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After the workshop / FIT Global Fashion Management

Keep making.
Keep thinking.

Your next idea deserves more than a blank chat box. Here are the tools, the handoffs and the questions that turn AI into useful work.

A parting gift from Douglas Jay Goldstein & James Pearce

You don’t need every tool.

Start with one assistant, a folder of material you can use, and an editor you already know. A pipeline is simply a sequence: one step’s output becomes the next step’s input. Add another tool when you can name the job it does.

What do you want to do?

Twelve routes from an intention to something you can use. These are proposed workflows and fictional practice scenarios, not claims of completed client work.

Workflow 1 of 12

Understand something unfamiliar

Make a difficult subject legible before asking AI to make decisions about it.

Try this: You understand creative direction, but a report assumes you know sell-through, margin and markdowns.

Bring

A short passage you can use, your current knowledge and the decision ahead.

Leave with

A plain-language explanation, a glossary and three questions to take to a specialist.

Step 1 hands forwardThe exact passage and what you do not understand
Your starting prompt

Explain the attached passage to someone who understands creative projects but is new to fashion management. Define every specialist term when first used. Use one small fictional numerical example, clearly labeled as invented. Separate what the passage says from background explanation. End with three questions I should ask before using this to make a decision.

How to revise it

Here is my explanation in my own words: [paste]. Identify where I am wrong or oversimplifying. Correct only those parts, then ask me one question that tests understanding.

Your judgment is needed here

Check the source definition and recalculate the example. A simpler explanation must retain the limits of the original.

From the workshop: Like our workshop framing: admitting what you do not yet know gives AI a precise teaching job.

Build my brief for this workflow

A small prompt playground.

Make the job clear before you ask a model to do it. This is a brief builder, not a live AI service: it assembles your instructions without sending them to an AI or using credits.

It does not sync to your team or another device. Keep confidential material out of this practice brief.

Your handoff to an AI tool

Read it, replace any bracketed instructions, then copy it into your chosen tool with the actual source files.

Before you run it

This checklist records your review. It does not grade or validate the prompt.

Try the judgment part.

From a tempting claim to a useful test. Every source below is invented for this exercise.

Source A · repair pop-up log

In a fictional two-hour pop-up, 18 of 30 visitors asked about repairs. Visitors self-selected into the event. No purchases were recorded.

Source B · event recap

A fictional newsletter repeats the same 18-of-30 figure and calls repair “the next growth engine.” It adds no new observations.

Source C · six customer interviews

Four of six fictional participants liked repair in principle; three of those four said price or turnaround might stop them. This was a small convenience sample.

An AI suggests: “Customers overwhelmingly want repairs, so the brand should launch nationally.”

Which next step does this evidence support?

A considered toolkit.

Twenty-five tools and services, organized by the job they do. Choose alternatives; you do not need a subscription to all of them. Official product and help links checked 16 September 2026. Features, plans and regional access can change.

25 tools shown

Think & research

ChatGPT ↗

Work with text, supplied files, data and images in a conversational workspace.

Try: Turn an approved evidence packet into a claim-by-claim comparison.

Check: Ask for source locations and calculation steps. Inspect them yourself.

Official product / guidance ↗
Think & research

Claude ↗

Develop writing, analyze supplied material and make interactive artifacts.

Try: Build a simple, explorable comparison of three retail concepts.

Check: An attractive artifact can contain unsupported conclusions; audit the underlying claims.

Official product / guidance ↗
Think & research

Gemini ↗

Use a multimodal assistant for explanation, drafting and research tasks.

Try: Translate a dense category report into questions for a buying team.

Check: Confirm which sources and tools were actually used.

Official product / guidance ↗

Ask questions of a selected collection of source materials.

Try: Compare interviews, reports and class notes in one source-based notebook.

Check: Open citations; a limited collection is not a complete view of the market. Google currently labels its help pages Gemini Notebook.

Official product / guidance ↗
Think & research

Perplexity ↗

Discover web sources through answers with linked references.

Try: Find starting sources on clothing repair services in a specified market.

Check: Read originals, check dates, and detect articles repeating the same announcement.

Official product / guidance ↗
Evidence & data

Zotero ↗

Collect, organize and cite research sources. This is a research companion, not a generative model.

