THE BROAD VIEW

While creatives fight AI, fashion may profit from its ‘negative space’

In a world demanding protection from GenAI, fashion’s low-IP zone offers some surprising lessons

Social media is both a boon and bane for luxury fashion brands. Images and videos of new designs unveiled at the seasonal runway shows are widely circulated just minutes after, or even streamed simultaneously. While this can boost sales, it also gives fast fashion copyists immediate access to the designs. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Fast fashion offers “knock-offs”, as opposed to “counterfeits”. Knock-offs can benefit designers by inducing faster turnover, additional sales and a constant demand for new products. PHOTO: AFP

David Tan

Published Sat, Sep 6, 2025 · 07:00 AM

EVERY week, we read about authors and artists in copyright lawsuits against companies behind generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) applications such as ChatGPT and Midjourney. Presently, there are about 50 ongoing lawsuits globally claiming that the use of copyrighted works such as literary texts, paintings and photographs to train GenAI are illegal, or that the outputs produced are substantially similar to the originals, and hence have a substitutive impact on these works.

The clarion call by the creators urges for stronger copyright enforcement. The fashion industry, however, presents a striking paradox: This global powerhouse, with a projected revenue of US$1.7 trillion in 2025, has long thrived in the face of weaker copyright laws.

Copyright’s “negative space” is an area where creation and innovation can thrive without significant protection from the law. In this negative space, creators are not exclusively motivated or incentivised by the prospect of intellectual property (IP) protection.

Fashion industry Artificial Intelligence Copyright law

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