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Fashion moves to artificial beauty | The Express Tribune
Fashion moves to artificial beauty
Brands explore AI as models fear for jobs and digital identities
Brands explore AI as models fear for jobs and digital identities
LONDON:
Fashion brands are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to create lifelike models for online retail, promising production savings of 90% or more but raising concerns about models losing jobs and surrendering control over their digital identities
A Reuters review of more than a dozen confidential photoshoot contracts and interviews with 15 modelling agency directors found that brands including Diesel, Calvin Klein and L’Oreal had sought rights to modify models’ appearances, create digital replicas and use images to train AI tools, sometimes without additional compensation
The proposed terms included swapping a model’s face with another person’s, altering body proportions and creating digital clones for future use. Some contracts also contained broad legal language that lawyers warned could leave models vulnerable to uses of their images beyond what they had anticipated
As retailers expand their use of AI-generated imagery, modelling agencies are reporting declining bookings, while photo studios have closed. London-based model Adot Gak, who has appeared in campaigns for Balmain and H&M, warned that the technology could sharply reduce opportunities, particularly in e-commerce, where retailers require constant supplies of new product images
“Within a year, even the next six months, there’s going to be less jobs for models, especially our bread and butter, which is ecommerce,” Gak said. She warned that the industry could become dominated by artificial models if professionals failed to speak up
The contracts reviewed by Reuters illustrate how the shift is unfolding. Diesel sought permission to alter or reconstruct facial features and body proportions, swap faces between participating models and place a model’s face on another person’s body
Its parent company, OTB, said the document was drafted for a specific campaign and did not represent its typical agreements. It added that the company did not systematically modify models using AI
Reale Actives, the skincare brand launched by social media personality Alix Earle, sought the right to create AI replicas of models and use them for a year without further payment. The company said it used real models and had not replicated anyone using AI, adding that the contract wording originated with an unnamed production partner
A draft Calvin Klein contract sought permission to use reasonably unrecognisable images of models, without identifying features, to train and fine-tune AI tools. The company said it was testing the technology and that its use of AI was guided by regulation, industry standards and respect for models’ rights
L’Oreal sought rights to use AI for modifying or enhancing the appearance of cosmetic products, packaging and shades, as well as for retouching. The company said it used standard AI tools in post-production and editing that did not affect a model’s image
The commercial appeal is already evident. Zalando, Europe’s largest online fashion retailer, rapidly adopted AI-generated imagery for marketing and closed both its Berlin photo studios last year. About You, acquired by Zalando in July 2025, also shut its studio. Zalando cut more than 340 jobs, although it said some employees were retained in other roles
About You’s Scayle Studios now creates digital imagery for other retailers using AI-generated models and promises production-cost savings of more than 90%. The company said it had 130 brand clients and generated 190,000 outfits in the previous month
“We are saving so much money,” said Julian Jansen, About You’s vice president of marketing, describing AI as a way to match the speed of online retail with image production
Regulation, however, remains limited. New York’s Fashion Workers Act, which took effect in June 2025, prohibits brands from creating or modifying replicas of models without their explicit consent. In Britain, the British Fashion Model Agents Association has drawn up a voluntary code stating that AI should be used only with a model’s consent and that the model should own any digital twin
Industry representatives warn that voluntary standards cannot offer the same protection as binding laws. Melanie Howard, a lawyer representing brands and talent, said sweeping contract language could make it difficult for models to challenge unauthorised uses of their images
For younger models in particular, the consequences could last well beyond a single campaign. Patrick Staal, head of Barcelona-based Uniko Models, warned that signing away AI rights early in a career could affect a model for years
“The misuse of models’ images is not new, but with AI that problem is accelerated tenfold,” said Sara Ziff, founder of the New York-based Model Alliance, which backed the New York legislation
As fashion embraces cheaper, faster digital production, the central question is whether models will retain control over their likenesses – or find themselves helping to train the technology that eventually replaces them
