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Forget tired model legs, long days in the studio, and sore feet from ten different shoe models in one afternoon. H&M has started rolling out AI clones of their models. This involves 30 carefully selected people who have been 3D scanned and transformed into digital avatars with the same birthmarks, bone structure, and facial expressions – minus the need for coffee and rest.
The idea is for these digital copies to take over the more “boring” jobs. Namely the standardized product images for the online store and social media. The real models instead get to focus on more visually demanding campaigns where the human touch really makes a difference.
It is efficient, cost-saving, and, if you believe H&M, also environmentally friendly. But the question, of course, is this: is it fair to the people who used to get paid for these jobs?
The models own the rights to their AI clone
One of the most fascinating – and perhaps most unexpected – parts of this AI project is that the models actually get to own the rights to their digital twins. This means that every time an AI model is used in a campaign, a portion of the money goes directly to the real person behind the face.
And that’s not all: the models also have the opportunity to license out their avatars to other brands. So, your digital version could be standing and posing in sportswear for a German gym chain brand while you yourself are lying on the couch at home eating cheese puffs. Welcome to passive income in its creepiest form.
Some models have already expressed appreciation for this setup. It’s a way to “work smarter, not harder,” as one model put it. But with a twist where you don’t even have to be awake.
An ethical boundary drawing party
The technology may be cool, but it opens a real Pandora’s box of ethical considerations. Is it okay for digital clones to do jobs that would otherwise go to stylists, photographers, and makeup artists? What happens when the entire production chain becomes digital?
Criticism has already started to leak out. Some modeling agencies have called H&M’s AI clones “artistically diluted” and “a threat to professional skill.” Others go further and argue that it erases the entire human presence in the fashion industry. It’s no longer just about poses – it’s about replacing creative people with code.
At the same time, there is another side. The technology can contribute to sustainability. No one needs to be flown to Bali for a beach shoot anymore. No hotel nights, no lunch vouchers. It’s cheaper, faster, and significantly less climate impact. If you like those things more than human expression.
What does H&M say?
Behind the project is Jörgen Andersson, former marketing manager at H&M. He is now the mind behind the campaign company that developed the AI clones and he looks to the future with wide, bright eyes. According to him, the purpose is not to replace humans – but to give the models more opportunities.
He describes it as a “new kind of creativity” where the digital models handle simpler visual tasks. The big campaigns, he believes, will still require living, real people with personality and presence.
But let’s be honest. If the AI models prove to sell exactly as many jeans as the real ones – will H&M then continue to pay for human faces? Maybe if the market demands it…. but business is business.
How does the job market change if everyone does an H&M?
If H&M’s model becomes the standard, what does that really mean for humans in the fashion industry – and in the long run, for the job market at large? The answer is both worrying and somewhat fascinating. Because this is not only a question about models, but about a shift in how work is defined. When your appearance, your movements and your expression can be duplicated and used endlessly without you being present – what then is really “work”?
Many traditional professions within fashion – such as stylists, photographers and lighting technicians – risk becoming irrelevant if the entire process moves to digital environments. When a campaign is built in an AI-driven studio where everything from model to background is code – then no one is needed anymore to hold a reflector screen or fix the makeup between takes.
But there are also opportunities. New roles are emerging. AI operators, digital clone managers, avatar stylists – yes, why not “digital clone psychologists”? Those who first learn how to package and sell their digital version could in the future be their own gig economy machine. Jobs we couldn’t even imagine may arise. It’s not just dystopia – it’s also science fiction with a resume.
So the big question becomes: what do you want to be in the future – the one replaced by AI, or the one renting out your digital copy to the highest bidder?
Sources
https://feber.se/samhalle/hm-borjar-med-digitala-ai-modeller/478241
