The Anti-AI Slop Playbook
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As generative AI floods the market with fast, low-cost content, luxury brands are learning to harness the tech without eroding the value of craft, authorship, and cultural authority. From “anti-slop” design cues to immersive real-world experiences, a new playbook is emerging.
Save StorySave this storySave StorySave this storyEarlier this month Gucci sparked debate with a series of surreal campaign images, from a helmet-haired Milanese socialite in a wood-paneled restaurant, to a hyper-gloss ’80s couple posing on a car. The visuals, shared to Instagram, read as high-production fashion editorials. Only later did the brand disclose that they were generated by AI.When creative director Demna was asked if the decision was controversial, he told CNN backstage at his debut show: “I don’t think so. I think this is 2026. I’m using things as a tool. If I can use it to do something that gives me a quick idea or visualization of something, why shouldn’t I do it? It’s like, in 2008, retailers were refusing e-commerce because it was not quality. I find it ridiculous.”Precedence Research predicts that the AI fashion market will be worth $60 billion by 2034, with annual growth rates nearing 40%. Already, brands across the sector are integrating generative tools into both creative and production workflows. Valentino, for example, began experimenting with AI in campaigns last September, using AI visuals generated from original footage of its Le Méta-Théâtre Des Intimités show as part of its Vans collaboration. More recently, the house enlisted digital artist Total Emotional Awareness to create a surreal, AI-generated collage to promote its DeVain handbag. Guess has also experimented with the technology, producing an AI-made advert with creative company Seraphinn...
