by London’s top model agencies saw it coming.
Four years ago, Simon Chambers, the owner of Storm Model Management – the agency, who introduced the career of Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne and director of the British Fashion Model Agents Association (BFMA), began an investigation of how artificial intelligence could change the face of fashion and one of the most envied professions worldwide.
“We tried to learn as much as possible because it goes back to the old saying: If it is acceptable for the purchase audience and if it saves a lot of money, it will probably have wings,” he says. “The question has never been whether. Instead, it was always:” How is it used and to what extent? “”
The tectonic plates turned forward at the end of March when H&M started his “Digital Twin” campaign, in which models, including Mathilda Gvarliani, had made Ki replicas of himself.
In contrast to the moderator of brands and media, from Marks & Spencer to Sheerluxe, who previously set completely false AI ambassadors, H&M’s Pommeles Pitch will help 30 models this year to create digital avatars. The models will have them, and each brand can pay for it to use them without ever having to enter set. “She is like me without jetlag,” said Gvarliani about her new Digi-Like.
“What is great is that with this girl we could shoot a campaign Irl in New York and at the same time do her avatar e-commerce shoots for us in Stockholm,” says Chambers. “If you are a big name, you can almost certainly have your own avatar and it can probably do things. But that is for the few, not for the many. The fear is that mainstream models will see less work.”
It also raises questions from consumers: While the use of stylist bulldog clips has been used for a long time so that clothing looks more attractive when buying online, are ai-generated images for potential customers only misleading?
Top models in panic
“AI is here to stay, but models should be part of the conversation, not victims of it,” says Valais Day, the model and the actor, which counts almost half a million Instagram followers. She fears that technological steps could make the role of the model superfluous. “If it is transparent and fair, it opens the doors to new income flows, but concern is concerned when brands bypass real people as a whole and generate fake models to save costs. This is not an innovation, it is deleted.”
“It is not right for me,” says the leading male model James Yates, who went for Giorgio Armani and campaigns for Hugo bosses for Hugo bosses. “Brands that are Mega -Multinational companies use the years of artist creation to save money and effectively get these artists out of work. It loses any creative individuality or the moments in between the real sparks in fashion.”
There are also broader threats, says Kai-Isiah Jamal, the pioneering trans model that was the face of Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and the Elle UK Cover of this month. “I wonder who takes these pictures. Is this just a different option for white, CIS, heterosexual men in order to advance your wish again?
What about everyone else?
David Gandy, one of the best -known models of the UK and founder of David Gandy Wellwear, sees injustice on the horizon. While he believes that “more established models that have their image and name trademarks are less affected”, young models will have difficulty entering the industry.
He adds that other creative people are also met-especially if e-commerce shootings (for photos that show you how clothes look like clothing when buying online) are wiped out by AI. “Creative experts – photographers, stylists, art directors as well as hair and makeup artists – are at risk because their roles may be reduced when brands reduce costs,” he says. In fact, as Sam McKnight, the renowned hairdresser who worked with all of Princess Diana and Lady Gaga to today’s harvest of supermodels, saw H&MS Ki campaign, was his first thought: “Ok, our days are numbered.”
Although he believes that fashion cannot be generated by a computer, he understands that photo shoots are expensive – and brands fight. The global market for personal luxury goods lost around 50 million consumers last year. “When I see that H&M go:” Oh, but we use the real models and we have a deal with the model agent “, I like” bullshit “, he continues. “Give them six months or a year before you say:” Oh, well, it’s not really you. “
Hiss fits, close instructions and new priorities
Creating avatars is not as easy as pressing a button, explains Sarah Doukas, the co-founder of Storm Management, who was looking for Moos in 1988. “There is also another tricky situation; a well-known model had an Avatar company that made her image, and they were excellent.
Apart from vanities, the race of the models is main. “As we navigate this developing chapter, it is important that we protect our models,” says Miranda Cantacuzene-Persory, director of the Elite London Agency.
The AI law is introduced in the EU in 2026, which means that AI images must be identified as such, while the British Model Model Model Association will immediately publish their guidelines, which warn that “without adequate protective measures and ethics, the career of many ideas and ethics, the not limited technologies in the industry can damage in the industry.”.
As far as the models themselves are concerned, it is recommended that building a strong social media will strengthen their survival, since brands expect more if they separate with cash for actual talents.
“Brands still want personality and they want a supporter – that is very important,” says Doukas. “Many, many people know models like them and follow them online. This is an advantage that they receive from working with a real person they cannot get with AI.”
