Photo Studios Are Closing as the Fashion Industry Embraces Generative AI
Fashion photography studios are closing as brands increasingly use AI to save large amounts of money, according to a report by Reuters.
Models are also being affected. Some are being replaced by AI-generated models, while others have their appearance copied without being paid.
Reuters examined dozens of private photo shoot contracts from major brands, including Calvin Klein, Diesel, and L’Oréal. These contracts effectively give the brands permission to use a model’s appearance again and again for any purpose. They may also allow brands to use only a model’s body and replace their head with AI editing tools.
Other companies do not use real people as the starting point for their images. Instead, they use entirely AI-generated models.
Real-World Consequences
As a result, many people who work in the fashion industry are losing their jobs. The Reuters report reveals that Zalando, Europe's largest online fashion retailer, has closed both of its photo studios in Berlin and chosen AI-generated images instead. A total of 340 jobs were lost, although the company says some employees moved into other roles.
Another German fashion brand, About You, has opened a digital image studio that uses AI-generated models. The company says its Scayle Studios operation cuts production costs by 90%.
“We are saving so much money,” says Julian Jansen, vice president of marketing at About You. “You’ve always had this super fast world of ecommerce, and this super slow traditional world of photo shoots, it didn’t fit together in any way — and now with AI, it’s a completely different scale.”
Models’ Likeness
Models who are still hired for photo shoots are being asked by major brands to give up rights to how their images are used.
Reuters says it reviewed a draft contract from Calvin Klein stating that the fashion company “may use reasonably unrecognizable images of Model (no identifying features such as Model’s face, scars, tattoos or otherwise) to train and fine tune AI tools for learning general model attributes.” The models would receive no extra payment for this use.
Meanwhile, the fashion brand Diesel used a photo shoot casting form that asked models to agree to changes or rebuilding of their facial features and body shapes. It also allowed faces to be swapped between models and a model’s face to be placed onto another person’s body.
Diesel told Reuters that the model release applied only to one specific campaign and was not a typical contract. Reale Actives also sought permission to create digital copies of models. The company, whose tagline is “Reale you is perfect you,” has denied ever using AI to copy a model’s appearance.
Image creditsHeader photo licensed via Depositphotos.