AI-Generated Fashion Models Threaten Livelihoods as Brands Shut Studios and Cut Costs by 90% or More

A growing number of fashion brands are turning to AI-generated models to slash costs and accelerate production, according to Reuters reporting. Zalando, Europe's largest online fashion retailer, shut both of its Berlin photo studios after adopting AI-generated content for marketing; its acquired brand About You also closed its studio and is now launching an AI imagery service called Scayle Studios for other retailers, promising production-cost reductions of more than 90%. Spain's Mango has rolled out AI-generated models at scale, though no studio closure was reported for the company. Reuters reviewed more than a dozen confidential contracts showing brands including Diesel, Calvin Klein, and L'Oreal seeking sweeping AI rights from models. Demands include face-swapping across models, the creation of digital clones, and the use of model images to train AI systems—all for no extra pay. Contracts frequently contain deliberately broad language that Melanie Howard, a partner at law firm Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles, called "dangerous in its ambiguity," making it difficult for models to challenge any unsanctioned use of their images. Modeling agencies report a sharp drop in e-commerce bookings, historically the core of many models' earnings. New York's Fashion Workers Act, in effect since June 2025, prohibits creating model replicas without explicit consent, but no comparable binding legislation exists in Europe or at the federal level in the United States. Britain's Fashion Model Agents Association has issued a voluntary code of practice, which industry observers say falls short without enforceable regulation behind it.