Computer-Generated Inclusiveness: Fashion Turns to "Diverse" AI Models

The star of Levi's new campaign looks like any other model. Her tousled hair hangs over her shoulders as she gazes into the camera with that distant high fashion gaze. But look closer, and something starts to look a little weird. The shadow between her chin and her neck looks confusing, like a bad attempt to use FaceTune's eraser effect to hide a double chin. Her French manicured nails look cleaned up and even like a real creepy doll.

The model is AI generated, a digital rendering of a being human which will begin appearing on Levi's e-commerce website later this year. The brand partnered with LaLaLand.ai, a digital studio that creates custom AI models for companies like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, to imagine this avatar.

Amy Gershkoff Bolles, Levi's global head of digital strategy and emerging technologies, announced the model's debut at a Business of Fashion event in March. AI models won't completely replace humans, she said, but will serve as a "supplement" to help the brand represent different sizes, skin colors and ages.

"When we say supplement, we mean that AI-generated models can be used in conjunction with human models to potentially increase the number of models per product," a Levi's spokesperson said. “We are excited about a world where consumers can see more models on our site, potentially reflecting any combination of body type, age, height, race and ethnicity, which allows us to create a more personal and inclusive shopping experience."

Michael Musandu, the founder of LaLaLand.ai, created the software in part because he struggled to find models that resembled him. He was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in South Africa and moved to the Netherlands to study computer science. "Any good technologist, instead of complaining about a problem, will build a future where you could actually have that representation," Musandu said. models? Musandu said LaLaLand.ai is not meant to "replace" models, but allows brands to show off different clothes on as many bodies as possible.

"It's not feasible for brands to photograph nine models for every product they sell, because they're not just hiring models, they're hiring photographers, hairstylists, and makeup artists for those models. The images generated by AI don't need glamorous teams, so brands can reduce the cost they would spend on set by using fake avatars.

A door Levi's spokesperson added, "Levi's model hires are already diverse and that will continue to be a priority for us. Over the past year, we have worked to ensure that those who work on content in front of and behind the camera reflect our broad consumer base.

Yet the diversity that AI can provide will always be virtual – a computer-generated sense of inclusiveness. Do brands, for example, generate black models for rooms where they have only photographed a white human model engaging in some sort of digital blackface?

This is not a new question. There are already "digital influencers" like Lil Miquela and Shudu, fake avatars with millions of social media followers. They model Prada, Dior and Gucci clothes with the idea that their (human) audience will buy the pieces. Neither model is white, but both have at least one white designer (Shudu was created by British fashion photographer Cameron-James Wilson and Miquela by Trevor McFedries and Sara Decou).

Criticism of Levi's for launching AI models instead of real ones echoes the outpouring of response Lil Miquela received when he launched in 2016, or when Shudu debuted two years ago later. Lauren Michele Jackson of The New Yorker called Shudu "a white man's digital projection of true black femininity".

Lil Miquela's creators also filled in his fake life of "events" to try to give its personality. Calvin Klein has apologized for a Pride ad that showed Lil Miquela kissing real-life model Bella Hadid. A few months later, Lil Miquela...