H&M Group Brings AI Art-Generating Tool For Creators & Shoppers To Sell T-Shirts

Screenshot via Creator Studio

H&M Group has a lesser-known on-demand printing service called Creator Studio. New to the platform is a design tool powered by generative artificial intelligence, enabling users—including artists and customers themselves—to create their own T-shirts, hoodies, and more.

Creator Studio was launched in 2021, and it allows small businesses to tap into H&M’s global production network to take care of all the nitty-gritty, like production, fulfillment, and the quality of clothing. On the part of the user, all they’ll need to do is upload some artwork. Garments are made to order, eliminating inventory, startup costs, and overproduction waste, as well as reducing emissions, says the company.

The latest technology shaves off the step of illustrating designs too, making the entire process practically hands-off. With a built-in AI artwork generator, the service’s creation tool breathes life into simple text prompts.

Screenshot via Creator Studio

To add color to their artworks, users can choose from a selection of styles, including ‘synthwave’, ‘kawaii’, ‘hyper color’, and ‘watercolor’, and pick a set of color themes, like ‘vibrant’, ‘muted’, ‘warm’, and ‘vintage’. They can also choose how close they’d like the model to follow their instructions, and leave the window open for some artificial experimentation.

Screenshots via Creator Studio

Screenshots via Creator Studio

All told, the text-to-art AI isn’t perfect. In one of our tests, the bot churned out an illustration of a corgi with two mouths, with the bottom mouth seemingly being mistaken as a collar. The good news is, contrary to the way many other programs operate, this one allows creators to regenerate new work without using up credits.

All Creator Studio-made pieces are printed digitally, producing highly detailed designs out of the more eco-friendly water-based inks. Their canvases are True Blanks, Creator Studio’s fashion label for merchandise, which are composed of 100% organic cotton and recycled polyester.

Users have the choice of plastering their masterpieces across several garment types, ranging from tees, sweatshirts to hoodies for men, women, and babies.

Importantly, “the entire production chain is owned and controlled by us, so we can monitor and control every stage, to secure the quality of each garment,” says the H&M Group subsidiary.

Besides being able to dream up art using AI, users can still upload original artwork or stock images if they prefer.

In a statement, Creator Studio managing director Dinesh Nayar explains that the company is continually looking for ways to knock down obstacles for customers, and quick and easy AI artwork creation is the natural next step.

[via 365 Retail and Business of Fashion, screenshots via Creator Studio]