This lab explores the rapidly evolving intersection of artificial intelligence and fashion design, with a sharp focus on African designers’ unique perspectives and challenges. Participants will examine how AI is reshaping the creative and retail processes, from ideation to market, while confronting real-world constraints such as data accessibility and ethical considerations.
A central theme is the complex relationship between heritage and technology: how can designers honor rich cultural legacies while innovating with cutting-edge tools? Through collaborative exercises, the lab will also tackle the growing concerns around originality and AI-driven plagiarism, guiding participants to explore responsible, context-sensitive use of AI in their practice.
Key questions include :
- How can African fashion creatives leverage AI tools meaningfully, without compromising cultural authenticity ? (increasing efficiency and reducing waste)
- What systems are needed to compile and use design data efficiently and ethically?
- How can AI support, not replace, human imagination in fashion?
- What are the impacts on employement and how to avoid them ?
This lab is an opportunity to co-create solutions, share strategies, and chart a more equitable and innovative path forward for AI in African fashion design.
Moderator
- Sunny DOLAT, curator & designer [The Nest, Heva Fund (KEN)]
- David OYAWOYE, Futuremap Foundation
————-
DESIGN THINKING LAB
This Design Thinking Lab is a collaborative space designed to critically explore and reimagine the future of Cultural and Creative Industries in Africa. As these industries face complex shifts driven by digital innovation, economic challenges, and cultural evolution, the lab serves as both a diagnostic and a creative workshop, bringing together designers, technologists, entrepreneurs, policy-makers and creatives. Structured around immersive sessions and co-creation exercises, this lab aims to uncover pain points, surface insights, and generate actionable solutions that are rooted in the real context of creative ecosystems.
Capacity: 50 people
