AI uses digital waste for upcycled clothing design

Tilda, a virtual artist powered by the artificial intelligence engine of South Korean conglomerate LG, has showcased 30 upcycled clothing designs on World Environment Day that fell on Sunday, according to the company Monday.

The collection on the metaverse comprising 13 jackets, 14 trousers and three hats, dubbed the “Digital Upcycling Project,” was designed to highlight using digital waste to reduce carbon footprint.

In its first solo fashion collection, Tilda combined digital waste, which LG claimed consumes energy and contributes to carbon emissions when transmitted or stored digitally, with secondhand denim and fabrics.

The collection showed that digital images, which would have otherwise remained dormant on a digital space, acted as sources for the upcycled designs and were reinterpreted into various items, colors and patterns largely in the Boro patchwork style, according to LG. The carbon emissions produced by a single person’s annual emails equals to the carbon produced by a large vehicle traveling 320 kilometers, the company also said.

Tilda made its first public appearance at New York Fashion Week in February at the “Flowers on Venus” joint runway show with designer Park Youn-hee of Greedilous that presented 13 images out of some 3,000 images and visual patterns created by Tilda’s artificial intelligence. The digital waste for the Digital Upcycling Project originated from the leftovers of its previous collection that were unable to make it to the runway.

Tilda is powered by Exaone, a hyperscale AI engine developed by LG AI research.

(consnow@heraldcorp.com)