Try: Keep a shared bibliography with notes on what each source can support.

Check: Correct imported metadata and keep the actual page or passage used.

Official product / guidance ↗
Evidence & data

FIT Library ↗

Find fashion, business and scholarly databases through the library.

Try: Locate credible industry context before asking AI to synthesize it.

Check: Access differs by resource and affiliation. Follow database terms when using or uploading material.

Official product / guidance ↗
Evidence & data

Google Trends ↗

Explore relative search interest across time and geography.

Try: Compare repair-related search terms using the same location and period.

Check: Relative interest is not sales, market size or a representative consumer survey.

Official product / guidance ↗
Evidence & data

Excel with Copilot ↗

Use AI assistance inside a spreadsheet workflow.

Try: Explore returns by product, size and reason in an authorized dataset.

Check: Check license availability, formulas, denominators and missing records.

Official product / guidance ↗
Images & design

Adobe Firefly ↗

Generate and edit visual concepts, including images and video.

Try: Explore three material and lighting directions for a fictional pop-up.

Check: Check the terms for the specific model used; partner models may differ.

Official product / guidance ↗
Images & design

Midjourney ↗

Explore image directions and visual worlds.

Try: Develop a set of contrasting campaign mood studies.

Check: Visual polish does not establish product accuracy, construction feasibility or rights.

Official product / guidance ↗
Images & design

Krea ↗

Explore AI image and video creation and enhancement tools.

Try: Iterate on composition before commissioning finished production.

Check: Inspect enhancement for invented texture, seams and logos.

Official product / guidance ↗
Film & sound

Runway ↗

Generate and transform moving-image material.

Try: Animate an approved campaign still into a short, specific shot.

Check: Check continuity frame by frame and confirm credit usage before rendering.

Official product / guidance ↗

Develop generated video from visual and written direction.

Try: Test the feeling of entering a speculative retail installation.

Check: Generated motion can change garment shape and spatial relationships.

Official product / guidance ↗
Film & sound

Higgsfield ↗

Explore image and video production tools, models and effects.

Try: Try different camera treatments for the same approved concept.

Check: Compare model-level controls, credit costs and usage terms before committing.

Official product / guidance ↗
Film & sound

ElevenLabs ↗

Create speech, sound effects and music using its audio tools.

Try: Produce narration and a restrained soundtrack for a concept film.

Check: Use an authorized voice and check the plan and output license for your intended use.

Official product / guidance ↗
Film & sound

Descript ↗

Edit audio and video through transcripts and timeline tools.

Try: Cut a founder interview into a captioned one-minute story.

Check: Correct the transcript and review cuts so they preserve the speaker’s meaning.

Official product / guidance ↗
Film & sound

Adobe Premiere ↗

Assemble, edit and finish video and audio.

Try: Combine generated shots, actual footage, titles and captions in one final cut.

Check: Watch the exported file on the actual display; editing is part of the pipeline.

Official product / guidance ↗
Present & publish

Canva ↗

Create presentations and visual communications with AI-assisted tools.

Try: Turn an approved outline into a readable pitch and social adaptation.

Check: Check charts, citations, text size and exported layout.

Official product / guidance ↗
Present & publish

Gamma ↗

Draft presentations, documents and web pages from content or instructions.

Try: Explore a deck structure from a checked recommendation memo.

Check: Rewrite generic claims and inspect the exported presentation before delivery.

Official product / guidance ↗
Build & automate

Figma Make ↗

Prototype interactive experiences from prompts and design inputs.

Try: Make a clickable repair-booking journey to test with a classmate.

Check: A working-looking demo does not prove secure storage, accessibility or production readiness.

Official product / guidance ↗
Build & automate

Replit Agent ↗

Build and refine apps through a conversational development environment.

Try: Prototype a garment care planner with fictional test data.

Check: Test every user journey, authentication, data handling and ongoing hosting cost.

Official product / guidance ↗
Build & automate

OpenAI Codex ↗

Use a coding agent to build, explain and revise software.

Try: Create an interactive collection explorer from your own structured content.

Check: Review and test changes; authorize external actions deliberately.

