In partnership with OpenAI, the CFDA revealed the AI developer finalists and participating designers for the Innovation Hub, which officially kicked off at a Tuesday morning event in New York City.

“Dev Day” marked the launch of the inaugural program, bringing together CFDA members and emerging AI builders for a live showcase of technologies designed to address real-world challenges across the fashion industry.

At the center of the event was a series of live demonstrations, where selected developers presented their technologies while responding to the prompt: “How does your technology solve a specific challenge within the fashion industry, and what is the impact?”

The AI Developers

Six finalists were selected for their innovative, fashion-relevant applications of AI:

• Alta
• Cadenova
• Curbon
• O.Studio Design
• OpenStudio
• Raspberry AI

Six CFDA member brands will participate in the inaugural cohort, engaging directly with developers to identify opportunities for collaboration:

• alice+olivia
• Araks
• Public School
• Rebecca Minkoff
• Simkhai
• Tory Burch

Following the presentations, designers met one-on-one with developers in a curated matchmaking process, ranking their preferred collaborators. Final pairings will be confirmed by CFDA, forming six designer–developer teams.

These cohorts will participate in a structured, four-month-long collaboration, supported by mentorship and technical guidance from OpenAI. Participating teams will also receive a share of over $300,000 in grant funding from OpenAI, along with access to its tools and API resources, to help develop and scale practical AI applications within their businesses.

As the official kick-off to the Innovation Hub, Dev Day sets the stage for a new model of collaboration between fashion and technology, one that is grounded in real industry needs and driven by creative leadership.