Guess debuts the first AI-generated model campaign in the pages of Vogue, featuring a two-page Guess advertisement in the magazine’s August 2025 issue. Created by AI company Seraphinne Vallora for Guess’s summer campaign, the perfectly poised, blonde model triggered immediate outrage and ignited a fierce debate over the future of beauty, diversity, and authenticity in fashion.
The campaign, while clearly marked with a small disclaimer identifying the images as AI-generated, has raised alarms across social media and industry circles. Critics argue that these hyper-realistic, computer-created models—engineered to embody flawless, Eurocentric beauty ideals—are not merely digital creations, but new benchmarks for beauty that real people can never attain.
Leading models and industry advocates warn that the shift could undermine years of progress in promoting diversity, body positivity, and inclusivity. “As if beauty standards haven’t become unrealistic enough, now girls will be competing with and comparing themselves to women who aren’t even real,” lamented one observer.
Guess’s management, however, defended the project as a technological innovation and cost-saving measure, with founder Paul Marciano directly commissioning Seraphinne Vallora’s team. The AI model’s creators insist their technology does not reinforce unattainable standards and that they’ve attempted to feature more diverse models, but these images failed to gain traction online.
They added that the current technology cannot yet generate plus-size AI models—a limitation critics say highlights the inherent bias of such systems.
Industry insiders now worry that Vogue’s acceptance of AI-generated content, even as paid advertising, could signal an era where human creative input and authentic representation are diminished in favor of algorithm-driven aesthetics.
As the debate rages on, one thing is clear: Guess’s AI model in Vogue is likely to mark a turning point for the future of advertising in beauty and fashion, raising urgent questions about the role of AI-driven imagery, authenticity, and representation in how brands market themselves to consumers.
