Application of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Design of Traditional Miao Clothing as Intangible Cultural Heritage

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-577-5_91How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN); Artificial Intelligence; Fashion Design; Miao Ethnic Minority

Abstract

Recently, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has brought significant transformations to the field of design, providing the fashion industry with a variety of efficient new design methods and areas, and also creating new opportunities for the digital innovation of traditional culture. Under the impact of globalisation and digitalisation, the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage is facing unprecedented challenges. Taking Miao ethnic costumes as an example, their intricate embroidery patterns and unique colour palettes carry millennia of memories, but they are gradually losing their cultural space under the pressure of modern industrial production. Faced with the challenge of the endangered traditional costumes of the Miao ethnic group, applying generative AI to their pattern design not only helps to protect and inherit intangible cultural heritage but also promotes its continuation and re-creation in modern society. The purpose of this study is to explore the application of generative AI in the design of intangible traditional Miao clothing. To achieve this goal, the study adopts a variety of research methods, combining design practice with cultural research, to examine the innovative application of generative artificial intelligence (GAN) in the pattern design of traditional Miao ethnic costumes and its cultural adaptability. The main research methods include the training of GAN models and pattern generation. Semi-structured interviews, co-design, and comparative analysis are used to evaluate cultural integrity. The findings suggest that generative AI can serve as an effective tool in the design of traditional Miao patterns, enabling outputs that are more aligned with cultural semantics and social contexts, thus contributing to both the preservation and innovative expression of this heritage. Theoretically, the study extends the application boundary of computational creativity theory in the realm of culturally sustainable design. This framework is applied systematically for the first time to the AI-driven generation of Miao traditional patterns, offering a comparative analysis between AI-generated and manually designed motifs to examine cultural integrity. On a practical level, this research proposes a concrete pathway for applying generative AI in traditional Miao fashion design, providing new insights into the integration of AI and cultural heritage. It offers feasible strategies for the sustainable transmission and creative revitalisation of intangible cultural heritage in the digital era.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yuting Zhang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/15
TI  - Application of Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Design of Traditional Miao Clothing as Intangible Cultural Heritage
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 5th International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities and Arts (SSHA 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 905
EP  - 916
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-577-5_91
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-577-5_91
ID  - Zhang2026
ER  -