For New York Fashion Week SS26, Theophilio Creative Director and 2021 CFDA Emerging Designer of the Year,  Edvin Thompson, set out to bring cultural storytelling to the runway in a bold new way with his Spring Summer 2026 Collection, RIDDIM. 

However, traditional design workflows—slow, repetitive, and sample-heavy—made it difficult to move at the speed of inspiration. Each new idea often required weeks of sketching, revisions, and prototyping before fabric even touched the runway.

Always open to innovation, Edvin partnered with Raspberry AI, becoming the first designer at NYFW to fully integrate AI from sketch to runway.

“RIDDIM is about rhythm, sound, and transport. Raspberry AI felt like the right partner because it also works in rhythm, generating ideas in flow with me. It didn’t replace my vision, but it gave me another instrument to play with in the design process.”
[[- Edvin Thompson, Founder & Creative Director, Theophilio] cs-quote-desk]

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The challenge was not only about speed, but also about creating space for risk, iteration, and translation of culture into luxury fashion.

“Raspberry AI really opened up the way I could test ideas quickly. Normally I spend so much time sketching and revising before I even get to fabric, but with AI I could visualize multiple directions instantly. That allowed me to take risks and chase concepts that might have felt too time-consuming before.”
[[- Edvin Thompson, Founder & Creative Director, Theophilio] cs-quote-desk]

By embedding Raspberry AI into his creative process, Edvin gained both speed and depth. The prints, styling, and tailoring all stayed rooted in his story and presented more ways to express it. 

Through Sketch-to-Render, Edvin could transform hand sketches into detailed visualizations and test different variations with the Edit Module.

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With Prints & Patterns, Edvin rapidly generated and refined bold, expressive graphics inspired by Jamaican graffiti and mixtape art, an integral part of the RIDDIM story.

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Product Photography allowed Edvin to see his prints come to life on shirts before a single sample was made.

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“Normally, to test as many variations as I did, it would take days of work. With Raspberry AI, I could see versions in minutes. That gave me freedom to push further—to imagine silhouettes, textures, and colorways that I might not have had time to develop in a traditional sketchbook.”
[[- Edvin Thompson, Founder & Creative Director, Theophilio] cs-quote-desk]

• 40% faster design workflows.
• 60% fewer prototypes.
• 3× more design exploration.

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“Raspberry gives us scale. A story that once lived only in a community can now reach global audiences. But the key is authorship. When people like me who live these cultures use the tools, the narratives remain authentic while gaining visibility.”
[[- Edvin Thompson, Founder & Creative Director, Theophilio] cs-quote-desk]

Raspberry became a studio companion, helping Edvin move faster, waste less, and amplify creativity. Edvin found this particularly valuable for new designers who don’t have the budget for endless samples. Raspberry can simulate ideas before the fabric is cut and make the process more accessible. In an industry that is resource intensive, it provides an avenue to level the playing field and is a complete game changer.

“The designer of the future will be multilingual, fluent in craft, culture, and technology. They’ll sketch by hand, drape fabric on a form, and also use AI to explore new horizons. Technology will be in service of vision, not the other way around.”
[[- Edvin Thompson, Founder & Creative Director, Theophilio] cs-quote-desk]