Zara turns to AI-edited models amid shop closures
Zara is using artificial intelligence to edit images of human models for its e-commerce platforms, City PM understands, as the fast-fashion giant looks to cut costs amid a tough retail backdrop.
Models who have previously shot campaigns for Zara have since been contacted by the Spanish retail giant and asked for permission for their images to be reused and digitally altered with AI.
The tech is to be used to dress them in new clothes, as well as place them in different locations without having to pay for another shoot.
Two models, who did not wish to identified, confirmed that Zara said they would be paid the same fee as for a standard shoot, despite not returning to set.
“I was emailed and asked if I was comfortable with my images being used and edited with AI to show different items”, one model told City PM, adding: “But I’ll still be paid the same amount as if I’d travelled for another shoot.”
The retailer confirmed the use of AI, claiming it is in fact being deployed as a supplement, rather than a replacement, for traditional shoots.
A spokesperson for the retailer told City PM: “We use artificial intelligence to complement our existing processes”.
“We work collaboratively with our valued models – agreeing any aspect on a mutual basis – and compensate in line with industry best practice”.
AI as a response to cooling fashion demand
Zara’s move comes as fashion retailers grapple with slowing customer demand, and mounting pressure on margins.
UK retail sales growth slowed to its weakest pace in six months in November, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG.
Total sales rose just 1.4 per cent year on year, down from 2.3 per cent in September, as shoppers reined in spending ahead of the Autumn Budget.
Non-food sales, which include clothing, rose just 0.1 per cent, with online growth offset by falling footfall in stores.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said the slowdown held a mirror up to “pre-Budget jitters among shoppers”, adding that fashion underperformed during a mild November, which dampened demand for winter clothes.
The report also warned that rising household costs and macro uncertainty were still weighing on discretionary spend.
Against that backdrop, AI-edited photos offer an obvious appeal. Fewer shoots, faster turnaround, and ultimately, cheaper content at scale.
Following H&M
Zara’s approach follows rival retailer H&M, which earlier this year disclosed plans to create AI “digital twins” of 30 real models, with the models retaining ownership of their likeness.
H&M acknowledged its strategy would be controversial, but argued that bringing models into the process was the best way around the debate, protecting jobs and rights as AI becomes unavoidable in the industry.
Zara, by comparison, hasn’t disclosed anything publicly – even as AI tools increasingly reshape how fast fashion images are produced, especially for e-commerce.
The technology is already most prevalent in the less glamorous corners of modelling, from catalogue to online product imagery – where volume matters more than creative flair.
A cost play
Zara’s parent company, Inditex, has remained financially resilient, posting double digit sales growth during peak trading periods.
The heavyweight also maintained margins despite currency headwinds and US tariff wars.
But, it also has been quietly shrinking its physical footprint, closing dozens of stores globally while pouring investment into its online arm.
With that in mind, AI-assisted images start to look more like operational discipline, rather than a creative experiment.
It remains positive that models involved have been asked to consent the use of their images, and that fees are holding.
But this could create a slippery slope. And, as AI tools continue to get cheaper and better, the bigger question is how long that equilibrium will last.