Models to go out of job? Vogue Singapore used AI models for cover shoot and it's worrisome

Vogue Singapore recently toyed with the idea of using AI-generated models for its cover story and succeeded with it. Foregoing the process of hiring a model, reworking poses with him or her, and then creating a theme for the spread, the magazine made it easy for all those working on the cover story by using new-age technology. But what does it mean for the modelling world, the one with humans?

If successful, this could become the new norm and models would lose out on this opportunity ultimately leading to hurting the economy of the industry.

Vogue Singapore’s March issue cover shoot was modelled entirely by AI-generated avatars. It’s the first cover by Desmond Lim, the magazine’s new editor-in-chief. It is the first time that AI models have graced the cover of a famous fashion magazine – one that dictates the fashion world to a large extent. Lim explained the move as the brainchild of Varun Gupta, the creative director of the Indian content agency We Create Films. Reportedly, the AI avatars were meant to “pay homage to innovation and tradition.”

The women avatars have South Asian features and represent the area’s “unique ethnicity and heritage”. In one picture, an AI model can be seen wearing a 'maang tikka', a piece of jewellery that is typically seen on Indian women on their foreheads. The covers were made with AI imaging tools including Midjourney and Dall-E. Dall-E also created the world’s first AI-designed magazine cover for Cosmopolitan, featuring an astronaut on a moonscape.

This is, however, not the first time that AI has posed a danger to the livelihood of people. Another major retailer, Levis plans to start testing AI-generated clothing models later this year. This is an effort to diversify the denim company’s online shopping experience. Currently, most products on their app and website can be viewed on a single clothing model but with the infusion of AI, we could have more options, allowing people to view a product on models of different sizes and colours. With this, they could choose a model that resembles their own body, enhancing the shopping experience overall.

If this becomes a practice rather than a novelty, it could pose a real danger to the modelling world. Many companies have been trying to slash their advertising budget and spending over the years and this could help them in achieving this long-standing goal.

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