Fashion’s digital replicas expose gaps in model contracts

Fashion brands’ adoption of AI imagery is exposing unresolved questions about models’ control over their faces and bodies. Reuters reviewed photo-shoot contracts proposed by companies including Diesel, Calvin Klein and L’Oréal that included rights to swap faces, create digital clones without additional pay and use images to train AI.

Cost savings are accelerating adoption. SCAYLE says around 90% of About You’s e-commerce productions are now created with AI, reducing production costs by about 90% and time-to-market by more than 95%. Other approaches give models greater control: H&M announced plans for digital twins whose rights remain with the models, with compensation based on usage, markets and duration.

New York’s Fashion Workers Act, effective June 19, 2025, requires separate, explicit written consent before creating or using a model’s digital replica. Agreements must specify scope, purpose, duration and compensation. Broad likeness clauses do not meet that requirement, according to law firm Davis+Gilbert.

The EU AI Act’s transparency provisions require disclosure of realistic AI-generated or manipulated content, potentially covering advertising featuring photorealistic synthetic models. Denmark has proposed restrictions on sharing realistic replicas of people’s faces or voices without consent, while British model agents are seeking similar protections. The expanding use of synthetic imagery increases pressure on brands to clarify replication rights, training permissions and payment terms.