AI models threaten fashion industry jobs as brands seek rights to digital replicas

AI-generated fashion models present a tantalizing opportunity for brands: the ability to create lifelike images for their retail websites while cutting costs by 90 per cent or more compared to photo shoots with human models.

For the modeling industry, the technology poses an existential threat because of scant regulation governing the ownership or use of digital twins. Fashion models face the risk of unpaid replication of their image – or replacement by entirely synthetic models.