How does artificial intelligence affect the world of fashion and those working in it?

A model walks down the runway during the fall/winter 2024 fashion show at New York Fashion Week (Associated Press)

Last week saw fashion industry leaders flock to New York City for Fashion Week.

The semi-annual event celebrated the best in the industry and showcased the season's hottest trends.

New York Fashion Week is a huge moneymaker for the city and the fashion industry in general, generating an average revenue of $600 million annually.

On this occasion, writer Andy Hirschfield discussed, in a report published by the English Al Jazeera website, the impact of the use of artificial intelligence on the fashion industry, and the impact it could have on job opportunities for fashion models.

This field is exposed to the same existential threat that strikes sectors such as media and technology, which is artificial intelligence, which leads to the erosion of current jobs and limits future job opportunities.

Behind the glamor lie largely the same concerns that led to the Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild strikes last year.

Model alliance!

“When your body is your business, manipulating or selling your image without your permission is a violation of your rights,” Sarah Ziv, founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, said in a statement.

As for the model residing in New York, Eve Edmond, she said that the new era of modeling based on artificial intelligence has opened a great scope for exploitation. “Some people in the industry have taken and collected pictures of their bodies over the years, and then used these pictures to create virtual images, without giving them permission to do so,” she said. "Intellectual property. They have no right to that at all."

Edmond expressed concern that this could undermine models' job prospects in the near future, "As models, our image, our measurements, our stance, our body shape are our trademarks. In many cases, someone takes ownership of that trademark without our knowledge and without compensating us." “We are literally competing against ourselves in the market.”

Putting the final touches to participate in the fall and winter 2024 fashion show during New York Fashion Week (Associated Press)

Edmond is one of the models who is passionate about reform and is pushing for a law regarding fashion workers in New York State.

In addition to other bigger changes, models are demanding new safeguards that will protect them from clients who might try to use their images without their permission.

The law will stipulate that they must give clear written consent allowing the use of digital copies of their photos.

Clients will also be asked to indicate how they intend to use the models' images.

Law to protect fashion models

“We introduced the Fashion Workers Act to provide basic labor protections for models and content creators who work in an industry that operates without supervision,” said Ziv of the Model Alliance. “The misuse of AI is a new challenge, and we cannot allow its use to go unregulated.”

The bill, drafted by Senator Brad Hoylman Segal, would change the way the fashion industry operates in one of the world's most famous fashion cities, rivaled only by cities such as Paris and Milan.

Models say it would also protect them from signing unfair contracts when the alternative is no work at all.

Model Sinead Bovell told Al Jazeera, "We don't want to end up in a world where models feel like they have a choice between agreeing to (what they don't like) or not getting paid."

If the law is passed, it will be applied at the state level, but it will pave the way for more global pressure.

The "Models' Alliance" demands a law for workers in the fashion field in general that provides them with basic labor protection (Getty)

An existential threat

As the use of artificial intelligence spreads across sectors ranging from media to customer service, business leaders see that new technological tools will help improve workflow and help workers make their jobs easier.

But that was not reflected in the data. According to a survey conducted by ResimBuilder last November, nearly a third of business leaders said that artificial intelligence would lead to layoffs this year.

Fears are rising globally that artificial intelligence poses an existential threat by undermining job opportunities, especially in communities of color, while models - like Bovell - continue their struggle for greater equality in fashion amid a state of anticipation and anxiety.

“Some companies will take advantage of the sacrifices made by real models and just [use AI] to create diverse identities on the front,” says Bovell.

“Brands may [suggest] that they care about marginalized communities without actually having to pay,” Bovell added.

This is exactly what happened with Levi Strauss last year, as the brand partnered with the Dutch company Lala Land.ai, which allows the creation of virtual fashion models using artificial intelligence.

The company said in a statement, “La La Land AI uses advanced artificial intelligence to enable fashion brands and retailers to create highly realistic models for all body types, ages, size and skin tone. Through these body-inclusive avatars, the company aims to create a more inclusive and personalized shopping experience.” And sustainability for fashion brands, retailers and customers.”

Artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to job opportunities, especially for communities of color, according to the (German) model statement.

Public backlash

This move was met with a violent public backlash and critics described it as problematic and racist, which later forced the clothing company to update its statement, saying, “We are not backing down from our plans to hold live shows, use real models, or our commitment to working with models (of diverse ethnicities). It was Reality shows are always part of our connection with our audience, and our models and collaborators are at the core of that experience.”

Some companies are removing models from the picture entirely. Last year, the Brazilian and Singaporean editions of “Vogue” used models drawn by artificial intelligence on the covers of the two magazines instead of using human models.

Applications such as "Deep" have also made it possible to draw fashion models created by artificial intelligence to display clothes, and the creator of the tool, Danny Postma, said in a post on "X" that it will help marketers and influencers on social media.

Critics believe that the model was not ethical at all, and that it undermined the work of models and other participants in the shows, such as photographers.

Others accused the company of greed and described its move as "miserable," while one commenter responded to Postma's post, saying, "I'm sure you also have good suggestions to help everyone who would lose their job if technology like this succeeds, right? Or will everything stay fine?" "As long as you can make money? No good 'solution' brings more problems than the one it tries to address."

"Deeb" is no longer open for beta testing, noting that Postma - whose LinkedIn profile confirms that he has no experience in fashion or photography - has created a group of other artificial intelligence applications.

Source: Al Jazeera