Disclaimer: Please note, this post explores the possibilities of the /blend function in Midjourney for educational purposes in fashion; we're not using it to steal images or designs and we are not encouraging fashion design students or designers to do the same. But we are exploring how an AI system behaves when it collages inspirations from existing collections or from famous designers. So, take this post as an educational exercise, almost a game to spot specific references in AI remixes.
A decade ago, I was tasked with compiling a set of fashion-themed questions for a Vogue Italia game. Some questions were straightforward, while others demanded a deeper knowledge of fashion history. Over time, a few questions lost relevance as they were tied to specific trends of that era, but those exploring the history of fashion remained pertinent and potentially educational.
Pondering on those questions led me to consider how the landscape of the fashion quiz has evolved.
Would people still engage with a fashion game centered on questions and answers? Could there be room for a board game dedicated to fashion? 
Designers Ferrán Renalias, Eloi Pujadas, and Malen Company recently answered this question by releasing a board game inspired by the Battle of Versailles, the legendary 1973 face-off between French and American designers, with the latter emerging victorious. The game does not revolve around fashion questions, but mirrors the dynamics and rules of the fashion battle between the two groups, making it an ideal budget-friendly Christmas gift for fashion enthusiasts. However, in a society dominated by visuals, could AI be used instead to play a fashion game?
In yesterday's post while exploring how easy (or frustrating) it can be to design a fashion collection with Midjourney, we also mentioned the /blend function.
This feature collides multiple images users upload into the system and creates something entirely new, producing unpredictable and often quirky results: at times, the system borrows the pose seen in one picture with a remixed ensemble from the other picture, so the results aren't often a perfect blend of two designs.
Could we use this option to generate unique images for a fashion guessing game? Let's find out! Mark one point for each designer you guess in these blends.
Let's start with something easy: the colors and geometrical configuration of this sheath dress and the hairstyle, should give you enough clues to guess where it comes from.
It’s a blend of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Yves Saint Laurent's Mondrian Dress (the colors and the grid point at it, but the hairstyle is Hepburn's).
Though passable and useful for our game, fashion-wise this is definitely not that interesting, especially because the Mondrian grid gives it away almost too easily.
Let's try another one: look at this model in a 1930s jacket and graffiti sprayed skirt: does it remind you of anything in particular?
No idea? Invert the colors, use the graffiti for the model's top and match it with a black skirt. Is this clearer?
Some of you may have spotted a clue in the the graffiti: that's the remix of Shalom Harlow's spray-painted dress from Alexander McQueen's "No. 13" catwalk show (S/S 1999). The jacket, though, represents an anachronism and it is indeed taken from Schiaparelli.
Now let's change one of the elements of the equation, let's keep McQueen's dress and combine it with something else, let's see what we have: the graffiti motif seems to have been filtered through the Ikat technique, forming almost a staircase motif on a dark emerald dress.
What's the second equation in this blend? Cinzia Ruggeri's "Homage to Lévi Strauss" dress. Now let's feed into the /blend function two designs by the same creator.
The following tiered dress may have a bit of the Christmas tree appeal as it seems to sprout red lights and it is donned by a model with a spiky crown of red lights.
Where could this come from? That's a blend of Ruggeri's LED dress and Lévi Strauss dress.
Would she have been offended by this experiment? I don't think so: Ruggeri was very much into the future and she would have laughed at this vision provided by a machine.
Talking about the future, looking for something more bizarre and maybe cutting edge? What do you think about this design with oversized partially padded portholes matched with a tortellino hat?
I'm not too sure about it, but it's rather extravagant, and it's a blend of Jean Charles de Castelbajac's teddy bear coat and Pierre Cardin's '60s kimono coat.
Let's keep Cardin's design and recombine it with something else to generate something even more dystopian: check this futuristic yet monastic hooded tunic matched with black gloves with appliqued silver metal fingers. Could this be a costume for a character in a sci-fi film? Maybe.
What's the second design employed for this blend? Can you guess it from the fingers? It's Mugler's Fall 1995 robotic suit.
If you're looking for evening wear and in particular for something more formal or even apt for the Christmas festivities, try this column dress with pleats that open up in a fringe.
Any guesses? Who did finely pleated designs? No, it's not Issey Miyake, try again, maybe the velvet swim cap will help you spotting one of the references?
Despite looking a bit like an Armani design, this is a blend of a Fortuny gown and an ensemble from Prada's S/S 24 collection with a tinsel curtain-like silver skirt.
So what's your score? Could you identify at least one designer in these AI blends or did you fail miserably? Do you think that Midjourney succeed in breaking their aesthetic and recombining it (well, you may argue that in most cases it came up with designs that aren't desperately desirable…).
You decide, but, remember: there's just one way to improve your skills in identifying design origins in fashion collections IRL and in images generated by AI – growing more fashion-savvy.
