AI Meets The Men’s Fall 2023 Fashion Shows

Our Very Own Chief Impressionist, Kenneth Richard, Re-Interprets the Fall 2023 Men’s Collections with an Artistic Bent

The advent of new technologies often enters the market with much debate, onboarding a small following, pivoting to fanfare, and eventually gaining wide user acceptance. The Impression’s Chief Impressionist, Kenneth Richard, decided to dive in head first this season into AI image creation as a tool to capture the spirit of the key men’s collections as they come off the runway.

Using a combination of artisanal references, imagination, and the collections themselves, Kenneth sought to showcase how he perceived each designer’s vision, capturing the spirit of the collection rather than the exact designs themselves.

Coming out of the runway season is often similar to seeing a film; you are gifted a springboard for narrative. Be it rethinking the character’s influences, motivation, or where they go next. Designers inspire not simply in their execution within their brief 15-minute showings of 40 looks but in their sharing of their dreams. The invites, set, music, and movement are uplifting; I’m grateful each season for their vision. Each season I walk away with an artistic interpretation of their showings and, through AI, wish to express my gratitude in a way that shares with them how they influence me.

– Kenneth Richard, Chief Impressionist

We asked Kenneth to showcase his creative works along with a few thoughts on what inspired his AI-enhanced point of view.

Rick Owens

Rick’s shows are constantly a highlight of the week for me because his artistic vision is modern, rich, and elevated. I find the level of detail and thought exhilarating. While many think of his as ultra-futuristic, I find a tremendous amount of artisanal classicism in his work. He often marries current political thought, art references, and sublime colors in a way that makes me think of Flemish and Dutch still-life paintings. Everything he touches has a deeper meaning than what is on the surface and drips with reference. I love that depth, and the darkness is wrapped in colorful beauty.

Dior

Kim Jones’ Dior always takes me to another landscape. His utilitarian tailoring is futuristic and fantasy-like. And while the collection is often showcased in a setting reflecting attainable beauty, I always see it in some far-off, organically modern land that bridges its technical prowess with ghostly worlds.

Lemaire

Lemaire represents to me the pinnacle of beauty in everyday movement. The joy in getting up and moving throughout the day, Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran, transfix me with motion, flow, and warmth. Organic confidence, power in oneself, and fluidity drip throughout their work. And the coloring …. reminds me of rays of light on cloudy days.

Loewe

Jonathan Anderson can do no wrong in my book. For Loewe, Anderson constantly references the art of craft and the art of art. But I always see his collections as an album. The one you constantly drop on your Technics 1200 turntable and then download as you wander while finding your way onto streets where shopkeeps open the rarest of stores. There is often a waking daydream and melody to the collection that I find myself transfixed by.

Maison Margiela

John Galliano is hands-down fashion’s greatest mixologist. His storytelling is enthralling, filled with layers of details and backstories. Part futurist, part pirate, part 40’s throwback, his work is thrilling, gorgeous, and, dare I say, kinda funny. He winks with a grin that is tremendously charming. The only thing holding back his work at Maison Margiela from enveloping the world in his reality is that he has to show in our reality. Otherwise, we would all be living in John’s world and loving it.

Saint Laurent

Perhaps more than any designer today, Anthony Vacarello understands the value of a forthright point. His shows at Saint Laurent have a faithful following who understand the ‘order’ of streamlined chic. Both forward and monastic, there is a powerful and untouchable confidence behind his collections that is otherworldly, thoughtful, progessive and serene.

Prada

Miuccia and Raf are the dynamic duo of ‘proportion distortion’ in my book. Their Prada collections are the best of hauntings, peeking out of crevices of my imagination for weeks after the showing. Each show bridges immersive art with commerce, and I find it fitting that they show in the most contemporary museum in Milan. The shouts of color this season reminded me of ads from the 50s with the strength of Jack Kerouac.