In August 2025, Vogue US printed a Guess commercial that includes two AI-generated fashions, created by London-based company Seraphinne Vallora. Dubbed Vivienne and Anastasia, the fashions had been offered as hyper-realistic representations of girls, with a small disclosure noting their AI origin — a element simply missed by readers.
The marketing campaign instantly sparked social media uproar. On TikTok, customers criticised each Vogue and Guess for utilizing “pretend girls,” with some calling for subscription cancellations or a boycott of the journal. Life-style creator Payton Wickizer mentioned, “The truth that they’re utilizing pretend girls of their magazines — speechless.” Marissa Spagnoli, referencing Guess’s iconic previous campaigns with Eva Mendes and Drew Barrymore, added, “This doesn’t make me need to purchase something.” Different commenters expressed concern for the livelihoods of fashions, photographers and creatives probably displaced by AI-generated alternate options.
Psychologist Dr. Nicole Hawkins emphasised the psychological affect, noting that publicity to digitally perfected photographs can normalise unrealistic magnificence requirements, main younger girls and women to internalise unattainable beliefs and really feel insufficient. In response, Seraphinne Vallora co-founders Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea Petrescu pressured that their objective is to complement — not exchange — the style business. “The guts of trend is images,” Gonzalez mentioned. “We are going to by no means problem that. That is meant to simply complement and so as to add a brand new avenue of selling.”
Guess’s AI marketing campaign is much from the primary experiment on this house and previous examples illustrate the challenges manufacturers face when adopting AI-driven imagery. In 2024, Victoria’s Secret collaborated with Maison Meta on a Barbie-inspired AI marketing campaign, however the hyper-realistic fashions had been later adjusted to look overtly CGI, undermining the model’s rebranding efforts towards inclusivity. Equally, Levi’s partnered with Lalaland.ai in 2023 to showcase various physique varieties digitally, but critics accused the model of “pretend range,” arguing that actual fashions might have achieved the identical illustration whereas preserving jobs. H&M’s use of digital “twins” of actual fashions in 2025 raised questions on consent and the displacement of inventive groups and Mango’s deployment of AI fashions to hurry up content material for teenage audiences provoked complaints about inaccurate physique illustration and the perpetuation of fast-fashion harms. Even speculative discussions about manufacturers like SHEIN counsel that AI might turn out to be a pure extension of ultra-fast, low-cost content material manufacturing, illustrating potential moral pitfalls within the business.
Past these controversies, AI-generated trend campaigns increase a elementary query on the moral {and professional} implications of utilizing AI in trend campaigns. Inventive administrators equivalent to Sybille de Saint Louvent have used AI to provide campaigns for Prada, Gucci and Jil Sander, recreating model signatures with exceptional precision. At first look, these photographs seize the acquainted id of every model, but critics argue they lack the depth and storytelling that human-led campaigns present. Laurent François — managing accomplice at 180 — notes that fully AI-driven campaigns typically really feel “anecdotal,” replicating the previous relatively than creating compelling new narratives. Some manufacturers have begun to discover AI’s potential to develop inventive potentialities — equivalent to Moncler Genius and Adidas Originals’ 2023 collaboration — which blended AI-generated adventurers with mixed-media sculptures to create immersive experiences that transcend mere product show.
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Past manufacturers — companies equivalent to Deep Company permit manufacturers to create fully digital photoshoots utilizing artificial fashions or AI variations of actual folks — elevating additional questions on consent, illustration and accountability. Critics argue that whereas AI guarantees effectivity and inclusivity, it dangers eroding the human creativity {and professional} livelihoods that underpin the business. With AI-generated imagery turning into more and more indistinguishable from actuality, calls are rising for clearer regulation, transparency and labour protections to make sure that know-how augments relatively than replaces human expertise.
The moral implications of AI in trend prolong far past aesthetics alone as customers proceed to demand transparency and campaigns that rely solely on AI threat eroding model credibility. The know-how additionally raises severe labour issues, as fashions, photographers, stylists and make-up artists could also be changed by cheaper, infinitely reproducible digital alternate options. Problems with consent and likeness rights are rising as effectively, with human fashions probably shedding management over digital replicas of their picture. Furthermore, generative AI is energy-intensive, prompting questions on environmental accountability in a sector already scrutinised for sustainability.
The rise of AI-generated influencers additional illustrates the moral and financial stakes of digital fashions in trend. Spanish AI influencer Aitana Lopez — created by the design company The Clueless — has amassed 127,000 Instagram followers and reportedly earns as much as USD 11,000 monthly via sponsored content material, demonstrating the profitable potential of digital personalities. These AI figures function with out the restrictions or calls for of human labour, responding to followers in a number of languages, sustaining curated personas and showing in model campaigns across the clock. Whereas company founders insist these fashions are supplemental relatively than replacements for human expertise, their existence highlights the growing commodification of digital personas and the danger of normalising algorithmically generated beliefs over actual human illustration — elevating questions on authenticity and the psychological affect on audiences.
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Past this, there’s the rising commercialisation of human-like personas, as manufacturers more and more put money into digital figures that may be meticulously managed and monetised — free from the unpredictability of actual folks. Except for advertising and marketing, AI influencers additionally blur the road between actuality and simulation, difficult audiences to discern real human illustration from algorithmically generated personas.
Consultants counsel that essentially the most accountable use of AI lies in augmenting relatively than changing human creativity. By automating repetitive or purely purposeful duties, manufacturers might unlock assets for manufacturing design and significant viewers engagement, relatively than merely chopping prices. As AI know-how continues to evolve, the choices trend homes make now will outline the moral and artistic panorama of the business for years to return. Vogue US’ Guess controversy illustrates each the promise and perils of AI in trend. On the one hand, they’ve the potential to provide hanging visuals, however with out cautious oversight, AI dangers undermining authenticity, labour rights and the very human artistry that has lengthy been on the coronary heart of the business.
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