{"id":3417,"date":"2026-10-28T12:03:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3417"},"modified":"2026-10-28T12:03:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:03:48","slug":"ai-generated-fashion-models-threaten-jobs-as-brands-cut-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=3417","title":{"rendered":"AI-generated fashion models threaten jobs as brands cut costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

AI-generated fashion models present a tantalising opportunity for brands: the ability to create lifelike images for their retail websites while cutting costs by 90% or more compared to photo shoots with human models.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the modelling industry, the technology poses an existential threat because of scant regulation governing the ownership or use of digital twins. Fashion models face the risk \u200bof unpaid replication of their image \u2013 or replacement by entirely synthetic models.<\/p>\n

To understand how AI is upending the economics of fashion modelling, Reuters interviewed 15 model-agency directors and reviewed more than a dozen confidential photo-shoot contracts in which brands including Diesel, Calvin \u200cKlein and L\u2019Oreal detailed proposed terms for AI-created alterations and future use of the images.<\/p>\n

The companies\u2019 contract requests included the right to swap a model\u2019s face with another using AI; the creation of a digital clone with no additional compensation to the model; and the right to use images of a model\u2019s body to train AI.<\/p>\n

The terms in the unsigned contracts also included broad legal language that could effectively give a brand leeway to use AI however it wanted.<\/p>\n

While some companies are looking to repurpose or modify images of existing models, others are using fully AI-generated models, not based on existing humans.<\/p>\n

As AI use expands, modelling agencies are seeing bookings decline, photo studios are closing, and models are facing the \u200bloss of a chunk of their livelihoods: photo shoots by fast-fashion retailers constantly adding new collections to their websites.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin a year, even the next six months, there\u2019s going to be fewer jobs for models, especially our bread and butter, which is ecommerce,\u201d said Adot Gak, a model based \u200bin London who has been on the cover of Harper\u2019s Bazaar and appeared in campaigns by brands including Balmain and H&M. \u201cIf we don\u2019t speak up about this, in the next two years the whole industry will just \u2060be bots.\u201d<\/p>\n

While some fast-fashion players like Spain\u2019s Mango have already rolled out AI-generated models at scale, high-end brands are moving more cautiously.<\/p>\n

Moncler experimented early with an AI-generated campaign in 2023, and Gucci caused controversy in fashion circles when it posted images generated by AI on Instagram this year.<\/p>\n

Moncler said it does \u200bnot currently use AI-generated models, either on its website or in its campaigns. Gucci did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scariest part is that now people cannot differentiate between a real model and an AI model,\u201d said Gak.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Face swaps and \u2018digital twins\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

AI allows retailers to endlessly rework and redeploy a model\u2019s image \u200b, wearing different outfits at a fraction of the cost of new shoots.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome brands ask to modify faces, bodies, skin, age or expressions after shoots using AI. Others are asking about creating \u2018digital twins\u2019 of models that they can reuse later without needing another production,\u201d said Patrick Staal, owner of modelling agency Uniko Models in Barcelona.<\/p>\n

In a photo-shoot casting sheet, Italian brand Diesel asked models to agree to \u201calteration or reconstruction of facial features and body proportions,\u201d along with \u201cswapping of faces among the participating models,\u201d and \u201csuperimposition of the Participant\u2019s face onto another person\u2019s body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diesel\u2019s parent company OTB told Reuters the model release was drafted for a specific campaign and isn\u2019t representative of its typical agreements. It said it doesn\u2019t systematically modify models \u200bwith AI.<\/p>\n

Reale Actives \u2013 the skincare brand launched this year by social-media personality Alix Earle \u2013 uses the tagline, \u201cReale you is perfect you.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in a contract seen by Reuters, the brand asked for rights to create AI-generated replicas of models and to \u201cown\u201d and use these fakes for a year without further compensation.<\/p>\n

Reale Actives \u200bsaid in a statement that it uses real models and hasn\u2019t replicated any model using AI. It said the contract language came from a partner production company, which it declined to name.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Models training their machine replacements?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In some cases, models are helping to train their replacements: some contracts\u2019 fine print includes language allowing the use of their \u200cimages to train AI \u2060tools.<\/p>\n

