The Technology of Fashion

By Taiwo Popoola Founder & CEO, SartorFit

At a recent webinar hosted by Berkeley College, lawyer Amy Goldsmith presented a striking image to an audience of fashion designers, professionals, and students from across Africa. The image was a pattern inspired by Kente—the iconic, colorful woven fabric from West Africa. It looked authentic, rich, and culturally resonant.

There was just one catch. She had created it with ChatGPT.

The question she posed to the room was deceptively simple: "Would this be capable of protection under the U.S. Copyright Act?"

Her answer was unequivocal: "No way, no how".

This moment captures a dilemma that is only going to intensify. As generative AI becomes more powerful and more accessible, it is rewriting the rules of creation. But the legal and ethical frameworks that govern ownership, originality, and intellectual property are struggling to keep up.

For fashion designers, this is not an abstract debate. It is a practical, business-critical concern with profound implications.

The Copyright Conundrum

The U.S. Constitution requires human inventorship for copyright and patent protection. This is the bedrock principle that Amy Goldsmith was articulating. Regardless of how sophisticated a prompt may be, an AI-generated design—in isolation—cannot be copyrighted in the United States. The courts have been clear: purely AI-generated works without meaningful human authorship do not qualify for protection.

This creates a significant risk for designers. An AI-generated pattern could be a brilliant starting point, but if its entire genesis lies in a prompt, the designer may not own the exclusive rights to it. Furthermore, designers must carefully examine the terms and conditions of the AI tools they use. As Goldsmith emphasized, they need to ensure that all inputs and outputs are going to be theirs.

The problem is compounded when AI models are trained on vast datasets of existing, copyrighted designs. This raises the specter of unintentional infringement. If an AI-generated design closely mimics a protected work, the user could be liable for copyright violation, even without any intent to copy.

The Legal Grey Zone

The fashion industry has always occupied a complicated space in intellectual property law. Copyright law is significantly constrained by the "useful article" doctrine and the separability requirement, which means that copyrights only protect separable artistic elements rather than garments as a whole. Trademark and trade dress protections are typically only effective for well-established brands, and they primarily safeguard brand identifiers such as logos. Patents, specifically design patents, are often impractical due to cost and lengthy approval timelines that conflict with the fast-paced nature of the fashion industry.

Generative AI exacerbates these shortcomings by enabling rapid and large-scale replication of designs while complicating traditional notions of authorship and ownership.

The U.S. Copyright Office's 2025 guidance reiterated that purely AI-generated designs are ineligible, while AI-assisted works may be protected if the applicant can show specific, creative human contributions—and must disclose where generative tools were used. The key is whether human designers are actively curating, editing, or structurally transforming AI proposals into their own creative expression rather than simply selecting from a batch of machine suggestions.

A Cautionary Tale from Vietnam

The legal risks are not merely theoretical. In June 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City Police announced that they had initiated a criminal case against the owner of the Dat Lanh ao dai fabric brand for copyright infringement. According to initial investigations, the suspect was accused of copying design samples from a protected collection. Authorities determined that the suspect used AI tools to process images, then edited and refined the design files for production, advertising, and business purposes.

The case serves as a warning: AI generation may open up unprecedented opportunities, but it also raises the question of where the line lies between creative inspiration and copycat behavior. As one media expert noted, "Businesses need to build processes to control AI-generated content, instead of viewing technology as a complete replacement for human creative work".

Protecting Yourself in the AI Era

The webinar from Berkeley College and the Fashion Law Academy Africa was designed to address gaps in fashion law knowledge with a focus on import/export processes, intellectual property rights, AI, and retail operations between Africa and the U.S. markets. "The intent of the webinar is to meet at the intersection of fashion and legal studies," said Linda Mauro, Berkeley College associate vice president.

The advice from experts was clear:

Read the fine print. As Nicole Alexander, founder of luxury accessories brand Ivy Alexander, warned: "If you use AI, make sure the platform rights protect you. Read the fine print. Hire a good lawyer to make sure, and don't rely on AI to draft your contracts. Don't do that. Bad idea".
Maintain human authorship. The U.S. Copyright Office requires that applicants show specific, creative human contributions to claim protection. A designer who uses AI to generate ideas but then significantly modifies, curates, and transforms those outputs can still claim copyright.
Tell your story. Alexander recalled advice she received from a colleague: Products tell a story. "One of Africa's greatest competitive advantages isn't lower manufacturing costs. It's authenticity. Consumers want to know. They want to know who made this. What does it mean?"
Build systems, not just designs. This is where the conversation needs to shift—from the ethics of creation to the necessity of infrastructure.

