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\n American Vogue\u2019s August 2025 issue has been making headlines \u2014 and not only for its cover featuring actor Anne Hathaway, who is back in the limelight as she films \u201cThe Devil Wears Prada\u201d sequel<\/a>. What has drawn much \u2014 if not more \u2014 attention can be found in the pages of the magazine: advertisements for the Californian clothing company Guess.\n <\/p>\n \n At a cursory glance, nothing appears unusual: A Caucasian woman with wavy blonde hair, flushed cheeks and perfect teeth, bared in a wide smile, shows off a long stripe dress with a matching top-handle bag. In another image, she models a floral playsuit with a drawstring that cinches her waist.\n <\/p>\n \n Yet, in small print on the page, it is revealed that the model was created using artificial intelligence. The campaign was developed by Seraphinne Vallora, a London-based AI-driven marketing agency, whose work has also been featured in titles including Elle, The Wall Street Journal and Harper\u2019s Bazaar. The discourse around the AI photos was ignited by TikTok user @lala4an, whose video on the Guess ad has since been viewed more than 2.7 million times.\n <\/p>\n \n The revelation that AI models were inside the pages of Vogue sparked debate over what it might mean for real-life models pushing for greater representation and diversity, and consumers \u2014 particularly younger people<\/a> \u2014 who often face unrealistic expectations of beauty<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s insane because it\u2019s not like we\u2019re short on people looking for modeling gigs or anything,\u201d wrote one user on TikTok in a comment that, to date, has over 67,700 likes. \u201cSo first normal women are comparing themselves to edited models\u2026 Now we have to compare ourselves to women that don\u2019t even exist???\u201d wrote another.\n <\/p>\n \n Several people have since called for a boycott against Guess and Vogue. Guess did not respond to CNN\u2019s request for comment. While the Guess campaign was a commercial decision, it would have still required internal approval at Vogue to be printed. A Cond\u00e9 Nast spokesperson confirmed to CNN that an AI model has never appeared editorially in Vogue. Though, digitally created models have featured in international editions of the title: Vogue Singapore previously showcased AI-generated avatars in its March 2023 issue. (Vogue Singapore is a licensee and not owned or operated by Cond\u00e9 Nast.)\n <\/p>\n \n Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea Petrescu, the 25-year-old co-founders of Seraphinne Vallora, believe the outrage behind the Guess campaign is misplaced. Speaking to CNN on a video call, Petrescu explained that \u201cpeople think these images just came to be by AI, which is not true. We have a team, and we also still hire models.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Gonzalez and Petrescu were approached by Guess co-founder Paul Marciano to create AI models for the brand, they said. After reviewing multiple drafts, Marciano picked a digitally created blonde (Vivienne) and brunette (Anastasia) for further development. Both ended up being featured in Guess\u2019 ads, which appeared in Vogue and other magazines, Gonzalez said (though it was only Vivienne who went viral).\n <\/p>\n \n To create the campaign, Seraphinne Vallora employed a real model, who, over the course of a week, was photographed in the studio wearing Guess clothing. That informed how the clothes looked on an AI model, said Gonzalez. \u201cWe needed to see what poses would flatter the product most, and how it looked on a real woman. We cannot generate an image if we don\u2019t have an informed idea of what positions will be the most flattering.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cTo create an AI model, it takes time, so we want to make sure that people engage with it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Valentina Gonzalez, co-founder of Seraphinne Vallora\n <\/p>\n \n Asked why brands wouldn\u2019t simply use a real model in their ads, Petrescu argued that AI gave clients greater choice and efficiency, by requiring less time and smaller budgets to execute than a typical marketing campaign.\n <\/p>\n \n Seraphinne Vallora was initially founded as a jewelry label before pivoting into providing AI-led marketing services, Petrescu explained. \u201cWe realized that to sell this jewelry, we had to put a lot of good content out there that attracted people. But we didn\u2019t have budgets at the time to hire real people to be the face of our brand, so we tried to make our own model.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n As architecture graduates, both Petrescu and Gonzalez were well versed in photography, drawing and digital media, so they turned to AI to create a model that would tout their products online. The results, according to Petrescu, were positive. \u201cWe had millions of views on our Instagram Reels and tens of thousands of likes on some posts,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n The novelty of an AI model has appealed to many, added Gonzalez. \u201cThe reason it went viral was because people were like, \u2018oh my god, is she real?