AI Design Forward 26 finalist André Vieira: From executor to curator

André Vieira is a Portuguese fashion designer who graduated with the highest distinction (20/20) from the Faculty of Architecture, University of Lisbon, where his Master's research focused on generative AI and hybrid human-machine workflows in fashion design. His practice integrates traditional pattern-making and garment construction with 3D simulation and generative AI tools — structured around four phases: strategic research and concept generation, iterative visual development, virtual prototyping and product engineering, and communication. Throughout every phase, the designer's critical curation functions as the permanent axis.

For his Design Forward 26 submission, André worked exclusively on The Fabricant platform — using Create Image, Edit Image, Photo Studio, Editorial, and Upscaler to cover the full arc from visual ideation to final editorial output. Upstream, he used ChatGPT and Claude for trend research, concept structuring, and prompt development — not as design tools, but as textual interlocutors that help translate creative intent into precise generative instructions before image generation begins.

AI has fundamentally shifted André's role from executor to curator — what he calls a "hybrid operator" between human and machine. The creative process is no longer linear: it moves in a cycle of prompting, generation, critical evaluation, and refinement. In this model, AI doesn't replace judgment — it makes judgment more consequential. He describes the most valuable quality of generative tools as "beneficial unpredictability": unexpected outputs that break conventional thinking, but only when the designer has the visual culture and critical capacity to recognise and direct that value.

André sees the designer of the future not as the one who draws, but as the one who orchestrates intelligence, edits narratives, and transforms data into meaning. He proposes a "skill set stack" in which traditional foundations, digital execution, generative literacy, and strategic vision operate simultaneously — not sequentially. The most significant impact of this shift, he argues, is democratisation: small teams and individual designers can now develop and communicate complete collections at a scale that was previously impossible. The future is hybrid — and the critical human filter is what makes it worth anything.