According to CNN, the Guess commercial in the August 2025 issue of Vogue in the U.S. has been under intense criticism after it was revealed that it used an AI model. The commercial showed a blonde white woman wearing a striped dress and a top handle bag, and a flower-print dress. At first glance, it looks like a regular commercial pictorial, but there was a small phrase “AI Generation Model” written at the bottom of the advertisement.
When AI models were introduced to the public, consumers expressed displeasure mainly through social media. Criticism continued such as “Why use AI models when they are not lacking in models” and “Why do we have to compare them to women who don’t even exist?” Some netizens even suggested that Vogue and Guess should boycott the event.
Vogue explained to CNN that the AI model has never appeared in its editorial page. However, the controversy is not going away easily as the Singaporean version of Vogue used AI-generated avatars on its cover in 2023. Guess did not make an official statement. Valentina Gonzalez and Andrea Petrescu, co-founders of the AI marketing company “Seraphin Valora,” which produced the advertisement, countered that the controversy was exaggerated.
“We also employ real models,” Petrescu said. “After filming a model wearing a Guess costume in the studio, we create an AI model based on this.”
“Using AI is an efficient way to save time and money,” he said. “When the budget was low, self-produced AI contents received a great response.” In addition to Guess, more and more brands are introducing AI models. Levi’s announced that it would start testing AI-based models in 2023 to reflect various body types and skin tones in its marketing.
The pros and cons of the introduction of AI models are divided inside and outside the fashion industry.
On one side, there is a positive assessment that “AI has reduced production costs and enabled faster content production.” However, on the other side, concerns are raised that “AI models could threaten the jobs of related industry workers such as photographers and makeup artists as well as professional models.”
Whether AI will become an innovative tool for the fashion industry or a threat to shake the industry’s ecosystem is still under debate.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
