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Agence France-Presse

London-based model Alexsandrah Gondora understands the power of being in “two places at the same time” thanks to her AI replica.
“She’s doing the hard work so I don’t have to!” she says.
Fashion designers and retailers can book her digital double for photo shoots without her having to travel or physically be there, Gondora explains.
It is a solution that “saves time”, said the model, who was also walking down in-person catwalks at London Fashion Week.

In the fashion industry, artificial intelligence is already used by brands to create visual imagery for e-commerce websites and customised advertising campaigns at a lower cost.
While the technology opens up opportunities for some, critics fear AI will render many professionals, including models, make-up artists and photographers obsolete – and could risk promoting an artificial standard of beauty.
In one video, sculpted male models flex their muscles next to glamorous women, with a backdrop of marble pools and gilded mirrors. But none of it is real: this Christmas campaign was entirely generated with the use of AI by studio Copy Lab for the Swedish underwear brand CDLP.
“We are a very small company: I cannot go to a house in Beverly Hills and shoot a campaign,” said CDLP co-founder Christian Larson.
According to Larson, “real” photography has limitations.












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A post shared by CDLP (@cdlp)



“You have a film of this many pictures, the sun will set, and the light will disappear and the budget will run out,” Larson says. But with AI, “you dive into this black hole of endless options”.
Preparing an ad campaign involving a photo shoot in the French Alps for ski eyewear would normally take several months to complete and could cost €35,000 (US$37,000), but can be done virtually for just €500 in a few days, claimed Artem Kupriyanenko, citing a campaign done by his technology company Genera.
London- and Lisbon-based Genera boasts a catalogue of 500 AI-generated models, all of which it claims to own the copyrights for.












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A post shared by Genera (@genera_space)



The avatars can be customised by clients. “We can do any body shape, any gender, any ethnicity,” assured Genera’s creative head, Keiron Birch, who said the practice was “super inclusive”.
But AI tends to create a characteristic face type, which differs from generator to generator, said Carl-Axel Wahlstrom, co-founder of Stockholm-based Copy Lab, an “AI creative studio”.
MidJourney, for example, has a tendency to generate models with thicker lips.
Generative AI is trained on banks of images of models that are often retouched or which reflect a dominant “white, Western” aesthetic, explained Wahlstrom.
To obtain less generic results, he refines the descriptions or “prompts” he provides to the AI engines.












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A post shared by The Diigitals Agency (@thediigitals)



And for more “authentic” results, he also trains them on “imperfect” databases, where he has, for example, added images of “regular skin, like my skin, my girlfriend’s skin, people that we know’s skin”.
Gondora is critical of brands which use AI images created from databases found on the internet without paying the model, who she calls the “middleman”.
Models also face being duplicated virtually without their knowledge.
The “Fashion Workers Act”, expected to come into force this summer in New York, hopes to tackle this grey area by enabling models to control the use of AI to reproduce their likeness. But its practical application could prove complicated.
Gondora is compensated for the work done by her digital alter ego and has the final say on how it is used.
This is also the case when she helps bring Shudu Gram, an AI-generated black supermodel, to life.
This virtual character, created in 2017 and billed as the “world’s first digital supermodel”, has 237,000 followers on Instagram.

Gondora and several other real-life black models lend their features to various shoots and projects for Shudu.
Last year, Shudu was a model for a 1960s-inspired collaboration by fashion label MAX&Co and London-based designer Richard Quinn.
When used ethically, AI does not deprive models from diverse backgrounds of opportunities, assures Gondora, who claims that the technology has “opened certain doors” for her.
One advantage is that her AI model is “timeless”.
“There is no expiration for my AI. Somewhere out there in the world, my AI will always be young to me, even when I’m old.”


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Fashion

Model extols her AI replica, but for others in fashion digital imagery represents a threat

Fashion model Alexsandrah Gondora has a digital double who is regularly booked for ad campaigns. She, and other insiders, explain the pros and cons of substituting artificial intelligence-created imagery for real-life models. Photo: AFP

Alexsandrah Gondora poses for a photograph with her on-screen AI twin “Alex”, created by digital modelling agency The Diigitals. Photo: AFP

Shudu Gram, an AI-generated black supermodel, was created in 2017 and is billed as the “world’s first digital supermodel”. Photo: Instagram/_blackstage

‘Nose-tip blush’ make-up trend finds K-pop star fans in Aespa’s Karina and NJZ’s Haerin

The “nose-tip blush” trend, as seen on Aespa’s Karina (left) and Twice’s Tzuyu, is taking over the K-pop scene. Photo: Karina/Tzuyu

Winter of Aespa (left) and Haerin of NJZ have also been seen sporting the trend. Photo: Aespa/NJZ

Japan maid cafe uses AI to translate conversations into 100 languages, enhancing service

Japan’s maid café unleashed the power of AI, instantly translating conversations into 100 languages for an unforgettable customer experience. Photo: SCMP composite/X

Japan’s maid cafes have become a popular cultural phenomenon, attracting both locals and international tourists. Photo: Reuters/Issei Kato

These themed cafes feature waitresses dressed in maid costumes who provide playful and personalised service. Photo: X/@pixiedusttech

Smart glasses look better, cost less as technology moves on from its Google Glass era

An attendee wears the Amazon Echo Frames smart glasses during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In 2013, Google Glass set you back US$1,500. Now, smart glasses cost as little as US$200. Photo: AFP

Smart glasses from Rokid at the CES Unveiled Las Vegas at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  Photo: EPA-EFE

The TCL RayNeo smart glasses at the CES tech sho. Photo: AP

Mustard Glasses Inc displays new smart glasses at CES. Photo: EPA-EFE

Cecilia Cheung: Hong Kong actress, sex scandal victim and Chinese social media star

Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

Cheung and Nicholas Tse in 2001. Photo: Reuters

Cheung in a still from Lost in Time (2003), for which she won best actress at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards. Photo: China Star Entertainment Group

Cheung and Tse at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2011, the year they filed for divorce. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Cheung and Stephen Chow in a still from King of Comedy (1999). Her feature-film debut remains one of her most memorable roles. Photo: The Star Overseas

Cheung and her three sons. Photo: Weibo

Cheung in a photo she posted on her Weibo account in 2023. Photo: Weibo

Lifestyle

Fashion & Beauty

Tech

Tech Trends

Fashion model Alexsandrah Gondora has a digital double who’s regularly booked for ad campaigns. She and others explain their pros and cons


Fashion model Alexsandrah Gondora has a digital double who’s regularly booked for ad campaigns. She and others explain their pros and cons.


Artificial intelligence