Inside H&M's Plans to Use AI Digital Twin Fashion Models

It’s a busy life being a model.

But what do you do, for example, when you have a photoshoot in New York but are needed in Los Angeles on that same day?

Send your AI-powered digital twin, of course. 

That’s if H&M and third-party AI provider Uncut have their way.

As reported in the Business of Fashion (BoF), the Swedish retailer is partnering with Uncut to create digital replicas of 30 real-life models.

These AI digital likenesses can then be used to develop product imagery and marketing content without needing to carry out expensive or lengthy photoshoots. 

BoF reports that H&M is working with models and their respective agencies to develop the digital twins, which will then be used on social media and in real advertising campaigns later in the year. 

When used, the images will be clearly watermarked, BoF reveals, to give transparency about their AI creation but also to analyse how people respond to campaigns that don’t use real people.

Modelling a digital twin

Brands have been using virtual influencers and models for several years. 

In 2024, pink-haired Aitana Lopez, who was developed by a creative studio in Spain, rose to prominence after gaining more than 300,000 followers on Instagram and working with brands such as Zara and Sephora.

She reportedly ‘earns’ US$11,000 per campaign. 

While these virtual models have reshaped brand-audience engagement and our relationship with AI — Aitana's creators say she receives regular messages asking her on dates — they are still personas rather than extensions of real people. They also look computer generated. 

H&M’s twins will be created by taking large numbers of photos of its models, in motion, in different locations and lighting and from different angles.

BoF reports that the idea is to capture them to the smallest detail — down to birthmarks and individual movement patterns. 

This ensures the AI technology has enough information and data about the person to create accurate, realistic digital twins that will be used as a complement to their physical counterparts rather than a replacement. 

Once the images are developed, the models themselves will own all the rights to their AI-generated clones, which BoF says they can then use to agree deals with other brands, not just with H&M.

Exploring Gen AI in fashion

Chief Creative Officer at H&M, Jörgen Andersson, says the use of AI and digital twins is part of the company's broader technology strategy. 

“We are curious to explore how to showcase our fashion in new creative ways — and embrace the benefits of new technology — while staying true to our commitment to personal style,” he told Sourcing Journal.

“This initiative is about exactly this: exploring the benefits of what generative AI can bring to the creative process.

“We see this technology as something that will enhance our creative process and how we work with marketing but fundamentally not change our human-centric approach in any way.

“Ultimately, H&M’s purpose is to liberate fashion for the many and to celebrate self-expression in everything we do.”

The development will do little to satisfy AI’s detractors, who often point out the threat the technology poses to creative jobs — in 2023, Levi’s faced backlash after using AI models to increase diversity in online shopping, ultimately shelving its plans. 

BoF reports that, while deploying AI twins clearly benefits brands like H&M, it raises questions to which the retailer doesn’t yet know the answers. 

H&M is still working out how to compensate a digital twin.

When a human model does an ecommerce photoshoot they are paid for the usage rights to their image, a process that’s negotiated by their agent. 

Louise Lundquist, a business developer at H&M, told BoF that while compensating digital twins is “a new revenue stream”, the same arrangement may exist: “This would be exactly the same,” she said.

“It’s the digital twin being compensated for the usage rights of the digital twin.”

A spokesperson for H&M said the company also had nothing further to share on how the participating models would be compensated for work completed by their digitally generated twins.

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