Fashion brands sought AI rights over models, Reuters finds

Fashion brands including Diesel, Calvin Klein and L'Oréal asked models to sign away rights to AI face swaps, unpaid digital clones and the use of their images to train AI tools, according to a Reuters investigation published October 27 that reviewed more than a dozen confidential photo-shoot contracts.

Reuters said it interviewed 15 model-agency directors and reviewed the unsigned agreements, which sought the right to swap a model's face with another using AI, the creation of a digital clone with no additional compensation, and the right to use images of a model's body to train AI. The requests went past routine retouching.

In a photo-shoot casting sheet, Italian brand Diesel asked models to agree to "alteration or reconstruction of facial features and body proportions," along with "swapping of faces among the participating models," and "superimposition of the Participant's face onto another person's body." Diesel's parent company OTB told Reuters the model release was drafted for a specific campaign and is not representative of its typical agreements, and that it does not systematically modify models with AI.

A Calvin Klein draft contract seen by Reuters asked the model to accept, for no extra pay, that the brand "may use reasonably unrecognizable images of Model (no identifying features such as Model's face, scars, tattoos or otherwise) to train and fine tune AI tools for learning general model attributes." A Calvin Klein spokesperson said in a statement: "Like many others, we are testing and learning in this fast-moving space," adding that the brand's AI use is guided by regulation, industry standards and respect for models' rights.

In a photo-shoot contract seen by Reuters, France's L'Oréal asked for "the right to use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies... including for the purpose of modifying, enhancing, or adapting the appearance of cosmetic products, packaging, or shades, as well as for retouching purposes." Without addressing that contract language, L'Oréal said it uses standard AI tools in post-production and editing that do not affect the model's image.

Reale Actives, the skincare brand launched this year by social-media personality Alix Earle, asked for rights to create AI-generated replicas of models and to "own" and use them for a year without further compensation, according to Reuters. Reale Actives said in a statement that it uses real models and has not replicated any model using AI, and that the contract language came from a partner production company it declined to name.

Reuters said many of the contracts used wording such as "including" or "not limited to," which lawyers use to claim rights that are not spelled out. Melanie Howard, a partner and the chair of luxury brands at the Los Angeles law firm Loeb & Loeb, told Reuters that such sweeping language "is dangerous in its ambiguity" and makes it difficult for models to challenge unsanctioned use of their images.

Regulation has moved in only a few places. Reuters reported that the New York State Fashion Workers Act has made it illegal since June 2025 for brands to create or modify replicas of models without their explicit consent. The New York State Department of Labor says that consent must be separate from the representation agreement and must detail the scope, purpose, rate of pay and duration of the use. Sara Ziff, founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, which backed the law, told Reuters: "The misuse of models' images is not new, but with AI that problem is accelerated tenfold."

The economics are moving brands faster than the rules are catching up. Reuters reported that Zalando, Europe's largest online fashion retailer, shut both of its Berlin photo studios last year and cut more than 340 jobs, and that About You, which Zalando acquired in July 2025, closed its studio. About You now sells AI-generated model imagery to other retailers through Scayle Studios, which Reuters said promises a production-cost reduction of more than 90%. A company spokesperson told Reuters that Scayle has 130 brand clients and generated 190,000 outfits in the last month. Julian Jansen, vice president of marketing at About You, told Reuters: "We are saving so much money."

Spain's Mango has already rolled out AI-generated models at scale, according to Reuters. Moncler said it does not currently use AI-generated models on its website or in campaigns, and Gucci did not respond to requests for comment.

Models and agents on the record described the shift in bookings. Adot Gak, a London-based model who has appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar and in campaigns for Balmain and H&M, told Reuters: "Within a year, even the next six months, there's going to be less jobs for models, especially our bread and butter, which is ecommerce." Patrick Staal, owner of the Barcelona agency Uniko Models, told Reuters that young models do not fully grasp the terms: "Signing away AI rights at 20 years old could still affect someone ten years later."

For creators who license their own likeness, the contracts sit at the front of a fight that AI video and acting have already joined: who owns a face once an image is used to train the system that replaces it. California's SB 1050, signed September 16, 2026, and effective January 1, 2027, requires a clear and conspicuous disclosure in advertising that prominently features a synthetic performer. It covers performers who are not recognizable as an identifiable person, unlike the New York law, which covers digital replicas of real models.

California's SB 1050 takes effect January 1, 2027; New York's Fashion Workers Act has been in force since June 19, 2025.