Magical Realism And AI Innovation—Fashion Embraces The Unknown

Using fashion as a medium for expressing a new era of creative ingenuity, the inspiration behind some of the industry’s most recent presentations has tapped into both the spiritual and the technological—utilizing the consumer’s recent gravitation towards magical realism and bringing new life to the unveiling of modern clothing silhouettes.

As designers adapt the traditional fashion show format to better align with a shifting focus on the other-worldly, presentations have become more closely aligned with embracing the spectacular—giving audiences a unique experience outside of the realm of traditional retail spaces.

Feeding off the rising popularity of individualized spirituality—with related concepts including energy transference, good vibrations and astrological alignment—La DoubleJ’s fall ready-to-wear 2025 presentation was, according to founder and creative director J.J Martin’s Instagram, “jam-packed with galactic, celestial and earthly life forms.” Shown during Milan Fashion Week, the brand’s collection—aptly titled “Magical Matter”—featured bohemian patterns, flowing silhouettes, floral adornments and tribal influences that, similar to “hippies” of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, were inspired by Mother Earth. In addition to the clothing’s design, La Double J transformed the Palazzo Visconti di Modrone—the 18th century building in which the collection was presented—into a fantastical new space by using playful lighting, large-scale windmills hung from the ceiling and a selection of florals displayed in mismatched vases to create such ambiance.

Using consumer’s alignment with spirituality as a baseline, the brand immersed its audience in the collection using multiple senses—creating a memorable experienced that embraced magic and whimsy to showcase its selection of modern fashion designs.

Another designer brand that implemented elements of magical realism into its most recent show was Giuseppe Di Morabito. The namesake brand presented its fall ready-to-wear 2025 collection during Milan Fashion Week with the integration of robot technology on the runway—speaking to the audience about the themes of the collection and interacting with the models directly. In an interview with Di Morabito, the designer commented on this technologically-forward show, saying, “Ameca, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot, was the centerpiece of my show… Through its words and its remarkably human-like expressions, a narrative of the present took shape—a dualism between strength and vulnerability, hardness and fragility.”

Di Morabito continued, saying, “Ameca was my alter ego, a solitary thinker, suspended on a lighthouse among the stars, observing the world as it struggles between chaos and existence. As a designer, I mirror this process—through restlessness and exploration, I shape disorder into creation.”

Working in tandem with the show’s use of robotic technology, the collection was lined with a variety of tactile elements such as metal details, shaped leather, plush fur and sparkling textiles. Di Morabito elaborated, saying, “The collection explores the duality between fragility and strength: the draped and transparent garments evoke vulnerability, while the metallic corsets and masculine jackets symbolize resistance and authority, like true armor. The tailored jackets, with sculpted shoulders and strict lines, recall the aristocratic tailoring of the past, reinterpreted with modern proportions to convey charisma and authority. The sparkle represents light, a symbol of positivity after a darker moment. During this period of introspection, I felt the need to explore my past, a process I also applied to the collection. Just as I worked on myself to understand who I am today, I reconstructed an aesthetic that blends past and future. I drew inspiration from historical elements, reinterpreting them with a contemporary vision.”

In addition to proving an alluring spectacle for audiences to admire, the brand’s immersive presentation aligns with the recent release of data that supports the use of AI technology as a tool for replacing lost human connection. Following the World Health Organization’s declaration of loneliness as a global health threat, ⁠trend forecasting platform WGSN named AI companionship as it’s top consumer tech trend for 2025. ⁠In the report, WGSN predicted that “Human-machine interactions will escalate in 2025, with AI engaging more deeply with humans to provide emotional support, alleviate loneliness and redefine our relationships with technology.”

With the speed at which this technology is progressing, AI advancements are not only predicted to play an active role in society but, as seen with Giuseppe Di Morabito’s most recent presentation, they are beginning to bleed into the fashion industry—altering the fashion show format to include innovation beyond clothing and excite audiences with a hint of magic.