# Why Nick Knight Used AI to Create H&M’s Interactive Show > Source: > Published: 2026-09-18 04:30:00+00:00 Fashion is still figuring out how comfortable it is with AI-generated imagery. Experiments with the tech [raise thorny questions](https://www.vogue.com/article/ai-is-everywhere-fashion-photographers-are-being-forced-to-adapt) over everything from copyright and creative authorship to the future of models, photographers and other image-makers. At London Fashion Week last night, H&M stepped directly into that debate (as well as further into [the wool debate](https://www.vogue.com/article/why-would-fashion-ever-ban-wool), when Peta protestors crashed the show). For its Fall/Winter 2027 show, titled H&M&YOU&I, the Swedish retailer enlisted photographer Nick Knight and SHOWstudio to create a one-off AI-powered interactive that turned still photography and illustration into fashion films generated in real time, which models and guests could influence by moving in front of them as the show unfolded. “Fashion imagery can feel distant, and this project is about human connections and relationships in a digital age,” says Jörgen Andersson, H&M’s global creative director. “I think we all move between the physical and digital constantly – it is a reality of modern life. So with this show, we wanted to reflect that, all while offering a vision of fashion and the fashion show that is artistic, experimental, painterly and beautiful.” The collaboration brings together two of fashion’s more willing AI experimenters. Knight, whose SHOWstudio has long experimented with emerging image-making technologies, has become an outspoken advocate for artists engaging with AI, rather than resisting it. H&M, meanwhile, has already faced criticism for its own experiments with the technology: its 2025 plans [to create AI “digital twins”](https://www.vogue.com/article/are-digital-models-about-to-become-the-industry-standard) of real models prompted concerns over the potential impact on photographers, stylists and other creative jobs. This time, H&M has positioned AI as a tool to extend human creativity rather than replace it. The interactive began with original images Knight shot of model Alex Consani and actor Archie Renaux, alongside illustrations by Cliff Warner, before using AI to transform them into new moving imagery. Ahead of the show, *Vogue Business* sat down with Knight and Jörgen to discuss the project, AI image-making, and human creativity. **Vogue:****How did the collaboration come about? Jörgen, why Nick? Nick, why H&M?** Andersson: H&M is known for collaboration: for working with the greatest talents of each generation. And Nick Knight is a true pioneer when it comes to digital, and to redefining the boundaries and potentials of a fashion show. He's a real icon, when it comes to the liberation of fashion, and that is a value that H&M shares deeply. Together, we are united in our prioritisation of creative innovation and conceived of this show as a way to ask questions, to propose new ways of thinking, and to welcome people in. Knight: As Jörgen says, H&M’s vision is to democratise fashion, and that has also been my mission, across my career and in founding SHOWstudio. We both want to help people to feel a sense of involvement with the communication of fashion so I’m honored to partner with them. I believe that for fashion to be relevant, it needs to constantly change and push creative boundaries, and I’m excited that H&M shares that vision. *Vogue:* How did the idea come about, and what was the innovation concept behind the show? Knight: The H&M&YOU&I show explores fashion as a catalyst for human connection in an increasingly digital world. The interactive shifts fashion imagery from something presented to people into something that invites active participation. The vision is to encourage artistic expression and help people to feel more connected to fashion imagery. I never hope for a specific reaction, but I want to inspire people to ask questions, and to see the world in new ways. Andersson: The concept for the show began, in part, with the idea of genuinely engaging with the realities of how we live: the way we move between the physical and the digital, the tangible and the digitally representative. We are online and offline constantly. And we wanted to not shy away from that, instead to take it, and the new technologies we all live alongside, and think about the way they make us feel, interact, dream or see the world. The show is really about expression, connection, and the blurring of lines that exists as we navigate these new frontiers. Also, the fashion interactive is human in nature — it was made using images made in the studio, with models there in person. *Vogue:* Jörgen, what do you mean when you say that H&M is using technology to “liberate fashion for the many”? Andersson: We want people to feel engaged with our shows, whether in-person or virtually. So any new technology we explore is about letting more people participate and engage. It’s about disrupting the conventional ideas of a fashion show, as something with a specific formula that can be exclusionary. Nick’s vision has always been about democratizing fashion – inviting