How Indie Designers Made Google Pixel Work for Them

Double Tap to ZoomWhat happens when fashion designers are given the tools to push beyond the boundaries of their usual practice? That question took center stage at the first Google Pixel Institute of Fashion & Technology (PIFT) Showcase in Berlin on Thursday night. The evening brought together designers, creatives, and industry guests to explore the possibilities of technology through the perspectives of five independent fashion practices, each invited to experiment on their own terms.The event, hosted with Google Pixel, marked the end of PIFT’s inaugural academic year. Photographer and filmmaker Campbell Addy hosted the evening, welcoming guests to an exhibition of the work developed throughout the program. There was plenty to take in, from unexpected visual experiments to new approaches to product development. More importantly, the projects offered a glimpse into the creative decisions that had taken place behind the scenes over the preceding months.In his opening address, Addy was keen to establish that the initiative wasn’t about technology for technology's sake. “It’s about people, curiosity, experimentation, and what can happen when you bring different creative minds together and give them the space to explore something new,” he said. It was a sentiment reflected in the work on display. Rather than imposing a particular method or aesthetic, PIFT allowed each participant to decide where these tools could fit into their practice.That freedom made for an interesting mix. Ottolinger’s experiments with Gemini took the label’s familiar mesh T-shirt into new visual territory, with Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient discovering that prompting could become an unexpectedly collaborative process. Their experience was a reminder that working with AI is not necessarily about getting an instant result. Sometimes, the most interesting outcomes come from letting an idea develop in unanticipated directions.Lou de Bètoly investigated the possibilities of digital fashion imagery, finding ways to give traditionally static product visuals a more surreal and animated quality. Lukas Krobos explored new garment silhouettes through digital visualization, using a flower as the reference for a dress. His approach also highlighted an important distinction between using technology to generate ideas and allowing it to take over the design process. Matthias Schweizer of OBS took a more material-focused route, developing the brand's first heavy cotton canvas bag after previously working exclusively with leather. Chet Lo used Gemini’s Deep Research capabilities to investigate the visual references behind his forthcoming collection, moving from seemingly incidental observations toward a more developed creative direction.Each project retained the character of the person or label behind it, with the tools adapting to their needs rather than the other way around. As Addy explained during his speech, “The intention was never to make everyone work in the same way or arrive at the same result.” It was a particularly relevant point in a moment when conversations around AI often seemed to suggest that creative work is heading towards a single, increasingly automated future.Instead, the showcase presented a more considered picture. Technology helped designers research more efficiently, test an idea before committing to a physical sample, or find an entirely new way to communicate a collection. But none of those possibilities meant much without the instinct and judgement of the person behind them. “Technology is most exciting when it doesn't replace the creative mind but gives it another way to think, explore, and express itself,” Addy told guests.With the first edition complete, a new cohort is on the horizon. They’ll bring their own references, working methods, and questions to the program. If the inaugural showcase demonstrated anything, it was that the most interesting developments in fashion technology are unlikely to come from the tools themselves. Instead, they will come from the people who find unexpected ways to use them.We RecommendThe PIFT Class of 2026 Has Something To Show YouSomewhere in Provence, Google Pixel is Rethinking CreativityWhat To Read NextHow Indie Designers Made Google Pixel Work for ThemNew Balance’s Tiffany-Coded Skate Shoe Catches an Atlantic WaveThis adidas Runner Is Fit for an Intergalactic Hellscapeadidas’ Next Flat Suede Sneaker Is Extra “Spezial” State of the Art: Putting Your Clothes In a Museum Doesn’t Make Them ArtOne Good Tennis Sneaker That’s Even Better Off the Court