Swedish group H&M is planning a new era for its advertising campaigns, relying on artificial intelligence to create digital replicas of its mannequins. In an interview with the website Business of Fashion, the ready-to-wear brand has revealed its plan to generate virtual avatars of around thirty models by the end of 2025, with the aim of limiting physical photoshoots and producing tailor-made content more quickly on a large scale.
According to Louise Lundquist, H&M's head of business development, each model involved will retain ownership of their digital clone and receive compensation for each use. The resulting images will be explicitly marked as AI-generated. This system aims to balance logistical efficiency with model rights, while reducing costs in a rapidly evolving industry. The brand emphasizes that models will remain involved in the approval process for the images created.
This technological shift, however, raises uncertainties. H&M acknowledges that it has yet to measure the impact of this approach on the creative process or on the modeling and photography professions. This movement is part of a broader trend, where many industries—from film to video games—are testing the use of AI to replace certain human services. H&M's project could thus foreshadow a redefinition of roles in the fashion world and beyond.
