What Vogue’s AI Model Controversy Reveals about the Industry
Why fashion's meltdown over AI models reveals a mirror to the industry's past, present and future, then the tech itself.
🪩 GM Runway Insiders,
Back from my “Think Week” (Bill Gates’ term for a solo unplug). No email or social media, one hardcover, one audiobook, and a full system reboot.
Biggest Takeaway? Consistency compounds. But clarity builds.
…and clarity hit hard when Vogue ran an AI-generated Guess campaign, driving 2.7M TikTok views, boycott threats and fashion panic on the internet.
But here's what no one's saying: This isn’t about AI replacing humans. It’s about AI revealing what humans have already normalized.
Now? We get to decide to replicate the broken history or reimagine creativity.
💖🪩,
Janey
Beauty Standards: The Original Algorithm
Fashion's obsession with perfection predates machine learning. From corsets to Photoshop, the industry has always sold unattainable beauty as aspiration.
The algorithm didn’t invent our biases. It learned them.
⏳ The timeline tells the truth:
1920s: Diet pills for the "ideal" figure
1960s: Twiggy's 91-pound frame becomes “aspirational”
1990s: "Heroin chic" glamorizes the unattainable
2010s: Social Media filters that blur reality
2024: TikTok restricts beauty filters for teens' mental health
2025: AI simply automates what we've always done
In 1967, Vogue put 91-pound 5’6 Twiggy on its cover.
In 2025, they're scandalized by AI beauty standards. The irony writes itself.
Case in point:
Seraphinne Vallora, the agency behind the Guess AI model tested diverse AI models. Social engagement dropped 90%. The algorithm didn’t want diversity. It wanted homogeneity and they made a choice to monetize and create what “works.”
The Market Reality Nobody Wants to Admit
Sydney Sweeney's "I have great jeans. Now you can too." campaign for American Eagle stirred controversy over its “genetic wordplay”. But stock prices jumped +18%.
Meanwhile, Bud Light's Dylan Mulvaney partnership dropped sales by -30%.
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The difference? Alignment not activism. Market fit not moral high ground.
It's not about right or wrong. Inclusive or exclusive. It's about an industry feeding archetypes that sell and our collective failure to break that cycle.
Fashion doesn’t sell values. It sells identity that is both algorithmically charged and powered by ROI.
Was this Guess ad Vogue’s litmus test to gauge AI backlash before editorial adoption? Yes. It’s not an IF, but a matter of when.
The $100K AI Revolution
Let the numbers do the talking.
Guess spent $100K on AI models (fraction of traditional costs)
The math is mathing and brands are tracking.
Creators Bending Reality Not Just Replicating It
While brands recycle the same templates, these creators are building new worlds.
If brands don’t want basic campaigns, then they need to hire those who aren’t just going to feed the template and algorithm.
iridescentairt takes you to iridescent fantasy worlds
aimillmill crafts pastel floral universes where models bloom
megballcreates lives by her mantra "AI should be fun" and it really is
trendevolve generates AI design candy mixing art, tech, and music
nataliedegrootla sparks metallic visions pushing aesthetic boundaries
thewildflowerfields trains her AI on vitiligo and diversity that blooms
adrianaillustration Fashion illustrator turned AI artist using digital twins
These creators prove that AI can stretch the boundaries of beauty, but only if we stop feeding it sameness and homogeneity.
Here’s what should scare and inspire you: we can’t stop the AI train. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the AI train has already left the station and is building a new ecosystem. What we can do now is lay new tracks with our engagement, investment and attention.
🧠 Your Future-Proof Playbook
Brands: Use AI to scale, but reinvest in humans to authenticate the soul and storytelling.
Models: Build your digital twin. Multiply yourself. Own your IP.
Creatives: Shift from makeup artist → AR filter designer. Stylist → digital curator. (See: Grace M Choi’s filters)
Executives: Stop waiting for the “perfect” tool or not learn about AI because you are wishing it away (not happening). The longer you delay, the more replaceable you become.
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The Mirror We Refuse to Face
AI didn’t break fashion. It held up a mirror.
The real scandal isn’t that Vogue ran an AI ad. It’s that fashion’s beauty standards are so easy to automate because they already were fitting a specific template and feeding a certain algorithmic bias.
The AI Era isn’t buffering. It’s happening. Now.
The Question is: will you let tech perpetuate the broken standards of beauty again or use it to finally redefine it?
💬 If AI models just reflect what we click on... what future are you choosing?
💖🪩,
Janey
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Really enjoyed this weeks newsletter! Your POV is always on point 👍
This is such a great and thoughtful POV of where AI should be going when it comes to fashion and beauty! Thank you for the mention love.