Humanoid Robots Step Onto Fashion Runways in Milan, Seoul and New York
Humanoid robots are stepping out of laboratories and onto fashion runways in Milan, Seoul, and New York, showcasing the growing convergence of artificial intelligence and human craftsmanship.
Until recently, humanoid robots were mostly confined to laboratory demonstrations and factory assembly lines. Now, they are stepping onto a somewhat unexpected terrain: the fashion runway.
Humanoids at Vogue World
On Tuesday, at the Vogue World event held inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, robots marched down the runway alongside human models and celebrities. Their presence was far from accidental. This year's entire event focused on the intersection of human craftsmanship and technology, with one of its five segments appropriately titled "The Age of Intelligence".
According to Vogue, this segment was designed to showcase the connection between human creativity and technology, ranging from smart materials that react to movement and temperature to the broader shifts brought on by the era of artificial intelligence. As of yet, Vogue has not disclosed the manufacturers or specific models of the robots featured in the show.
Global Runway Appearances
Milan is hardly alone in this trend. Earlier this month, humanoid robots also made appearances at Seoul Fashion Week. During a presentation by the Korean brand Greedilous, robots built by ROBOTIS walked the runway alongside human models. Another show featured Ameca, the humanoid robot developed by the British company Engineered Arts, renowned for its remarkably lifelike facial expressions and head movements.
While these appearances might initially seem like mere publicity stunts, they actually signal an intriguing shift in robotics. Companies developing humanoid robots have been working diligently in recent years to transition them out of controlled laboratory and industrial environments and into spaces explicitly designed for humans.
The Engineering Challenge
The fashion runway provides an excellent, albeit rather brutal, testing ground. Maintaining steady balance, staying within spatial boundaries, and navigating around people standing mere centimeters away are tasks humans perform effortlessly without a second thought. For a bipedal robot, however, these actions remain significant engineering hurdles.
Sometimes, the transition does not go entirely smoothly. During the Runway 7 event at New York Fashion Week, a humanoid robot manufactured by Unitree approached the edge of the runway, lost its balance, and tumbled directly toward the audience. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the widely shared video served as an entertaining reminder of the persistent gap between impressive promotional demo reels and natural human movement.
"The runway provides an excellent, albeit rather brutal, testing ground for bipedal robots facing spatial boundaries and dynamic human crowds."
Human models probably do not need to look for new careers tomorrow morning. However, following New York, Seoul, and now Milan, one thing is abundantly clear: humanoid robots are stepping out of the laboratories, and they want the world to see them.