people into his world and process through live streaming, or other forms of technology that allow for access and openness, and H&M shares that vision. That’s why the public is invited to H&M’s fashion show, with tickets available through social media. It’s also why H&M engages with new and existing technologies as a means of broadcasting the show to a global audience and inviting them to feel part of the presentation. Various aspects of the run up to the show will be streamed, from the red carpet to backstage. We are also offering various pieces as see now buy now, straight from the runway. *Vogue*: Nick, how exactly was AI used in creating the show? What did you create yourself, and what did an AI model generate? Knight: The images are all based on photographic works that I made in the studio, with Alex Consani and Archie Renaux there in-person. Similarly, illustrator Cliff Warner made works in the studio, with the models there in-person, and these are the basis for the illustration-based interactive seen on the runway. In terms of the tech, it makes use of a range of AI techniques, and the images are processed frame by frame to create brand new images with specific parameters, allowing for both motion control and visual alterations. That’s how the models can interact with the images live on the runway and create new expressions. *Vogue:* Nick, you’ve argued that AI needs to develop its own visual language, rather than simply imitate photography or film. What did you want to do with AI for H&M that you couldn’t have achieved through conventional image-making? Knight: I’m interested in exploring the emerging aesthetic of AI as an art form, rather than using AI to mimic existing art forms of photography and film making. I want to help discover and define the 21st century and not mimic the past. SHOWstudio was purposely set up to experiment with new ways to communicate fashion. This is essential to my vision and mission. The idea of reinterpreting data with computer programs is not new, but like any new tool it’s only as good as the artist using it. I believe that all art comes from a desire to communicate our feelings of love, fear, joy, desire – and so, with the team at SHOWstudio, I am interested in finding ways to communicate those same emotions but using a new language. This is always how I have worked: embracing the digital, to find new modes of expression, be it film, live streaming, 3D scanning, and now this interactive. *Vogue:* Jörgen, why did H&M want AI to play a role in this project, rather than commissioning Knight to create it through more traditional means? What did it add creatively? Andersson: It’s H&M’s firm belief that AI should always be applied responsibly and in a manner that enhances human creativity and expression, rather than taking away from it. Nick is someone who has a firm belief in the beauty and possibility of new technologies. The things he has embraced – the web, film, live streaming – all seemed new, and to an extent, intimidating, when he first started working with them, just as AI does now. The idea of “traditional” means doesn’t fit with the way that Nick pursues images, or expresses himself creativity — he is always pushing forward, always experimenting. And that fits with H&M’s interest in innovation and creativity. The starting point for this show was creative experimentation, and a desire to continue our partnerships with creative innovators and leaders. *Vogue:* Nick, where did your authorship sit in this process? Did working with AI change your role from photographer or image maker into something closer to a director, or curator of outputs? Knight: I have always defined myself as an imagemaker, as I like the broadness of the term, and the way it encapsulates different mediums, technologies and forms of expression. I see my role here, in the context of the interactive, as an imagemaker. But the broader role within the collaboration with H&M has been as creative director of the show: it’s been a multifaceted role, full of experimentation. *Vogue:* Nick, there’s still considerable anxiety among photographers, models and other creative workers about AI replacing parts of their jobs. Did you encounter moments where AI genuinely replaced work that would previously have been done by a person? Knight: We went through a traditional image making process, as we would for any editorial or campaign. This part is very important for us, working together with all collaborators. The interactive was made using images made in the studio, with models there in person. So with this example, there was no sense of “replacing” anyone. New technologies and new systems were employed at the end of the image making process, exploring new opportunities of participation and performance with my images and the people they feature. This actually required us to have a larger team than we usually have. *Vogue:* Nick, what would you say to photographers or other image-makers who see a project like this and worry that brands will conclude they can produce more creative work with fewer people? Knight: This project has actually created the opportunity to work with new people, and to work with our existing teams in new ways.