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Nonsense. Maybe the generic low-end catalogue models will be replaced by some kind of AI but it definitely won't happen in high fashion. I've worked for some of

Nonsense. Maybe the generic low-end catalogue models will be replaced by some kind of AI but it definitely won't happen in high fashion. I've worked for some of these organisations and it's ALL about the in-person social aspects of the industry. Catwalk shows are an event with real people, not because it's the most effective way to showcase the physical items but because it creates a buzz that everyone wants to be a part of. The business thrives on parties and bars and muses and the backstage chaos, frantically pulling everything together at the last minute so they can glide out there and look serene for a few brief seconds. The designers and stylists and hair and makeup and accessories people love working with the girls - even the difficult diva types who turn up late and think they own the whole show - because it brings fun and spontaneity and joy and relationship building and uncertainty, the dangerous unpredictability, just on the threshold of losing control, is a big part of the energy and many people in the business have their entire 24/7 social life wrapped up completely in their careers. These techno "models" are a gimmick that will be used for as long as they grab headlines but in the long run, fashion people love people (each other, not necessarily their consumers) and - this may be hard for many IT types to comprehend - the business will always thrive on those people who are able to walk into a room and move around and pull faces that grab attention in surprising and unexpected ways, especially if those people are also enjoyable to work with in a way that some CGI never could be.

jeswin 6y ago
> this may be hard for many IT types to comprehend Save the condescension, this wasn't written by an 'IT type' or published on a tech journal. All industries that got disrupted by more modern technology came up with arguments similar to the ones you brought up - bookstores vs amazon, brick-and-mortar stores vs ecommerce, face-to face meetings vs video calls, film vs digital, newspapers vs internet. There will always be demand for high end fashion, but eventually it'll get relegated to a niche.
- MattGaiser 6y ago
  Yes. The "human factor" was supposed to have saved all those industries. Nope.
  - skwb 6y ago
    The "human factor" is still why we don't have AI replacing doctors! There's a lot AI can and should be doing for improving worker efficiency in many industries, but ignoring "human factors" leads to 737 Max sort of screw up for deploying automation technologies.
  - FearNotDaniel 6y ago
    All those industries thought they could rely on their consumers, en masse, valuing the human factor over price and convenience. In the same way, Vogue may disappear as a print publication and with it the newsagents, printing presses, distribution networks... But readers consuming digital Vogue on a tablet still demand striking, original content, and the people who create that content will continue to value the human factors I have outlined above.
- FearNotDaniel 6y ago
  > Save the condescension, this wasn't written by an 'IT type' or published on a tech journal. You only need to look around this very thread to see many indignant, condescending comments towards models by those who refuse to try to understand the value they bring to the creative process. It's much easier to condemn something than to try to wrap your head around a totally different social milieu.
munificent 6y ago
I remember when people said brick and mortar music stores would be fine because people cared so much about the human experience of going into a physical space devoted to music and interacting with a knowledgeable, passionate employee. Humans thrive on real in-person contact, but you wouldn't know it if you looked at how we acted.
- skwb 6y ago
  It depends on the type of store (high end vs low end)! It seems every 3rd business in Venice Ca is some sort of boutique clothing store. Pandemic withstanding, they have focused on prioritizing real in-person contact to drive revenue. At the lower end when clothing is commoditized, there's a smaller difference if you're buying at Ross, Walmart, or Amazon.
skwb 6y ago
I think you're completely correct. Most successful automation technologies tend to create two markets: the lower end mass consumption market and a higher end artesian market. Power looms certainly drove out hand looms, displacing many artesians that supplied most clothing in the 18/19th century. Suddenly clothes were cheap because of a new technology! But does that mean there's no market for specializing in the higher end clothing that requires special attention and detail? No! Instead, the market tends to bifurcate into the mass consumption market and higher end artesian market (I certainly know many people who do like the higher end artesian products!). I think we need to worry less about if we have X or Y technology that will disrupt a working class of people, and instead focus on building up a more robust welfare state to allow these people to have a meaningful place in society.
est31 6y ago
Horses are great animals and people love working with them. They have social ordering and it's fun to talk to people who really know them. You don't even pick up the social cues and they translate "horse did X, Y, Z". Or take coal mining. It's unbelievable how tightly a group of men holds together if they've been underground for years. Mechanization and automation has removed many of the horse and coal miner jobs regardless. We still have horses today. We still have coal miners. We'll still have human models. There'll just be less of them.

jeswin 6y ago

> this may be hard for many IT types to comprehend Save the condescension, this wasn't written by an 'IT type' or published on a tech journal. All industries that got disrupted by more modern technology came up with arguments similar to the ones you brought up - bookstores vs amazon, brick-and-mortar stores vs ecommerce, face-to face meetings vs video calls, film vs digital, newspapers vs internet. There will always be demand for high end fashion, but eventually it'll get relegated to a niche.

MattGaiser 6y ago
Yes. The "human factor" was supposed to have saved all those industries. Nope.
- skwb 6y ago
  The "human factor" is still why we don't have AI replacing doctors! There's a lot AI can and should be doing for improving worker efficiency in many industries, but ignoring "human factors" leads to 737 Max sort of screw up for deploying automation technologies.
- FearNotDaniel 6y ago
  All those industries thought they could rely on their consumers, en masse, valuing the human factor over price and convenience. In the same way, Vogue may disappear as a print publication and with it the newsagents, printing presses, distribution networks... But readers consuming digital Vogue on a tablet still demand striking, original content, and the people who create that content will continue to value the human factors I have outlined above.
FearNotDaniel 6y ago
> Save the condescension, this wasn't written by an 'IT type' or published on a tech journal. You only need to look around this very thread to see many indignant, condescending comments towards models by those who refuse to try to understand the value they bring to the creative process. It's much easier to condemn something than to try to wrap your head around a totally different social milieu.

munificent 6y ago

I remember when people said brick and mortar music stores would be fine because people cared so much about the human experience of going into a physical space devoted to music and interacting with a knowledgeable, passionate employee. Humans thrive on real in-person contact, but you wouldn't know it if you looked at how we acted.

skwb 6y ago
It depends on the type of store (high end vs low end)! It seems every 3rd business in Venice Ca is some sort of boutique clothing store. Pandemic withstanding, they have focused on prioritizing real in-person contact to drive revenue. At the lower end when clothing is commoditized, there's a smaller difference if you're buying at Ross, Walmart, or Amazon.

skwb 6y ago

I think you're completely correct. Most successful automation technologies tend to create two markets: the lower end mass consumption market and a higher end artesian market. Power looms certainly drove out hand looms, displacing many artesians that supplied most clothing in the 18/19th century. Suddenly clothes were cheap because of a new technology! But does that mean there's no market for specializing in the higher end clothing that requires special attention and detail? No! Instead, the market tends to bifurcate into the mass consumption market and higher end artesian market (I certainly know many people who do like the higher end artesian products!). I think we need to worry less about if we have X or Y technology that will disrupt a working class of people, and instead focus on building up a more robust welfare state to allow these people to have a meaningful place in society.

est31 6y ago

Horses are great animals and people love working with them. They have social ordering and it's fun to talk to people who really know them. You don't even pick up the social cues and they translate "horse did X, Y, Z". Or take coal mining. It's unbelievable how tightly a group of men holds together if they've been underground for years. Mechanization and automation has removed many of the horse and coal miner jobs regardless. We still have horses today. We still have coal miners. We'll still have human models. There'll just be less of them.