Fashion brands split on AI-generated models as consumer trust becomes the new battleground

Generative AI Reshapes Advertising Landscape

The advertising industry faces a fundamental shift as generative AI becomes ubiquitous in marketing content creation. Teddy Stratford, a New York fashion brand, now produces professional-grade images featuring AI-generated models, boats, and urban backdrops—only the clothing itself is real 1

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. Founder Bryan Davis explains that AI in advertising eliminates the need to hire models or photographers, saving his small business the $50,000 to $100,000 typically required for a professional photoshoot 1

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. The technology enables cost reduction while producing diverse marketing content that represents different shapes, sizes, and ethnicities without coordinating complex productions.

Generative AI content now comprises roughly 57% of all online material, according to TechCrunch 2

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. Fashion brands using AI can leverage tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini to create images that Davis describes as "really on-brand" and "not obviously AI" 1

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. This technological capability allows smaller companies to compete visually with major brands without matching their production budgets.

Consumer Perception of AI Drives Brand Decisions

A Gartner survey of 1,539 U.S. consumers revealed that 68% frequently question whether what they see online is real, and half would rather buy from brands that avoid generative AI in marketing 2

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. This skepticism has prompted several major brands to position human-made content as a competitive differentiator. Aerie, an intimate apparel brand owned by American Eagle Outfitters, launched an ad campaign featuring actress Pamela Anderson that became the brand's most-liked Instagram post 2

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. The campaign showed a chatbot generating AI-generated models before revealing they were real people, reinforcing Aerie's commitment to authenticity in marketing.

Aerie pledged never to use AI to generate bodies or change people in its images, building on its 2014 promise to stop retouching 1

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. The brand's "REAL MATTERS" message emphasizes transparency as a core promise rather than a trend 1

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. This strategy appears to resonate with consumers—Aerie's Q4 2025 sales rose 23% year-over-year 2

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Brand Authenticity Becomes Market Differentiator

Baby products brand Coterie committed to keeping AI-generated images entirely out of its social media marketing, with CEO Jess Jacobs stating the brand would never use AI to replace the human moments that define it 2

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. The company maintains 98% subscriber retention month over month while posting on Instagram that "AI can't change a diaper" 1

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. Dove became the first beauty brand to publicly commit never to use AI to create or distort images of women in advertising, backed by a global study of 33,000 respondents across 20 countries 2

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Even LEGO felt compelled to label its World Cup campaign featuring Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, and Vinícius Jr. with the hashtag #HonestlyItsNotAI 2

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. The prevalence of AI slop has created an environment where even productions with recognizable human faces require labels to be believed.

Human Connection in Advertising Under Scrutiny

Professional headshot photographer Chris Gillett questions whether AI versus real models can generate the same emotional connection with consumers. "I can look at an image of a happy couple, and I'm empathizing. But if I know those people are fake, I don't think I am going to empathize with them," he told CBS News 1

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. While acknowledging some AI-generated content appears startlingly real, Gillett notes other campaigns "just feel off, or weird" 1

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California Management Review found that perceived authenticity depends on three factors: information credibility, AI disclosure transparency, and reputation trust. When all three hold, positive outcomes occur 82% of the time—yet that combination appeared in fewer than 9% of studied cases 2

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. Emily Weiss, senior principal analyst in Gartner's marketing practice, advises that "marketers should treat GenAI as a trust decision as much as a technology decision" 2

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Regulatory Landscape Evolves

Consumer trust concerns are influencing both corporate strategy and public policy. New York's law requiring disclosure of AI-generated humans in marketing takes effect in June, becoming the first such statute in the U.S. 2

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. This regulatory shift acknowledges that advertising has long used airbrushing, retouching, and color-grading, but AI represents a qualitatively different challenge to consumer perception.

Most brands pledging authenticity haven't abandoned AI entirely. Aerie uses it for post-production tasks such as lighting, while Jacobs noted AI improves Coterie's customer experience and operational efficiency in many ways 2

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. The distinction lies in where AI is deployed—brands are drawing lines around human craft for content that drives purchase decisions and earns repeat business.