Bode’s Answer to Fashion’s AI Era? Handcrafting a Full Replica of its FW25 Collection in Miniature Form
April 8, 2025 - Hip Hop
Instead of shooting a traditional lookbook, Bode has unveiled an elaborate campaign showcasing replicas of its Fall 2025 designs worn by miniature dolls. Across a storyboard of almost 80 images, the collection fuses the American designer’s affinity for historic menswear styles with inspiration from American composer Morris “Moose” Charlap’s work. Arriving as the rapid emergence of generative AI increasingly raises alarm among fashion creatives, the brand’s whimsical handmade campaign makes a bold case for human craft.
Titled “The Expressionist,” the collection is named after Charlap’s final, unfinished musical in collaboration with lyricist Eddie Lawrence. According to Bode, the play follows the life story of a painter, set in post-Impressionist Paris, New York City, and outer Pennsylvania. The collection is dominated by handknitted fabrics and woolen materials adorned with striped patterns and regal trims. Elsewhere, evening looks evoke a night at the opera through dramatic collars, taselled details, and even performance regalia. In other looks shown inside a mini art studio, casual styles such as painted graphic tees, a patchwork field jacket, and a studded denim blouson are easily imaginable in contemporary life size.
While Bode makes no reference to AI concerning the collection, some comments under the brand’s Instagram post speculate whether the campaign is authentic or AI-generated. Quite contrarily, Emily Bode, a two-time winner for the CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year award, remains among the most prominent craft-focused names in current American menswear. Her aesthetic language is unapologetically romantic for storied garments of bygone eras, and her historic techniques, including quilting, mending, and appliqué, are ever-present across her collections. Such a stunt would be unlikely for the brand’s ethos.
Though unfounded, the doubts reveal that many still feel that AI-generated art remains opposed to traditional notions of authenticity. In recent months, the use of generative AI in fashion campaigns by labels like H&M and others has faced backlash for replacing human skillsets and talents. Elsewhere, ChatGPT‘s rollout of an image editing feature replicating Hayao Miyazaki‘s signature illustration style sparked widespread criticism and even resurfaced a viral video of Miyazaki calling AI-assisted animation “an insult to life itself.”
Assuming that it is indeed “real,” Bode’s miniature Fall 2025 campaign challenges the emergence of AI-generated editorials with a poetic ode to individual creativity. While honoring a lesser-known name in the artistic practice of musical theater, the campaign proposes a playful human-led medium for presenting its newest line. See the gallery above for a full look at Bode Fall 2025.
Click here to view full gallery at Hypebeast
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