Redditors have called out Melbourne-based fashion brand, Atoir, for using AI-generated visuals to sell its clothes on The Iconic, with one person labelling it as “deceptive”.
Earlier this month, the r/AusFemaleFashion subreddit was sent into a frenzy after one Redditor shared a screenshot Atoir’s Vivienne dress on The Iconic.
In the dress’ description, the brand admits to using “AI generated visuals” in its imagery.
“Saw this on The Iconic. The brand Atoir is using AI Models for their clothing. Feels so deceptive,” the Redditor wrote alongside the description which reads, “Our ecommerce models represents a size S/8 at 5’10. Please note that this ecommerce imagery has been crated [sic] using artificial intelligence technology and does not feature a real model. These AI generated visuals are designed to represent our products accurately and creatively.”
Shortly after sharing the post, many others Redditors slammed the brand for using AI in its marketing, with many pointing out the whole point of using models is too see how the garment fits on a real person.
“$400 dress and you can only see an image generated version of it before you buy it,” one Redditor wrote.
“This is so wildly unappealing. It feels like the fashion industry lost sight of the practical purpose of showing clothing on models a long time ago (ie to see how an item of clothing moves/drapes), and while there might be an argument that generative AI could be used to show clothing on diverse body types of course this isn’t going to happen,” another argued, before labelling it a “realistic looking line drawing”.
“The point of having a real person model the clothing is so that customers can get a better idea of what a garment will look like on the body before purchasing online. How are we supposed to do that when the model (and probably the garment) in the picture aren’t even real?” wrote a third.
Another Redditor also pointed out how ATOÌR’s use of an AI model could “decimate jobs”.
The Iconic stocking brands that use AI models
byu/HereFor_DogPics inAusFemaleFashion
“I’m so NOT OKAY with this. As someone in the creative industry, the photographer, photographic assistant, the model, the retoucher etc all lost a booking due to them going to AI. This is going to decimate jobs for real people by companies doing this,” a Redditor wrote.
“FUCK THIS SHIT.”
At the time of writing, neither The Iconic nor ATOÌR have responded to the scathing feedback.
However, back in 2024, Atoir’s founder Cynthia Farchione opened up about the use of AI the post-production of its collection “Sotto il Cielo Sicilia” in order to “speed up” lead times” its wholesome timelines.
The Vivienne dress — which is screenshotted in the viral Reddit post — is a part of that collection, per the brand’s website.
The use of AI for that collection incredibly sped up timelines, she confirmed to Ragtrader that Atoir would continue AI in its upcoming campaigns.
“As a small business the cost of shoots was exorbitant and just not feasible to be able to maintain so shooting an entire collection across multiple different models just wasn’t economically viable. Now with AI we can more easily exercise these kinds of projects to better our customers’ online shopping experience,” she told the publication.
“We always do a lot of work with creators in the way of content, so we feel we can maintain a good balance of content and AI generated creations across our platform.”
Per the publication, all the AI artists involved in the project were from a “creative background in the fashion arena”, and we’re diviluging in the use of AI in their personal businesses.
Speaking to NewsWire, Kevin Heimlich, the Ad Firm chief executive said brands were walking on an “ethical tightrope” with using AI in its marketing.
“AI can whip up these incredibly slick, almost perfect images. They look amazing, truly aspirational,” he told NewsWire.
“If that image does not exactly match the real item a customer receives, you have a problem.”
He also urged brands to consider using traditional photography and models to embody “the essence of your brand”.
“A skilled photographer, or a model who embodies the essence of your brand, does so much more than show the product,” he continued.
“AI, in its current form, often struggles to replicate that nuanced human artistry and emotional depth.”
At the time of writing, the Vivienne Dress alongside the description of the AI generated visual is still on The Iconic website.
PEDESTRIAN.TV has reached out to Atoir and The Iconic for comment.
Image source: Reddit
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