Last spring, the clothing brand Levi Strauss & Co. announced plans to introduce “customized AI-generated models” into its online shopping platforms. These “body-inclusive avatars” would come in a range of sizes, ages, and skin tones and would help Levi’s create a more “diverse” lineup in a way the company considered “sustainable.
” A lot of (real) people were appalled. Why not give those jobs to actual humans of the sizes, ages, and skin tones Levi’s sought? Was “sustainable” just PR-speak for “cheaper”? Levi’s later affirmed its “commitment to support multicultural creatives behind and in front of the camera.” But it didn’t bail on the partnership with the Amsterdam-based company that created the models, Lalaland.
ai. (It’s just on pause until Levi’s can formulate internal AI guidelines.) That controversy put Lalaland on the map—and got more big brands looking to it for generated models, says Duy Vo, Lalaland’s creative director.
WIRED sat down with him to find out how you get an algorithm to smile just right—and not sprout extra fingers. The first step to creating the models is research. I see what kind of models are walking on the catwalk.
I follow the latest trends in ecommerce. I find patterns, like what kind of faces are hot this season. In some ways, the work I do now is similar to my old job as a fashion photographer for big magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
I ask clients what kind of collection they want, what ki.