Let’s talk Vogue and A.I. models
9/4/2025
A rant.
It is widely known that the world’s most famous and influential fashion magazine is Vogue. Period.
But recently, in a GUESS ad in the August 2025 issue, an A.I model was featured. And allow me to be clear, “Vogue” and “A.I model” should NEVER be used in the same sentence. Let me explain.
Vogue wasn’t born in its current incarnation, but it has become the institution that defines culture, style, and aspiration. Under Anna Wintour’s editorship beginning in 1988, the magazine pivoted from a stuffy society journal to a bold bible that embraced pop culture, elevated emerging designers, and turned covers into cultural moments.
Wintour made Vogue extremely expansive — celebs mingled with models, storytelling became as important as style, and she infused the magazine with a kind of carefully curated emotional intelligence. Vogue under her watch wasn’t just a magazine—it was an art form that shaped fashion itself.
To me, and also the internet, the use of A.I. feels like something more than tradition is being compromised. I'm talking about the art, the humanity, and the creative soul that Vogue has always carried.
Somewhere between legacy and innovation, a decision was made to feature not a person, but this A.I. model. We’re talking about replacing real flesh, real nuance, real craft with computer-generated perfection. It feels less like evolution and more like erosion. And don’t even get me started on the beauty standard of it all. If even human models struggle with impossible standards, what message does an artificially “flawless” face send?
However, what’s really at stake?
Modeling as art — and labor — is being devalued. Models bring emotion, movement, experience, personality. A.I. steals that humanity and slaps on a blank perfection that sells no stories from soulless eyes. It also completely shifts Vogue’s identity. Vogue doesn’t just predict trends — it interprets culture. Swapping humanity for an algorithmic "ideal" feels like trading the magazine’s voice for a vacuum.
We are begging: don’t let the sheen of convenience bury the depth that Vogue has always stood for.
Now, Anna Wintour has stepped aside as Editor-in-Chief, but she remains Vogue’s global editorial director and Condé Nast’s Chief Content Officer. And, as of September 2, Chloe Malle has been named the new Head of Editorial Content for American Vogue.
So here’s to hope: that under Malle’s guidance and experience, Vogue can reclaim its reputation as a beating heart of fashion — where models, art direction, and editorial spirit aren’t just preserved, but celebrated.
Let’s keep the fashion alive, never just perfect.