Official product / guidance ↗
Build & automate

Make ↗

Connect apps in visual automation workflows.

Try: Move approved research notes into a weekly draft briefing.

Check: Start with draft-only outputs and test failures, duplicates and permissions.

Official product / guidance ↗
Build & automate

n8n ↗

Build connected workflows with AI and conventional automation steps.

Try: Route incoming feedback for tagging, review and reporting.

Check: Credentials, hosting and operational monitoring need an accountable owner.

Official product / guidance ↗

Spend on the bottleneck.

Use any suitable access you already have. Check FIT’s available resources before buying a plan. Test a short sample before subscribing. Image, video and audio generation may consume credits on every attempt; an app subscription and API billing can be separate. Check export quality, watermark rules, commercial-use terms and cancellation conditions on the provider’s current plan page. Budget for revisions, not just a first render.

Eight prompts to keep.

Reusable moves for authoring, synthesis and checking. Replace brackets with the specifics of your task.

Build a better brief

Before doing the task, identify missing information about the outcome, audience, inputs, constraints and success criteria. Ask only questions that would materially change your approach. State reasonable assumptions explicitly. Then propose the smallest useful first output.

Make the unfamiliar legible

Explain [concept] as if we are intelligent beginners. Define jargon, give one clearly fictional example, explain where that example breaks down, and ask me to explain it back. Preserve important qualifications.

Audit the evidence

For each consequential claim in this answer, show the source and exact location that supports it. Classify it as directly supported, inferred, contradicted or unsupported. Do not invent citations. Flag repeated sources and missing context.

Synthesize without flattening

Compare these sources around [question]. Identify agreement, disagreement and differences in method, population, geography or date. Preserve exceptions. Produce a finding, its evidence, its limitation and the next question for each theme.

Revise deliberately

Evaluate this prompt against its intended task. Identify three specific weaknesses and explain their likely effects. Rewrite it without changing the goal. Mark the changes. Then suggest how I can compare the original and revised outputs against the same criteria.

Hand work to the next tool

Prepare a handoff packet for [next tool/person]: approved objective, exact input files, accepted decisions, things that must stay fixed, things that may change, output format and acceptance checks. Include unresolved questions. Do not replace actual files with descriptions of imaginary files.

Challenge a recommendation

What is the strongest evidence against this recommendation? Which assumption matters most? Describe the smallest practical test that could change our decision, what we would measure, and what result would count against it.

Keep a useful record

Summarize this session as a project handoff: objective, source files, model/tool used, prompt versions, decisions and reasons, rejected directions, unresolved risks and next step. Separate completed work from proposed work. Include no private credentials.

The habits travel with you.

Tools change. These practices make the work stronger across them.

Start with the outcome

Name the decision or artifact you need. Choose the fewest tools that can get you there. One assistant, a source folder and an editor are enough for many projects.

Make the handoff explicit

A pipeline is a sequence in which one step’s output becomes the next step’s input. Export the actual text, table, still or audio file; do not assume tools share memory.

Separate invention from evidence

Invent freely for a speculative world. Label it. Use real, inspectable sources for real claims. Simulated customers are creative prompts, not research participants.

Change with intention

Keep what matters fixed and change one meaningful instruction at a time. Save the before and after, then explain the difference.

Keep people in the loop

You own the question, judgment and release. Check rights, data permissions, accuracy and practical usability at the handoff where each matters.

Plan for the final mile

Test the exported deck, film, file or app where it will actually be used. Keep a usable backup and record known limits.

A reusable project record

Keep the actual inputs, prompts and exported outputs together. A shared folder is often enough.

Project / owner / date
Question or creative objective
Audience and success criteria
Source / publisher / date / URL or file+page
Supporting passage / limitation / checked by
Tool + model + settings + run date
Prompt v1 / output v1 / observed weakness
Prompt v2 / output v2 / reason for change
Human decisions / collaborators / asset permissions
Final export / tested where / known limitations
Next step / responsible person

Make something worth
thinking about.

Choose one workflow this week. Save a first attempt, make one deliberate revision, and explain why the second result is better—or why it isn’t. That explanation is part of your work.

Keep the complete PDF ↓

Explore the workshop’s pipeline animatic and film production record.