The Swedish retailer H&M said it is exploring the use of artificial intelligence in producing “digital twins” of models.
In two photographs taken for the fashion retailer H&M, the model Mathilda Gvarliani is seen posing in a white tank top and jeans. The images look like takes from the same shoot, but one of the photos shows the real Ms. Gvarliani, and the other is an artificially manipulated image of her.
Published this week in The Business of Fashion, an industry news outlet, one of the images shows Ms. Gvarliani clutching the waistband of her jeans, and the other shows her “digital twin” with her arms crossed and staring into the camera.
Across the two images reads a quote by Ms. Gvarliani: “She’s like me, without the jet lag.” Ms. Gvarliani is one of more than two dozen models that H&M is working with this year to create digital replicas for use on the company’s social media platforms and in its marketing campaigns, the publication reported.
H&M, a Swedish retailer, is the latest company to pursue a trend that has unsettled some fashion industry insiders. As the use of images generated by artificial intelligence spreads, critics have raised concerns about the impact on models and other independent contractors, such as hair stylists and makeup artists, who are part of the labor force that makes a photo shoot happen.
The company is in the exploratory phase of the project, said Hacan Andersson, a spokesman for H&M.
“We are merely exploring what is possible, and we are doing so in close collaboration with other creatives within the industry, agencies and the models themselves — who are in full control of when the ‘digital twin’ would be used, and will of course get paid when it is being used,” he said.
Jorgen Andersson, the chief creative officer of H&M, said that the company would retain a “human-centric approach” in its use of the technology.