---
title: "Chaotic Italian Fashion Line Baffles Facial Recognition Software"
description: "An Italian clothing line, Cap_able, just released a collection of knitwear that tricks facial recognition software into registering you as an animal."
date: "2023-01-24"
modified: "2023-01-24"
authors:
  - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré"
    job_title: "Senior Staff Writer"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/italian-fashion-line-fascial-recognition"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Facial recognition"
tags:
  - "artificial intelligence"
  - "facial recognition"
  - "the digest"
---

# Chaotic Italian Fashion Line Baffles Facial Recognition Software

![An Italian clothing line, Cap\_able, just released a collection of knitwear that tricks facial recognition software into registering you as an animal.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/capable.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.capable.design/home-1" target="\_blank"\>CAP\_able Design\</a\>\</em\>*

## Mamma Mia!

If you're looking to bypass the Madison Square Garden [enemy list](<https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/nyregion/madison-square-garden-facial-recognition.html>), do we have a brand for you. An Italian clothing line, Cap\_able, just released a collection of absolutely outlandish knits, all designed with the goal of fooling [facial recognition software](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/casinos-facial-recognition-gambling>) — no [mask](<https://edri.org/our-work/can-a-covid-19-face-mask-protect-you-from-facial-recognition-technology-too/>) or [face painting required](<https://consequence.net/2019/07/juggalo-makeup-facial-recognition/>).

The trick? Scrambled images of dogs, zebras and giraffes, knitted into the fabric with the specific goal of tricking facial scanning algorithms to identify the wrong species.

"In a world where data is the new oil," [reads](<https://www.capable.design/home-1>) the company's website, "Cap\_able addresses the issue of privacy, opening the discussion on the importance of protection from the misuse of biometric recognition cameras: a problem that has become increasingly present in our daily lives, involving citizens around the world, and that, if neglected, could freeze the rights of the individual including freedom of expression, association, and free movement in public spaces."

## Luxury Dystopia

The collection — dubbed "Manifesto," an unsurprising title considering that passionate mission statement — was designed as part of cofounder Rachele Didero's doctorate study at the University of Milan, and tested using a [facial recognition system called YOLO](<https://pjreddie.com/darknet/yolo/>), according [to *New Atlas*](<https://newatlas.com/good-thinking/facial-recognition-clothes/>).

While again, masks and certain face painting techniques do work against facial recognition software, we do see the appeal — as did [famed sci-fi author William Gibson](<https://www.wired.co.uk/article/facial-recognition-t-shirt-block>) — of wearing sweatpants or a sweatshirt, or maybe a long sweater dress, as an alternative means of beating the AI-based system. Although if this is the future of fashion, be warned: the knitwear's carefully constructed patterns, all very specifically designed to trick the AI softwares, are, uh, pretty loud.

And as *New Atlas* points out, there are some more technical caveats. After all, those who implement the software — [authoritative governments](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/iran-facial-recognition-hijab-law>), billionaires with a [penchant for feuds](<https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexreimer/2020/03/04/james-dolans-ridiculous-spat-with-spike-lee-might-finally-be-his-undoing/?sh=74510e922947>), et cetera — could train the machines to recognize Cap\_able's chaos sweaters pretty easily.

It's also not exactly an affordable way to beat the system; just a t-shirt costs over $300 a pop, and it's on sale. We might have to stick to [Juggalo paint](<https://consequence.net/2019/07/juggalo-makeup-facial-recognition/>) for now.

**READ MORE:** *[Flamboyant Italian clothes defeat facial recognition without masks](<https://newatlas.com/good-thinking/facial-recognition-clothes/>)* \[*New Atlas*\]

**More on facial recognition:** *[Smart Pet Door Uses Facial Recognition to Keep Strange Animals Out](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/smart-pet-door-facial-recognition>)*

## Author
At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride."

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/mharrisondupre.bsky.social>)