\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Guess is not the only brand to have used AI models. Last July, Mango introduced its first AI-generated campaign to promote clothing for teenage girls. In one image, a young woman is wearing a colorful co-ord set. While the garments shown were real and available to purchase, the model was entirely AI generated. In March 2023, Levi\u2019s said that it would begin testing AI-generated models to ensure more diverse body types and skin tones in its marketing.\n <\/p>\n \n Those launches were also met with criticism, with some seeing the AI creation of a model \u2014 especially a person of color \u2014 as a way for companies to profit from the appearance of diversity without having to invest in it, while also potentially pushing professional models out of their jobs in the process. Others feared the move would also negatively impact the livelihoods of photographers, makeup artists and other creatives traditionally involved in creating a campaign.\n <\/p>\n \n In an October 2024 interview with Bloomberg, Mango\u2019s CEO Toni Ruiz justified the use of AI models, saying that advertising could be created more quickly. \u201cIt\u2019s about faster content creation,\u201d he said. Mango did not reply to CNN\u2019s request for comment.\n <\/p>\n \n Levi\u2019s responded to criticism at the time of its announcement, clarifying that it was not \u201ca means to advance diversity\u201d and the company remained committed to working with diverse models. The brand added it would not scale back live photoshoots with models.\n <\/p>\n \n Noticeably, the AI models shared by Seraphinne Vallora on its Instagram are largely white and have conventionally attractive features, such as luscious hair, a fit body and facial symmetry, which align with widely held societal standards of beauty.\n <\/p>\n \n Asked why there isn\u2019t greater diversity among Seraphinne Vallora\u2019s AI models, Petrescu said there were no technical limitations, but they simply followed directions from clients. She added that on testing a variety of models, they \u201csaw what works best with the public. We saw what people responded to.\u201d The varied responses to their AI models have been considerable, said Gonzalez, with likes on a single Instagram post ranging from a few hundred going up to tens of thousands. \u201cTo create an AI model, it takes time, so we want to make sure that people engage with it,\u201d Gonzalez noted.\n <\/p>\n \n For Sara Ziff, who started work as a model in New York at age 14 and is the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Model Alliance, the concerns around AI are not unfounded. As the technology becomes more widely adopted, Ziff argued that brands and creators must consider \u201chow it can best be rolled out and how it can be used responsibly,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to ask who\u2019s getting paid, who\u2019s getting seen and who gets erased.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The rise of AI models is not worlds apart from virtual influencers, who are already overlapping with real-life ones. Digital avatars such as Lil Miquela and Shudu have large followings on social media and wear clothing from luxury brands like Prada, Dior and Calvin Klein. Neither digital model is Caucasian, and both have at least one white creator (Shudu was created by British visual artist Cameron-James Wilson and Miquela by Los Angeles-based creatives Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou).\n <\/p>\n \n Not all AI creations are entirely fictional, either. In March, H&M said that it would create AI \u201ctwins\u201d of 30 real-life models, with the intention of using them in advertising campaigns and social media posts. As part of the agreement, each model would own the rights to their twin, meaning they can book multiple photoshoots with brands (including H&M\u2019s competitors) and, in that sense, be in more than one place at once. The first images, using AI-made photos of models, were released this month.\n <\/p>\n \n In a statement provided to CNN, H&M\u2019s chief creative officer J\u00f6rgen Andersson said the company would not change its \u201chuman-centric\u201d approach and was simply \u201cexploring how AI can enhance the creative process.\u201d He added: \u201cWe recognize that there are many questions and concerns around our engagement in AI, however, we are committed to approach this ethically, transparently, and responsibly.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Some luxury brands have experimented with technology to create digital doubles. In 2021, Dior created a digital version of real-life ambassador Angelababy (who has been dubbed the \u201cKim Kardashian of China\u201d due to her prolific appearances and extravagant lifestyle) to virtually attend its fashion show in Shanghai. A computer-generated version of supermodel Naomi Campbell appeared in Burberry\u2019s campaign that same year.