In August 2025, readers flipping through American Vogue noticed something unusual in a two-page Guess advertisement. At first glance, it looked like a classic Guess spread: sleek styling, curvy models, and the brand’s signature aesthetic. But tucked into the fine print was a quiet disclaimer, the models were not real. They were generated by artificial intelligence.
That tiny line sparked a big backlash. On social media, people accused Guess of deception, Vogue of complicity, and the fashion industry at large of taking a dangerous step. For me, my reaction wasn’t curiosity or cautious excitement. It was anger and disappointment.
Fashion advertising has always been about aspiration, about showing clothes on bodies so we can imagine how they might look on ours. But here, nothing was real. Not the models, not the clothes, not even the image itself. The entire ad was a simulation.
And that, to me, feels like a betrayal of what branding is supposed to be. Advertising should make us want the product. But how can you want something when what you are looking at doesn’t even exist?
Why This Feels Different from AI Art
I don’t have an issue with AI-generated art in general. Some of the images artists create are stunning. I’ve seen fantastical portraits of people in flower gardens under surreal skies, collages of styles that blend painting and photography, and imaginative takes that feel like modern-day fairytales. That has a place.
But this wasn’t art. This was an ad. A mainstream brand used synthetic people and fake clothing to sell real products. The campaign looked exactly like a traditional Guess shoot, just without the real creative process behind it: no stylists, no lighting team, no models, no photographers. And to me, that is false.
If I see a photo of a new dress, I expect it to have existed on someone’s body. Otherwise, why should I believe it is worth buying?
The Question of Representation
Representation in fashion has been hard fought for. It took decades of pressure for campaigns and magazines to diversify, to move away from a single narrow beauty standard and begin reflecting different races, body types, and backgrounds.
AI could in theory be used to broaden diversity. I’ve seen plenty of AI-generated images with variation. But too often, it still falls back on stereotypes or creates “perfected” faces and bodies that are even less attainable than the unrealistic ones we’ve already seen in fashion. If brands already lean toward a certain ideal, AI is only going to reinforce it and push it further. The danger is a cycle where we normalize visuals no real person could ever achieve.
Jobs, Ecosystems, and What’s Really at Stake
The job loss angle is obvious. Entire teams; models, stylists, makeup artists, photographers, lighting techs, are cut out of the process when brands lean on AI instead of real people. That should concern anyone who values the creative ecosystem fashion depends on.
But for me, the deeper issue is entrepreneurial. Why would a major brand believe it is appropriate to sell fake products with fake visuals? When you show clothes that never existed on bodies that never existed, you are not advertising anymore, you are staging fiction.
Fashion is already aspirational. We accept a certain amount of retouching or stylization because we know there is still a real garment behind the image. But when even the garment isn’t real, the whole foundation of the industry, the trust between brand and customer, starts to collapse.
Can AI Be Used Responsibly in Fashion Campaigns?
I think it can, but only with balance and transparency. For example:
- Backgrounds and settings. Not every campaign can shoot in Morocco or on a rooftop in Tokyo. AI could create imaginative backdrops while still featuring real people in the clothes.
- Concept art and pre-visualization. Creative teams could use AI in the brainstorming stage, to quickly test moodboards or poses before a shoot.
- Special effects. If a brand wants to lean into fantasy, AI could enhance what is already there, much like CGI in film.
But it should never replace the core of fashion imagery: real people wearing real clothing.
Why Guess Missed the Mark
The Guess ad wasn’t announced as a bold experiment, it was slipped into Vogue with a small disclaimer. That choice, to treat an AI campaign as if it were any other fashion spread, is what made the backlash so sharp. Instead of showing innovation, it highlighted just how easy it is to blur the line between creativity and deception.
In trying to save money or appear cutting-edge, the brand stripped away the very thing that makes fashion compelling: connection. We want to see clothes worn, styled, and moved in. We want to imagine ourselves in them. A digital ghost doesn’t inspire that.
The Future of Representation
AI isn’t going away, and I don’t think it should. Used thoughtfully, it could support creativity in powerful ways. But when it comes to fashion campaigns, it should never replace the people who bring the work to life.
Representation matters. Diversity matters. Authenticity matters. And all of that depends on keeping real people at the center of branding. Otherwise, we risk not only losing jobs, but losing trust, and ultimately, losing the spirit that makes fashion more than just fabric.