AI-supported 3D clothing co-creation in digital fashion marketing: Asymmetric effects on creativity, personalization, and authenticity

This study examines how AI-supported 3D clothing co-creation influences young consumers’ responses in digital fashion marketing. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response framework, human-AI collaboration, value co-creation, and authenticity theory, a scenario-based online experiment was conducted with 486 Chinese fashion consumers aged 18–34. Participants were randomly assigned to AI-supported 3D clothing co-creation, non-AI 3D clothing customization, or static digital fashion product display. AI-supported co-creation generated significantly higher perceived creativity and personalization than the other two conditions. Its effect on perceived fashion experience authenticity was more limited: authenticity was higher than in the static display condition but did not differ significantly from non-AI customization. Structural equation modeling showed that perceived creativity, personalization, and authenticity positively influenced brand engagement, which in turn increased purchase intention and electronic word-of-mouth intention. The findings reveal an asymmetric evaluation pattern: AI support provides clear incremental gains in creativity and personalization, while authenticity does not significantly exceed that produced by non-AI 3D customization. This study clarifies how AI-supported digital fashion experiences shape consumer-brand responses.