According to Forbes, AI-driven models and virtual influencers are expected to generate over $1.5 billion in brand collaborations by 2030. In recent years, AI-generated fashion models and virtual influencers have started making waves, challenging the traditional role of human models.
However, while AI models offer benefits such as cost efficiency, scalability, and 24/7 availability, they still face limitations in realism, emotional connection, and diversity. The question remains: Will AI replace human fashion models entirely, or will the future of fashion embrace a hybrid approach?
The rise of AI in fashion modeling
AI has rapidly gained traction in the fashion industry, transforming how brands approach marketing and advertising. Virtual models, created using advanced machine learning, computer vision, and 3D rendering, now appear in high-profile campaigns, social media promotions, and runway shows.
One of the earliest examples of AI models in fashion was Shudu Gram, introduced in 2017 by digital artist Cameron-James Wilson. Marketed as the “world’s first digital supermodel,” Shudu quickly gained attention for her hyper-realistic appearance, sparking conversations about the future of AI in fashion. Since then, brands like Balmain, Prada, and Louis Vuitton have embraced AI models, featuring them in campaigns alongside human influencers.
The rise of virtual influencers like Lil Miquela, Imma, and Noonoouri has further demonstrated AI’s growing impact. These digital personalities, often backed by AI-driven storytelling and social media engagement, collaborate with brands, attend virtual events, and promote products to millions of followers.
Major fashion houses and retailers are also leveraging AI-powered models to streamline eCommerce. Zalando and Levi’s have experimented with AI-generated models to showcase clothing on different body types, reducing the need for large-scale photoshoots. Meanwhile, brands like H&M and Tommy Hilfiger are integrating AI-generated models into their virtual fitting rooms, allowing customers to visualize how clothes might look on a variety of digital avatars.
AI vs. human models: Advantages and limitations
While AI models offer efficiency and creative possibilities, their rise also raises ethical questions about authenticity, diversity, and the potential displacement of human models. As AI fashion models become more prevalent, the debate intensifies over whether they can truly replace human models. While AI-generated models offer efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, human models bring authenticity, emotional connection, and diversity.
Advantages of AI models over human models
One of the biggest draws of using AI fashion models is their cost efficiency. Unlike human models, AI models do not require salaries, travel expenses, or contractual negotiations. Traditional fashion campaigns involve significant production costs, including model fees, photographers, stylists, venues, and post-production work. With AI-generated models, brands can eliminate many of these expenses while still producing high-quality visuals.
AI models can be created, modified, and deployed almost instantly, allowing brands to scale their marketing efforts quickly. Whether launching multiple collections across different regions or running A/B tests on various model appearances, AI enables brands to generate diverse content at an unprecedented speed. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for fast fashion brands and e-commerce retailers who need constant content updates.
Unlike traditional models, AI models can be designed to fit any aesthetic, body type, or identity. Brands no longer need to search for specific models that align with their campaigns. they can simply generate an AI model with the desired ethnicity, age, size, and even facial expressions. This technology allows for greater representation and inclusivity in fashion, as brands can easily showcase a diverse range of appearances.
AI models could help brands avoid ethical issues related to body image, exploitation, and diversity gaps in the fashion industry. The modeling world has long been criticized for promoting unrealistic beauty standards, unhealthy working conditions, and limited representation. With AI models, brands can move towards a more controlled and ethical approach, ensuring fair representation without the pressure placed on real individuals.
Limitations and challenges of AI fashion models
While AI fashion models offer clear benefits, they also come with notable limitations and ethical concerns. Despite advancements in technology, they struggle to replace the human element that defines fashion storytelling and emotional engagement.
One of the key challenges of AI models is their inability to replicate the authenticity of human presence. Fashion is more than just showcasing clothes – it’s about storytelling, cultural expression, and emotional engagement. Supermodels and influencers bring personality, attitude, and lived experiences to their campaigns, which AI-generated figures lack. This disconnect between AI and real-life emotions may limit their effectiveness in high-fashion and luxury branding.
