“Make an Effort and Show Me the Love!” Understanding Consumer Aversion to AI Fashion Design Through the Lens of Schema Theory

Advancements in generative AI present significant opportunities to enhance both efficiency and creativity in fashion design. However, prior research has identified negative consumer responses to AI-designed products. Drawing on schema theory, this study investigates consumer aversion to AI fashion design, its underlying mechanisms, and the boundary conditions. Specifically, the misalignment between AI design and consumers’ fashion designer schema was proposed as the key driver of aversion, mediated by perceptions of diminished effort and love in the design process. Furthermore, design complexity and brand type (non-luxury vs. luxury) were proposed to moderate this aversion. A 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject experiment with 400 respondents was conducted. The findings reveal that consumer aversion to AI fashion design is serially mediated by lower perceived effort and love. Increasing design complexity mitigates this aversion, but only for non-luxury brands. This study provides practical insights for fashion brands on effectively integrating AI into product development and marketing strategies.