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Friday 18 September 2026 · Ep 206 · Curated by Mike Litman

Nick Knight uses AI to turn stills into an H&M fashion film

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In this episode

1Fashion and Style

Nick Knight uses AI to turn studio stills into fashion films for H&M

Nick Knight has used AI to turn static stills into fashion films for H&M's London Fashion Week show. A photographer of his standing using AI lends the tools some of his credibility, a contested move in the creative industries.

Why it mattersH&M gets prestige; Knight gets scale.

Via Vogue

On our radar beforeH&M has now come up in 9 of our 206 episodes. First: Ep 27, 23 Mar. Latest: Ep 191, 3 Sep. Every episode on H&M.

Five more signals

2Art and Photography

Isamaya Ffrench turns Studio Iron into a collectible design institution, not a pop-up.

Why it mattersMakeup artists running gallery-grade institutions shows the old borders between creative trades breaking down for good.

Via Dezeen
3Tech and Digital

Microsoft privately called AI scraping labour theft while doing it anyway.

Why it mattersUnsealed filings showing Microsoft called scraping labour theft raise legal exposure for AI content built on scraped data.

Via TechCrunch

On our radar beforeMicrosoft has now come up in 11 of our 206 episodes. First: Ep 3, 27 Feb. Latest: Ep 152, 26 Jul. Every episode on Microsoft.

4Lifestyle and Taste

Angela Hartnett serves parents actual school meals inside a fake fine-dining restaurant.

Why it mattersHartnett's fake fine-dining room shows experiential advocacy reaching further than a press release for a public interest cause.

Via Famous Campaigns
5Design and Architecture

Frida Escobedo breaks ground on The Met's new wing. Institutional architecture picks a cultural bet.

Why it mattersMajor Western institutions keep choosing Latin American women architects, turning the choice of architect into a cultural signal.

Via Surface Magazine
6Fashion and Style

Kiko Kostadinov and ASICS close a four-part tabi series as a complete designed arc, not a drop cycle.

Why it mattersCollaborations are being designed as finite series with deliberate endings, making scarcity a matter of time rather than units.

Via Hypebeast
What it means

Authorship gets scarce. AI made it the only premium.

Nick Knight lent his name to AI-made fashion films for H&M, Microsoft privately called AI scraping labour theft, and Isamaya Ffrench is turning Studio Iron into a collectible design house. All three put the human signature at the centre. AI can produce the output, but not the credibility that makes it matter. A named, trusted author gives the work its value.

One to watch

OpenAI will face a formal legal challenge from at least one major UK publisher over Astra's use of paywalled content within its legal search index, filed before March 2027.

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Nick Knight uses AI to turn stills into an H&M fashion filmEp 206