A Reuters investigation published on 27 October found that AI-generated fashion imagery can reduce production costs by 90% or more compared with conventional photo shoots. The investigation, based on interviews with 15 model-agency directors and a review of confidential contracts, identified proposed terms that could allow brands to alter models’ faces, create reusable digital replicas without additional compensation and use images of their bodies to train AI systems.
The commercial incentive is clear. Online retailers need large volumes of images to display products across websites, markets and seasonal collections. AI-generated models can reduce the time and expense associated with organising shoots, while allowing brands to create multiple visual variations from digital assets. For businesses operating with narrow margins and frequent product launches, these efficiencies could reshape the economics of e-commerce production.
The shift is already affecting parts of the industry. Reuters reported that Zalando and its subsidiary About You had closed photo studios, while About You’s Scayle Studios said it generated 190,000 outfits in a month for 130 brand clients.
The figures illustrate how quickly synthetic imagery can be deployed at scale, although they do not establish the overall number of modelling jobs lost directly to AI.
For models, the risks extend beyond fewer bookings. Contracts that grant broad rights over images or digital replicas could allow a person’s appearance to be reused in ways that were not clearly anticipated when the original work was agreed. The implications are particularly significant for younger workers, whose early career contracts may affect the future use of their likenesses.
Regulation remains uneven. New York’s Fashion Workers Act, which took effect in June 2025, requires explicit consent for brands to create or modify replicas of models. In Britain, an industry code developed by the British Fashion Model Agents Association promotes consent and model ownership of digital twins, but voluntary standards do not provide the same protection as binding legislation.
Brands also face reputational and legal risks if audiences cannot distinguish synthetic imagery from real people or if the use of a model’s likeness exceeds agreed permissions. Transparent disclosure, clearly limited licences and additional compensation for digital replication could become important points in negotiations between retailers, agencies and talent.
The next phase will depend on whether lawmakers establish clearer rights, whether agencies secure stronger contractual protections and how consumers respond to AI-generated imagery. The cost savings are measurable, but the long-term commercial model will also be shaped by trust, consent and the treatment of workers whose images helped build the fashion industry’s digital marketplace.
