Fashion brands expand AI model use as agencies warn of job and rights risks

Traders Union
All News
Business & Wealth
Companies
Fashion brands expand AI model use

Highlights

Fashion brands, including Diesel, Calvin Klein, and L'Oréal, are embedding broad AI rights in model contracts, enabling face-swapping, cloning, and AI training with limited extra compensation.
Rapid adoption of AI-generated imagery is driving ecommerce cost reductions exceeding 90%, with Zalando shuttering Berlin studios and About You launching Scayle Studios to serve 130 brand clients.
Despite New York’s new Fashion Workers Act effective June 2025 prohibiting AI model replication without consent, regulatory gaps persist in Britain and Europe, exposing models to long-term AI rights loss.

Contract terms and cost pressures reshape fashion production

As reported by BusinessWorld, citing Reuters, interviews with 15 model-agency directors and a review of more than a dozen confidential draft photo-shoot contracts show brands are seeking broad rights to alter, reuse and replicate models through AI.

The unsigned contracts reviewed include requests to swap a model's face with another, create a digital clone without extra payment, and use a model's body or images to train AI systems. Lawyers and agency executives say some of the language is written broadly enough to give brands wide discretion over future AI use.

Retailers are pursuing the technology because it sharply reduces the cost of producing product images compared with traditional shoots. Some companies are modifying photos of existing models, while others are moving to fully synthetic models that are not based on real people.

Specific contracts cited in the review include terms linked to Diesel, Calvin Klein and L'Oréal. OTB, Diesel's parent, told Reuters the release was drafted for a specific campaign and was not representative of its standard agreements, while Calvin Klein said it is testing AI use under regulation and industry standards, and L'Oréal said its standard post-production AI tools do not affect a model's image.

Reale Actives, the skincare brand launched this year by Alix Earle, also appeared in a contract that sought rights to create and own AI replicas of models for a year without further compensation. The company said it uses real models, has not replicated any model with AI, and that the contract wording came from a production partner.

Industry fallout and regulatory gaps widen

Agencies say the spread of AI imagery is already cutting into a core source of work, especially ecommerce shoots for fast-fashion websites that constantly refresh product listings. Models and agents warn the decline in bookings is hitting livelihoods, while some photo studios are shutting as brands shift to cheaper digital production.

Companies are also building new business lines around the change. Zalando has rapidly expanded AI-generated marketing imagery and shut both of its Berlin photo studios last year, while About You, which Zalando acquired in July last year, also closed its studio. About You is now launching Scayle Studios to produce AI-generated digital imagery for other retailers, promising production cost reductions of more than 90%.

According to a company spokesperson, Scayle has 130 brand clients and generated 190,000 outfits in the last month. About You marketing vice-president Julian Jansen said AI better matches the speed and scale of ecommerce than traditional photo shoots.

Regulation remains limited despite mounting concern over image rights and consent. One notable exception is New York state's Fashion Workers Act, which has made it illegal since June 2025 for brands to create or modify replicas of models without explicit consent.

In Britain, the British Fashion Model Agents Association has drafted an AI code of practice stating that AI should be used only with a model's consent and that any digital twin should belong to the model. But industry representatives say that without binding rules across Britain and Europe, young talent remains vulnerable to signing away long-term AI rights without fully understanding the consequences.

As a reminder, we covered Gazipur factory closures as labor unrest over pay demands disrupted Bangladesh’s garment production hub.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.