Reference · Fashion AI School
Fashion AI glossary
51 terms where garment construction, photography and generative AI meet — each with a plain definition and, where useful, how to write it in a prompt.
Garment terms
- Bias cut
- Fabric cut at 45° to the grain so it drapes and clings to the body.
- bias-cut satin slip dress, fluid drape following the body
- Godet
- A triangular fabric insert that adds flare to a skirt or hem.
- midi skirt with godet inserts, flared hem in motion
- Drop shoulder
- A shoulder seam that sits below the natural shoulder for a relaxed fit.
- oversized drop-shoulder knit, seam falling on upper arm
- Trompe l'œil
- A print or construction that creates an optical illusion, like printed pockets.
- trompe l'oeil print of a trench coat on a plain T-shirt
- Welt pocket
- A slim pocket finished with a fabric strip, common on tailoring.
- tailored blazer with flat welt pockets, crisp edges
- French seam
- An enclosed seam with no visible raw edge, used on sheer fabrics.
- sheer organza blouse with fine French seams
- Pleats
- Folds pressed or stitched into fabric: knife, box, accordion or sunray.
- accordion-pleated midi skirt, sharp even pleats
- Silhouette
- The overall outline of a garment or look: A-line, column, cocoon, hourglass.
- cocoon silhouette wool coat, rounded back
- Hand (fabric)
- How a fabric feels and moves: crisp, fluid, stiff, spongy. Describing it improves AI drape.
- heavy fluid crepe with a soft hand
- Colourway
- One colour version of the same design.
- same jacket in three colourways: ecru, olive, navy
- Tech pack
- The technical document a factory uses to make a garment: flats, measurements, materials.
- Selvedge
- The self-finished woven edge of a fabric that stops it fraying; prized on raw denim.
- raw selvedge denim cuff with red-line edge
- Dart
- A stitched fold that shapes flat fabric around the bust, waist or hip.
- fitted bodice with clean bust darts
- Peplum
- A short flared ruffle or panel attached at the waist of a top or jacket.
- structured peplum jacket, flared at the waist
- Jacquard
- A fabric with the pattern woven in rather than printed.
- floral jacquard weave, pattern visible in the fabric texture
- Bouclé
- A looped, textured yarn giving a nubby surface, classic on tweed jackets.
- cream bouclé jacket, visible looped texture
Photography terms
- Ghost mannequin
- Product photo where the garment appears worn by an invisible body.
- ghost mannequin product shot, hollow neckline, white background
- Flat lay
- Product photographed laid flat from directly above.
- top-down flat lay on linen, soft shadow
- Rim light
- Light from behind that outlines the subject's edges.
- rim light separating model from dark background
- Butterfly lighting
- Key light high and in front, casting a small shadow under the nose; classic for beauty.
- butterfly lighting beauty close-up
- Softbox
- A diffused light source giving soft, even shadows.
- large softbox from left, soft shadow falloff
- Hard light
- Small, direct light producing crisp shadows; editorial and summer looks.
- hard midday sun, sharp shadows
- Focal length
- Lens choice that changes perspective: 35mm wide, 85mm portrait, 100mm macro.
- shot on 85mm lens, shallow depth of field
- Lookbook
- A consistent series of images presenting a collection.
- lookbook series, same model, same light, plain backdrop
- Packshot
- A clean, standard product image for e-commerce.
- clean packshot, centred, seamless white
- Cyclorama (cyc)
- A curved seamless studio wall that hides the floor-wall line.
- seamless white cyclorama, no visible horizon
- Rembrandt lighting
- Side key light that leaves a small triangle of light on the shadow cheek.
- Rembrandt lighting, triangle of light under the eye
- Specular highlight
- The bright reflection of a light source on shiny surfaces like satin, metal or skin.
- controlled specular highlights on satin and gold
- Depth of field
- How much of the image is sharp; shallow depth blurs the background.
- shallow depth of field, background softly blurred
- Colour grading
- Adjusting colour and tone after the shoot to create a consistent mood.
- warm film colour grade, lifted blacks
- On-model shot
- A product photographed worn by a person, as opposed to a flat lay or packshot.
AI terms
- Reference image
- An image given to the model to copy a face, garment or style.
- Image to video
- Animating a still image into a short video clip while keeping its content.
- LoRA
- A small add-on model trained on a specific face, product or style for consistency.
- ControlNet
- A method that guides generation with a sketch, pose or depth map; useful for turning flats into renders.
- IP-Adapter
- A technique that uses an image as a style or identity prompt alongside text.
- Inpainting
- Regenerating only a selected area, e.g. swapping a sleeve or fixing hands.
- Outpainting
- Extending an image beyond its edges, e.g. turning a portrait crop into a wide banner.
- Seed
- The number that sets a generation's starting noise; reusing it helps reproduce a result.
- Negative prompt
- Words describing what to avoid, like extra fingers or warped text.
- Aspect ratio
- Width-to-height shape of the output: 9:16, 4:5, 3:4, 16:9.
- --ar 4:5
- Garment swap
- Replacing clothes in an image with a different garment while keeping the person.
- Character consistency
- Keeping the same face and body across many generated images.
- Upscaling
- Increasing resolution and detail after generation, for print or large banners.
- Image to image
- Generating a new image that starts from an existing one, keeping its layout or style.
- Prompt drift
- When repeated generations slowly lose the original face, product or style.
- Hallucinated detail
- Details the AI invents that are not in the real product: extra buttons, wrong logos, changed stitching.
- Text to image
- Creating an image from a written description alone, with no reference photo.
- Virtual try-on
- Showing a real garment on a person in a photo using AI, so shoppers see the fit before buying.
- AI model (virtual model)
- A generated person used to present clothes or products instead of hiring a model for every shoot.
- Motion transfer
- Copying the movement from a reference video onto a different person or character.
Your next step
Go from free tool to real results
Browse recorded workshopsThe recorded workshop shows the full professional workflow behind fashion AI prompting.Open Workshop bundlesTwo to eight workshops together, lifetime access, one price.Open Private session or consultingA live session or custom workflow built around your brand and products.Open