If brands design AI models to be flawless, symmetrical, and hyper-stylized, they could perpetuate unattainable beauty standards rather than challenge them. The lack of human imperfections may widen the gap between digital fashion and real-world self-image, potentially impacting consumer psychology.
As AI fashion models gain traction, concerns about job losses in the modeling and fashion photography industries are growing. If brands increasingly turn to AI for advertising and runway presentations, traditional modeling jobs may become scarcer, impacting professional models, makeup artists, photographers, and other creatives involved in fashion production. This shift could lead to a restructuring of the industry, with fewer opportunities for human talent.
Despite advancements in deep learning and CGI, AI models still struggle with real-world adaptability. Runway shows, live events, and dynamic movement in editorial shoots require spontaneity and fluidity, which AI has yet to fully master. While AI-generated models can pose and walk in digitally simulated environments, they lack the natural flow, presence, and energy that human models bring to a live audience.
AI and human models: A hybrid future?
Rather than entirely replacing human models, AI-generated models are increasingly being used alongside real models to create a hybrid approach in fashion marketing. Brands are finding ways to merge human creativity with AI efficiency, using AI-generated models to streamline content creation while still relying on human models for emotional engagement and authenticity.
AI models can enhance, rather than replace, human models by filling gaps in digital marketing strategies. For example, brands can use AI-generated models for eCommerce product pages, personalized recommendations, and large-scale advertising campaigns, while reserving human models for high-fashion editorials, live events, and influencer-driven marketing. This allows companies to scale their content production without completely eliminating human involvement.
The future of fashion modeling will likely be a collaborative space, where AI-generated models and human models coexist
Several major brands are already adopting a hybrid approach. Levi’s has tested AI-generated models to showcase a variety of body types and ethnicities, complementing their real-world campaigns. Balmain introduced a “virtual model army” featuring AI-generated figures alongside human models in their fashion campaigns.
H&M and Adidas have explored AI-enhanced marketing, using AI-generated visuals alongside influencer and celebrity endorsements.
AI isn’t just being used for creating virtual models – it’s also playing a supporting role in traditional fashion photography and styling. AI tools are now being used to:
- Refine and edit photoshoots faster with automated retouching.
- Enable virtual fittings, allowing consumers to see how clothes would look on them. For example, FitRoom is the popular AI-powered clothes changer, leading the AI model trend.
- Generate diverse digital samples, reducing the need for multiple in-person shoots.
- Rather than replacing human models entirely, AI can optimize the workflow for brands, photographers, and designers, making fashion campaigns more efficient and adaptable.
The future of fashion Modeling: Will AI take over?
As AI technology continues to evolve, the fashion industry faces an important question: will AI eventually dominate fashion modeling, or will human models always have a place? The answer likely lies in a balance between technology and human creativity.
Over the next decade, AI fashion models will likely become more realistic, interactive, and widely adopted. Brands looking to cut costs and scale quickly will continue to embrace AI, but it’s unlikely that AI will completely replace human models, especially in high-fashion and luxury branding.
Despite the rise of AI, human models still have unique advantages, such as:
- Emotional connection: Consumers relate to real people more than digital avatars.
- Cultural influence: Supermodels and influencers shape trends in ways AI cannot.
- Versatility in live events: Runway shows, red carpets, and fashion shoots still rely on human interaction.
Fashion brands and models may need to embrace AI-powered tools, such as virtual styling, personalized avatars, and AI-enhanced photoshoots, positioning themselves as hybrid digital influencers who combine real-world charisma with AI-driven innovation.
Instead of replacing traditional models, AI will serve as a tool for efficiency, inclusivity, and creative expansion.
Ultimately, fashion is about storytelling, emotion, and cultural impact—areas where human presence remains irreplaceable. While AI will continue to evolve, human models will always have a role in shaping the industry’s creative vision.
