A groundbreaking study from the Wisconsin School of Business is redefining how the fashion industry thinks about creativity, crowdsourcing, and artificial intelligence.
Page Moreau, John R. Nevin Professor of Marketing at WSB and her co-authors—Emanuela Prandelli of Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and Martin Schreier of Vienna University in Vienna, Austria—used a first-of-its-kind collaboration to show how AI can be used to transform creative processes. The partnership was with luxury fashion house Missoni, digital co-creation platform AWAYTOMARS, and tech company IBM.
Moreau and her co-authors emphasize that while AI is a powerful tool in its own right, its true potential is unlocked when integrated strategically, such as utilizing human-generated ideas as a creative springboard. In Missoni’s case, leveraging crowdsourced designs as inputs allowed AI to transform overlooked concepts into top-performing products, even surpassing the original winning entries.
The research challenges the traditional crowdsourcing model, where only a few “winning” ideas are rewarded while the rest are ignored. Instead, the team used AI to analyze hundreds of non-winning entries from a global fashion design contest. The AI synthesized these submissions into new text-based design recommendations that better aligned with Missoni’s iconic brand identity. Missoni designers then created six designs inspired by the AI-generated concepts, and the AI selected two of them to move forward to market.
The results were stunning: The AI-recommended designs outsold the human-selected winners by more than 2-to-1 in Missoni’s retail stores and online channels. Controlled experiments further confirmed that consumers perceived the AI-co-created designs as more aligned with Missoni’s visual brand identity and were willing to pay more for them. This suggests that AI can help brands maintain their identity while still delivering fresh, crowd-informed designs.
Key findings:
- AI-co-created designs based on non-winning submissions significantly outperformed contest winners in real-world sales.
- Consumers rated AI designs as more representative of Missoni’s brand identity.
- Disclosure that AI was involved in the design process reduced consumer willingness to pay, highlighting the tension between innovation and perceived authenticity in luxury branding.
“This research shows that AI can amplify creativity by synthesizing the collective intelligence of the crowd,” said Moreau. “It’s a powerful example of how AI can unlock hidden value in places we’ve traditionally overlooked.”
“This research shows that AI can amplify creativity by synthesizing the collective intelligence of the crowd. It’s a powerful example of how AI can unlock hidden value in places we’ve traditionally overlooked.”
The study arrives at a pivotal moment for the fashion industry.
According to McKinsey & Company’s State of Fashion 2024 report, luxury brands are navigating a landscape marked by economic uncertainty, slowing growth, and rising pressure to innovate while preserving brand identity. At the same time, the industry is grappling with the challenge of integrating AI meaningfully into creative workflows and addressing sustainability concerns tied to overproduction.
This research offers a compelling response to those challenges. By leveraging AI as a collaborator to extract value from designs, brands can maximize the return on their creative investments and reduce waste.
At the same time, the findings highlight a critical friction: While AI can enhance creative outcomes, consumer perceptions remain sensitive to its role in these outcomes. For brands, success will depend not only on how they use AI, but in how they frame it. The public’s enthusiasm for innovation is often tempered by skepticism, especially when technology appears to replace, rather than enhance, human creativity.
“There’s a real tension right now,” continued Moreau. “Consumers are intrigued by AI, but they’re also wary, especially when it feels like brands are using it as a shortcut rather than a tool. We’ve seen backlash when companies lean too heavily on automation at the expense of authenticity. Our research shows that AI can absolutely enhance creativity, but only when it’s used to support, not replace, human vision.”
“AI can absolutely enhance creativity, but only when it’s used to support, not replace, human vision.”
The implications extend beyond fashion. The study initiates new conversations about the future of creative industries, the ethics of AI-co-created intellectual property, and how brands can leverage technology and human creativity to remain both innovative and authentic. It also demonstrates how AI can be used not only for operational efficiency but as a strategic tool in product development and brand storytelling.
WSB is at the forefront of integrating human ingenuity with advanced AI to tackle complex business problems and spark innovation across industries.
“At the Wisconsin School of Business, we’re not just exploring AI, we’re applying it in ways that challenge assumptions and deliver real-world impact,” said Matt Seitz, director of the AI Hub for Business at WSB. “This study exemplifies how combining AI with human creativity can enhance business value and drive innovation in even the most subjective and style-driven industries.”
By bridging marketing, technology, and design, WSB continues to pioneer research that is both academically rigorous and universally relevant, proving that the future of innovation lies in the collaboration between human insight and technological advancement.