A Calvin Klein draft contract seen by Reuters asked the model to accept, for no extra pay, that the brand \u201cmay use reasonably unrecognisable images of Model (no identifying features such as Model\u2019s face, scars, tattoos or otherwise) to train and fine-tune AI tools for learning general model attributes.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Calvin Klein spokesperson said in a statement: \u201cLike many others, we are testing and learning in this fast-moving space,\u201d adding that the brand\u2019s AI use is guided by regulation, industry standards and respect for models\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

In many cases, contracts include wording such as \u201cincluding\u201d or \u201cnot limited to,\u201d which lawyers commonly use to claim rights that aren\u2019t spelt out.<\/p>\n

Melanie Howard, partner and chair of luxury brands at law firm Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles, represents both brands and talent in contract negotiations and said such sweeping language \u201cis dangerous in its ambiguity\u201d and makes it difficult for models to challenge any unsanctioned use of their images.<\/p>\n

In a photo-shoot contract seen by Reuters, France\u2019s L\u2019Oreal \u200basked for \u201cthe right to use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies\u2026 including for \u200bmodifying, enhancing, or adapting the appearance of cosmetic products, packaging, or \u2060shades, as well as for retouching purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without addressing that contract language, L\u2019Oreal said it uses standard AI tools in post-production and editing that don\u2019t affect the model\u2019s image.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u2018We are saving so much money\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Some firms are openly embracing AI to replace models and save money.<\/p>\n

Europe\u2019s biggest online-fashion retailer, Zalando, has rapidly adopted AI-generated imagery<\/a> for marketing content \u2013 and shut both its photo studios in Berlin last year. Fast-fashion retailer About You, which Zalando acquired in July last year, also closed \u200bits studio.<\/p>\n

Overall, Zalando cut more than 340 jobs, though the company said it retained some of those employees in other roles.<\/p>\n

Now, About You is launching its Scayle Studios business, which creates digital imagery for other \u200bretailers using AI-generated models and promises a more \u2060than 90% production-cost reduction.<\/p>\n

Scayle has 130 brand clients and has generated 190,000 outfits in the last month, according to a company spokesperson.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are saving so much money,\u201d said Julian Jansen, vice president of marketing at About You.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve always had this super fast world of ecommerce, and this super slow traditional world of photo shoots, it didn\u2019t fit together in any way \u2013 and now with AI, it\u2019s a completely different scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>Little regulation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Regulations globally haven\u2019t kept pace with the threat to models\u2019 livelihoods, but the New York State Fashion Workers Act is one exception.<\/p>\n

The law has made it illegal since June 2025 for brands to create or modify replicas of models \u2060without their explicit \u200bconsent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe misuse of models\u2019 images is not new, but with AI that problem is accelerated tenfold,\u201d said Sara Ziff, founder and executive director of the New York-based nonprofit Model Alliance, which \u200bbacked the legislation.<\/p>\n

Ziff, herself a model for years, pushes for similar laws in other states and federally.<\/p>\n

The British Fashion Model Agents Association has drawn up an AI code of practice, including that AI can only be used with the consent of a model, who would own any digital twin. But BFMA head John Horner said that without binding regulation in Britain or Europe, \u200bmodels still risk being taken advantage of by less scrupulous agents.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of young talents don\u2019t fully understand the long-term consequences yet,\u201d said Staal, the Barcelona-based model agency director. \u201cSigning away AI rights at 20 years old could still affect someone ten years later.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AI-generated fashion models present a tantalising opportunity for brands: the ability to create lifelike images for their retail websites while cutting costs by 90% or more compared to photo shoots with human models. For the modelling industry, the technology poses an existential threat because of scant regulation governing the ownership or use of digital twins. Fashion models face the risk \u200bof unpaid replication of their image \u2013 or replacement by entirely synthetic models. To understand how AI is upending the economics of fashion modelling, Reuters interviewed 15 model-agency directors and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}