From Creation to Infrastructure

The legal and operational complexity surrounding AI in fashion is a sign that the industry has entered a new era. The challenge is no longer just about creativity; it is about building the systems to protect, scale, and commercialize that creativity.

AI is a powerful tool, but it is not a strategy. A designer using AI to generate patterns without a robust business infrastructure is like an architect with a brilliant blueprint but no construction crew. They have a vision, but they lack the means to bring it to life in a sustainable, defensible way.

This is precisely why we built LolaGuild. It is the AI-powered Business Operating System designed specifically for fashion brands and creative entrepreneurs.

LolaGuild provides the foundation that turns creative output into a scalable, protectable, and profitable business. It combines:

Lola365 – Enterprise-grade business operations, including inventory, sales, CRM, and accounting, to manage your business with the rigor of a major label.
RoseHub – AI-powered social media management to build your brand and control your narrative.
Design Media – AI tools for professional visuals, enhancing your creative process while keeping you in control.
Lola Print – Enterprise printing with guild pricing, connecting the digital and physical worlds of your brand.
SartorGuide AI – Body measurement technology designed to dramatically reduce fit-related returns, a major profit killer in fashion e-commerce.
Business Quests – Gamified growth from E Rank to S Rank, providing a clear path from startup to industry leader.
Guild Community – A network of fashion founders, mentors, and collaborators who understand the challenges and opportunities you face.

The philosophy is simple: systems and community over hustle. Talent and creativity are essential, but systems help you scale, and community keeps you growing.

Building a Machine-Readable, Legally Sound Business

The legal questions raised by AI are not going away. They will intensify. The fashion brands that succeed will be those that treat their operations with the same seriousness as their designs.

LolaGuild is built on enterprise-grade architecture. We are a certified Microsoft AI Partner, a certified NVIDIA Partner, and integrate with Red Hat open-source technologies. LolaGuild is live on the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace (Azure Marketplace) , giving you the security, scalability, and credibility needed to compete in the modern economy.

By providing a unified system for operations, marketing, and community, LolaGuild helps designers build a business that is not just creative, but also resilient and defensible.

The Future Belongs to the Prepared

The Berkeley College webinar was designed to address a critical gap in knowledge about import/export, intellectual property, and AI between African and U.S. markets. It reflects a global reality: fashion is a global business, and the rules are complex.

The same complexity applies to the technology powering the industry. AI can create, but it cannot own. It can inspire, but it cannot protect.

That is why a platform like LolaGuild is so important. It gives fashion entrepreneurs the tools to build a business that can withstand legal scrutiny, scale efficiently, and thrive in an era of rapid technological change.

The future of fashion is not just about what you create. It is about how intelligently you build the business around it. The brands that combine imagination with infrastructure will be the ones that define the next decade.

One quest at a time.

About the Author

Taiwo Popoola is the Founder and CEO of SartorFit , a technology company building the future infrastructure of fashion business. SartorFit's flagship product, LolaGuild , is an AI-powered business growth platform that helps fashion brands replace hustle with systems, level up from E Rank to S Rank, and grow through quests, guilds, and AI-powered tools.

SartorFit is a certified Microsoft AI Partner, a certified NVIDIA Partner, and integrates with Red Hat open-source technologies. LolaGuild is live on the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace (Azure Marketplace) .

Links Summary

ResourceURLSartorFithttps://sartorfit.comLolaGuildhttps://lolaguild.comSartorGuide AIhttps://ai.sartorfit.comMicrosoft Marketplacehttps://marketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/product/sartorfit-app.lolarose-business-center?tab=PlansAndPrice

References

Canivel, R.S. (2026). AI Raises New Questions About Fashion Design Ownership and Copyright. Sourcing Journal.
Vietnam.vn. (2026). The case of the owner of Dat Lanh ao dai using AI to copy designs: Experts talk about the "core principles of intellectual property rights".
Andrade, N.M. (2026). Threads of Protection: Intellectual Property Protections for Fashion Designs in the Age of Generative AI. Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts.
Style3D Blog. (2026). Copyright Boundaries of AI Generated Fashion Designs for Brand Protection.

AI, Fashion, and the Ownership Question: Why Systems Matter More Than Ever