\n <\/p>\n \n Recalling her previous experience working for an online luxury retailer, Lara Ferris \u2014 now strategy director of Spring Studios, a global creative agency with clients such as Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford and Est\u00e9e Lauder \u2014 said: \u201cTen years ago, they tried to shoot products at volume. Clothes like T-shirts, shorts, coats and dresses would be photographed and transposed onto an online model. There was no human involved.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The use of AI models allows companies \u201cto create images at scale very quickly,\u201d said Ferris. It\u2019s indicative of the rapid growth and globalization of the fashion industry, which has created tremendous ethical and environmental problems. \u201cWe\u2019ve always struggled with appetite and demand, and this is how the industry keeps up. The fact that you can create an image and reproduce that across thousands of products is very mass. But does it feel premium? No,\u201d she concluded.\n <\/p>\n \n Michael Musandu, the CEO and founder of digital model studio Lalaland.ai, which partnered with Levi\u2019s to create its AI models, said that the use of AI models in fashion is already more widespread than many realize, and that brands of all sizes are simply not disclosing it because there is no legal obligation to.\n <\/p>\n \n The recent sale of Musandu\u2019s company Lalaland.ai to digital design firm Browzwear is a testament to the growing opportunities in the space, he said. Like many AI model creators, Musandu insists his work is supplementary and not intended to replace real-life models. \u201cWe launched by solving a massive problem, which is people of color feeling underrepresented while shopping online. I never got to see models that looked like myself,\u201d said Musandu, who was born in Zimbabwe, raised in South Africa, and studied computer science and AI in the Netherlands, where he is currently based.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe need to ask who\u2019s getting paid, who\u2019s getting seen and who gets erased.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Sara Ziff, founder and executive director of The Model Alliance\n <\/p>\n \n As diversity in fashion continues to be a priority, brands are still shooting with real models but using AI to increase their output, said Musandu. \u201cThere is no brand that we work with that is scaling down on traditional photography.\u201d Musandu added that it would be impossible to entirely replace real-life models, who \u201ccan create genuine connection with consumers.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Spring Studios\u2019 Ferris agrees, noting that the most successful models and online influencers today, such as Julia Fox, Gabbriette and Olivia Neill, are not traditional in that they are not \u201cstatuesque and don\u2019t speak,\u201d but they have a large fanbase because they are \u201creally active online and engaged with their communities.\u201d While it will become \u201cincreasingly difficult\u201d to tell an AI model apart from a real-life person online, Ferris argued that the latter\u2019s personalities will set them apart and become an even greater asset.\n <\/p>\n \n Still, the further use of AI in fashion is just another potential risk for models, who have historically lacked protection in the workplace and across the sector. It\u2019s what the New York State Fashion Workers Act, which took effect in June, seeks to do (the new law, co-sponsored by Ziff\u2019s Model Alliance, regulates model management companies, provides complaint procedures and sets up penalties for violations). \u201cI don\u2019t think that the use of AI is inherently bad, but it will be used to exploit people without the proper guardrails in place,\u201d said Ziff.\n <\/p>\n \n The new law, she added, \u201cis not a silver bullet by any stretch, but it\u2019s a starting point.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facebook Tweet Email Link American Vogue\u2019s August 2025 issue has been making headlines \u2014 and not only for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[182,181,507,74],"class_list":["post-50847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/guess-gold-and-black-dress-guess-logov2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Some](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/guess-white-ruffle-dress.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Levi's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lalaland-7.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Lalaland.ai's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lalaland-3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Virtual](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/aimodels-32split.jpg\")
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