Vogue's AI Guess Models Explained: Interview
The revelation that AI models were inside the pages of Vogue quickly went viral, with the video amassing over 2 million views in three days. As the TikTok found its way across other platforms, much of the response was, in a word, negative.
So, who is Seraphinne Vallora? Go on their Instagram, which has over 220k followers, and you'll see hundreds of smooth-skinned women with high cheekbones and plump lips (the caveat being that all of these images are AI-generated). In their own words, courtesy of their bio, "We design editorial level AI-driven marketing campaigns and cinematic videos. As seen in Elle, Grazia, Vogue, WSJ, FT, Harper's Bazaar."
The real women behind the business, Valentina Gonzalez and Andreea Petrescu, told me that they started making AI models because they were trying to create a jewelry brand and couldn't afford the real thing. And "With us designers and architects, we decided to use our skills to try to create our own models. We started to put our own jewelry that we were trying to sell into these AI models and campaigns. Essentially, other people saw this, it was a success, and they asked if we could do the same for them."
As they saw it, there was a "huge gap in the market" for a "design-led" AI image company. Andreea recalled, "We started going viral, because nobody was doing this at the time, and that's how we grew our account. We grew the account organically."
The company has since been going for two years, comprising now of five people. Their page caught the attention of Paul Marciano, the co-founder of Guess, who sent them a DM. As Andreea put it, "Paul is a very fearless man. He's a trendsetter. So he decided, 'I like this, I want it.' Eventually, I really believe many other companies will go for this."
Valentina says they're the "first AI-driven campaign to be published worldwide," in 20 storefronts across Europe and an additional 30 magazines. I asked them why a brand like Guess, which has a presumably ample budget, would opt for AI. "When Paul hired us, he told us very clearly, 'I'm not looking to replace our models.' He wants to supplement, because they have so many product campaigns that can take a very, very long time to plan, so he can only do a few campaigns every year," she recalled. "Meanwhile, with AI, it could be faster. You don't need to arrange any traveling, you don't need permits. You don't need any of these to create beautiful images."
They both insist that their use of AI is a form of art, as Valentina said, "It's no different to a random person taking a camera, that doesn't make them a photographer." Neither are they fans of the idea that the models, based on text inputs and "proprietary techniques," are easy to make. They deny that images of real people are used to make composites: "It's really not copying anyone's features. It's pretty much like imagination."
Generally speaking, they'll provide mood boards to clients, sometimes working with photographers and in-person models to test poses and angles. Stylists will select the clothing and accessories. They showed me an example deck for a luxury brand, which said, "Together, we'll collaborate to bring your model to life. We begin by selecting the ideal body type, eye color, hair style, height, and other defining features that best represent your brand's identity."
This is an example of what they'd send to a client — Saint Laurent does not appear to be a current client of theirs.
"We invested so much in our technology, because we wanted it to look like a photo. What you see in Guess is amazing, but what we do now is even better," Andreea continued. This presents a potential issue: What if people don't know that the woman they're looking at is AI? She replied, "I do feel like if they don't realize it's digitally made, I don't feel like there's blame to be placed on us, because we do disclose it, the brands we work to do disclose it."
Andreea notes that the Guess ads do have disclosures, but she doesn't think there will necessarily be a requirement to do so in the future. As she put it, "People are not familiar with it and people are scared of change. But once this becomes the new norm, I think whether companies decide to add it or not, it's not too relevant. The impact of it, whether you do it in AI or in a normal medium, will be the same if you get the same results."
Do they worry that the use of AI models will further an already unrealistic beauty standard? "We are not creating a new standard. The standard has always been there," Valentina responded. Andreea affirmed, "We're pretty much in line with the same standard that is set in the rest of the magazine. If I look at a magazine, I'm gonna be bombarded with 10 different supermodels. Because one is AI, it doesn't change anything."
Initially, the women say that they featured more diverse body types and ethnicities on their Instagram pages — even men. But it was the "fantasy type" of woman that got them the most attention. Valentina said, "It's not even us, it's the public. If they loved the diversity, we would have flooded our Instagram with diversity."
They can't tell me who they're currently speaking with, citing NDAs. However, there is another service that Seraphinne Vallora offers: AI twins of real-life models. As Valentina described, "For example, if you're a supermodel or a model, you might want to have a twin of you so you can take two jobs at the same time. If you're in China and Miami, either way, you can get an AI avatar that is identical to you. We literally get everything exactly the way you look. I'm talking details, pores, facial hair, everything, we get it to exact accuracy."
This is a real image of Bella Hadid.
If supermodels do wind up using their AI avatars, will they have to disclose it? Valentina replied, "It's their choice. We encourage them to."
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