Vogue's AI model reignites beauty standards and inclusivity debate

Vogue has recently made headlines, and not just for the reboot of The Devil Wears Prada. The American fashion and lifestyle magazine has stirred controversy by featuring an AI model in a brand advert for its August print issue. 

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The flawless blonde-haired, blue-eyed model appeared in a two-page advertisement for Guess, an American apparel brand. The hyper-realistic image was virtually indistinguishable from a human, with only fine print disclosing that the model was, in fact, generated by artificial intelligence. 

Seraphinne Vallora, a London-based AI design firm co-founded by Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea Petrescu, was responsible for creating the model. 

In its Barbie-esque proportions, the AI-generated model has sparked a debate about unrealistic beauty standards in the fashion industry once again. 

This is the first time Vogue has ever featured an AI model in its magazine. While the publication has clarified that the decision to feature an AI model was an advertorial choice rather than an editorial one, many on the internet remain sceptical. 

"Wow! As if the beauty expectations weren't unrealistic enough, here comes AI to make them impossible. Even models can't compete," wrote a user on X (formerly Twitter).

Conversations about unrealistic beauty expectations were previously centred around Euro-centric beauty standards, preferences for unhealthily skinny models, and the airbrushing of human imperfections. However, AI models are not even based on humans to begin with.

BBC spoke to Seraphinne Vallora regading inclusivity, to which it responded, "We've posted AI images of women with different skin tones, but people do not respond to them - we don't get any traction or likes." It also claimed that the company hasn't created any plus-size models because the technology for that doesn’t exist. 

It is not only Vogue or Guess; brands around the world have been experimenting with AI models. In 2023, Levi's collaborated with Amsterdam-based LaLaLand.ai to supplement its human models with AI.

The denim brand asserted that its aim was to enhance representation in its portfolio by incorporating AI models of various sizes, ages, body types, and skin tones.

Closer to home, Lenskart, a well-known Indian eyewear brand, introduced a ‘K-Pop Collection by Lenskart Studio’, which featured a virtual K-Pop band called Astro IRIS, created entirely using artificial intelligence. This initiative aimed to engage with Gen Z and K-pop enthusiasts.

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In another example, Kerala’s iconic textile label Seematti introduced Isha Ravi, an AI-generated model, as its fashion ambassador. 

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Even news channels have hopped onto the AI-driven bandwagon. The India Today Group unveiled English AI news anchors, Lisa and Sana, in 2023. These AI anchors could deliver news around the clock with human-like expressions and gestures.

Regional news channels like Power TV have launched Soundarya as Kannada’s first AI news anchor in 2023. News18 Punjab/Haryana also launched AI Kaur in the same year for delivering news in Punjabi.

There was a time on the internet when people questioned whether everything was a hyper-realistic cake. Now, the digital world is experiencing a similar sense of suspicion, but this time it revolves around the pervasive question: is everything AI? It’s a completely new landscape.