This idea was clearly highlighted in the show by British designer Steve O. Smith, which was not a traditional runway show, but rather a seminar presented by Smith himself to about 20 fashion editors and journalists in an intimate hall within the Royal Academy of Arts.

The designer discussed each look in detail, not only in terms of its cut but also regarding the intricate techniques involved in its execution, in a timeframe that is usually not afforded by fashion shows where looks pass before the audience in mere seconds. He talked about the embroidery attached to the tulle, the bead details, the inner pieces that give the skirt its volume, and even the ties made from shirts.

At the end of the session, Smith spoke enthusiastically about his very small team from behind the lecture podium, saying that talking about them makes him "a little emotional." He explained that a seamstress named Joanna executed everything the audience saw, along with a bead embroidery artist named Saskia, and Thomas, his design assistant, whom he described as "incredibly amazing."

Backstage at the show of French designer Pauline Duhancourt the Fourth in London, the designer, who is participating in the prestigious residency program organized by the Paul Smith Foundation to support talent in fashion, spoke extensively about nearly 700 hand-crocheted flowers that adorned one of her dresses. She said that making each flower from the threads took between 10 to 15 minutes, with a large percentage of them crafted by women in Peru.

She noted that her clients are specifically interested in knowing the time it took to create the piece and what lies behind its execution. Meanwhile, at the show of the brand "Labrum," founded by Sierra Leonean-British designer Foday Dumbuya, guests met the hands that contributed to making the collection before they saw the clothes on the runway.

At the entrance to the exhibition space, two people sat at tables working on the pieces in front of the audience; one was manually attaching beads to a piece of fabric, while the other was sewing a denim piece using a sewing machine. They said that what they were doing was part of a performance art, but they were actually members of the design team.

The collection included hand-woven raffia trousers from India, along with shirts, shorts, and skirts adorned with hand embroidery that recalls scenes from Sierra Leone. Dumbuya said after the show: "People do not realize how the pieces are made and where they come from. So we wanted to put this process in the spotlight and celebrate it." How long will human labor remain an essential part of the clothing industry?

Today, it seems taken for granted that someone, using a needle or a sewing machine, made the piece we wear, but whether they received fair pay or worked in safe conditions is less clear. With artificial intelligence and robots gradually entering the stages of fashion design and production, another question arises: How long will human labor remain an essential part of the clothing industry?

AI technologies have gradually infiltrated design processes in recent years, while companies specializing in robotics are currently developing technologies that take on tasks more related to actual execution, such as cutting patterns, sewing, and quality inspection, in countries including South Korea. When Dumbuya was asked about the impact of AI on the fashion industry, he replied: "100%."

The moment we eliminate this human interaction, we are done." Meanwhile, Talia Lobotton, founder and designer of the British brand "Libero," went further than just discussing her working style.

She brought journalists, editors, buyers, and even some of her clients directly into this process when she used the collection presentation session to shoot images for her new campaign. Backstage is usually the most chaotic part of fashion shows, a place designers prefer to keep out of sight.

But Lobotton decided to reveal this process, amidst the movement of stylists and photographers who were moving around her, sticking notes on a large board for the models to determine the looks that had been photographed. She spoke about the importance of having everyone in the same room, the ability to discuss the collection, get to know each other, talk together, show how the work is done and how the images are made, and involve them in this process.

This focus on the human aspect behind Fashion Week, from design teams and photographers to stylists and seamstresses, seemed to be an essential part of defining luxury in these shows. Perhaps it was a deliberate stance against technology, or perhaps traditional working methods are beginning to gain new meaning in a world governed by AI technologies.

Ultimately, human hands were present at every stage of these shows.