Elmo Mistiaen: Unique and Almost Real
“It has to look like it's real, but strange enough, that it would be weird if it was truly real.”
Belgian Business Engineer, Elmo Mistiaen has devoted his creative path to exploring the territories of surrealism by experimenting with Artificial Intelligence. The artist behind Aidesign.png talked to We The Cool about his process for creating realistic-looking garments, the blend of fantasy with nature and biology, and technology as a field of endless creativity and experimentation.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
Karen: How were your designs born? What is the concept behind them?
Elmo: Last year I started playing around with the different AI diffusion models like Dalle and got immediately addicted to them. Especially the way it could create fabrics with perfect lighting and reflection so they could look almost real. This combined with the fact that you can really generate almost anything you could think of was an amazing discovery.
Karen: What were you doing before designing?
Elmo: Last year I graduated as a Business Engineer from a university in Brussels and have in the meantime worked as the e-commerce manager of my brother’s bicycle store in Brussels. Which is all quite far from fashion design.
Karen: Can you walk us through your creative process?
Elmo: Most images I make are ideas that have interested me for many years, and things that were only envisioned in my mind, but with AI I could easily generate these ideas into beautiful images. I always try to combine realistic-looking garments together with more organic or biological shapes and organisms. I almost want people to think the images are real photos at a first glance, but then see these surreal biological elements in the images, so they immediately think there is something off, before realizing they are AI-generated. I also want my images to feel like some sort of fairytale fantasy/sci-fi world, that looks so real you can feel immediately immersed or see these worlds existing in real life.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist’s Instagram.
Karen: What is it about surreal design that caught your eye and inspired you for your current work?
Elmo: Surreal design caught my eye because it allows for endless creativity and experimentation. The blend of real and fantasy/organic elements creates a unique visual language that is both intriguing and thought-provoking. I find it exciting to push the boundaries of what is possible and to see how technology can be used to create something truly unique and surreal. The ability to combine different elements in unexpected ways. I really love avant-garde fashion and these unique over-the-top pieces that are beautiful to look at.
Karen: What role do you think AI has in the fashion industry?
Elmo: In terms of prototyping, AI can be used to create unique and never-before-seen styles, patterns, and textures. It could also be used to create virtual models and garments, which can save time and resources before drawing or using actual material. Designers could feed/train an AI model in their database of their work and let the AI come up with new designs from the accumulated data. This will be a skill and tool that most designers will have in the future to improve prototyping and inspiration.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist’s Instagram.
Karen: Some of your most famous design pieces have bug shapes. How did you come up with this idea?
Elmo: My interest in insects and weird organisms plays a big role in my images. I was always obsessed with insects when I was little. I find the intricate and unique designs by nature found in these organisms to be endlessly fascinating. The way that they have adapted to their environments and the way they interact with one another is truly inspiring and the millions of different species each have their own adapted strategy and processes. I often incorporate these elements together with fashion elements, whether it’s through the use of patterns, textures, or shapes. I find that these elements add a sense of intrigue and otherworldliness to my work. I believe that studying these organisms and the way they interact with their environment can help me to create more dynamic and interesting ideas.
Karen: What influence does nature have on your work?
Elmo: I like to think that my interest in insects and weird organisms helps me to bring a unique perspective to my work and create something truly original. I call most of my images biomorphic designs, inspired by nature and organic shapes and biological processes.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist’s Instagram.
Karen: What are the central values, core concepts, or style inclinations that represent your work?
Elmo: It has to look like it's real, but have enough strange things, that it would be weird if it was truly real. Traditional garments combined with strange biological organisms, or in unique shapes inspired by nature.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist.
Karen: Favorite project/design so far?
Elmo: All of them. I love creating.
Karen: Are you planning to develop your designs in real life eventually?
Elmo: Yes! I am making a selection of some pieces that I will develop and create in real life. The butterfly-inspired knitted ones would make some amazing and wearable pieces. For now, I am working and talking with fashion students and smaller designers to create a unique piece of them.
Karen: You also have a jewelry account, please tell us more about it.
Elmo: Yes! Before my AI venture, I designed some rings for myself and a few friends, but beginning this year I made some molds of the rings so I can reproduce them! And made a separate page for them at @miosis.design They are all inspired by organic shapes (like my ai images), and I like to call them some sort of biomorphic jewelry. I am also making several cool visuals with AI for my jewelry, envisioning how they would look if they were part of nature or an organic structure. I want to explore the possibilities of integrating existing creations and AI.
Photo: Courtesy of the artist’s Instagram.