Guess Uses AI Models in Vogue, Causing Ethics and Industry Debate

The US Vogue magazine of August 2025 featured an ad campaign for the brand Guess that used models generated entirely by AI. This development has catalyzed a wide-ranging technical and strategic debate across the fashion, advertising, and technology industries, highlighting the tension between marketing innovation and professional, ethical considerations.

In an interview, Seraphinne Vallora, the company responsible for the ad, said it is not in the business of replacing the modeling industry, reports ABC. "We are here to co-exist together, and we will always see photography, stylists, and everyone involved in a photo shoot as incredibly important," said Valentina Gonzalez, Co-Founder, Seraphinne Vallora. "The heart of fashion is photography. We will never challenge that." 

The appearance of AI-generated models on a platform as influential as Vogue is not an isolated event, but the result of several critical business factors converging. Generative AI technologies have reached a point where creating photorealistic images is commercially viable, reports TechCrunch. Agencies like Seraphinne Vallora now offer clients the opportunity to create bespoke digital models designed from scratch to embody a brand’s specific identity and values.

Consumer brands also face constant pressure to optimize marketing budgets and accelerate campaign production cycles. Traditional photography production involves high costs and complex logistics, including fees for models, photographers, and stylists, along with travel and location expenses. While fees for a high-level AI campaign can reach six figures, they offer potential cost reductions and unprecedented agility to generate diverse content for multiple channels and markets. Brands such as Levi's and Mango had already explored using AI models to increase diversity in their catalogs, setting a precedent for this technology’s adoption.

From a B2B perspective, the value proposition of AI in advertising is clear: efficiency and customization. “It is just so much cheaper for [brands] to use AI models now. Brands need a lot of content, and it just adds up. So if they can save money on their print ad or their TikTok feed, they will,” says Amy Odell, Fashion Writer. 

AI enables granular control over the final image and the ability to generate unlimited iterations for A/B testing, ad optimization, and large-scale personalization. For advertising agencies and marketing departments, this represents a paradigm shift in resource allocation, moving investment from production logistics to data strategy and creative technology.

However, the negative reaction to these campaigns has been swift and multifronted, creating tangible risk for the brands involved. Industry professionals, from models to photographers and stylists, have expressed concern about job displacement. This argument extends beyond protecting jobs; it questions the valuation of human art and craftsmanship in an era of automation.

For companies, the primary risk lies in consumer perception. Criticism has focused on the perpetuation of unattainable beauty standards — an endemic problem in the fashion industry made worse when the “ideal” is no longer human. The response on social media, which included calls to boycott Vogue and Guess and to cancel subscriptions, shows that adopting technology without careful consideration of its social impact can have direct commercial consequences. Companies must now weigh operational efficiency against the risk of alienating a consumer base that is increasingly aware of corporate ethics.