DEAR INDUSTRY: YOU CAN’T CONDEMN AI ABUSE WHILE PARTICIPATING IN IT

There’s a conversation happening across the fashion and entertainment industry right now about AI, and honestly, some of y’all are only telling half of the story. The part that benefits you the most.

Every other day, I see outrage posts about major brands replacing models with AI-generated campaigns. People are angry that companies are cutting corners instead of hiring real talent, photographers, makeup artists, designers, stylists, and creatives. And let me be clear, some of that criticism is absolutely valid. Representation matters. Jobs matter. Real people matter.

But let’s stop pretending the problem exists only at the corporate level, because the same industry professionals criticizing brands for using AI are often engaging in the same behavior themselves. Models are posting heavily altered AI versions of themselves that barely resemble reality. Designers are promoting AI-generated “design concepts” that they never actually constructed, fitted, or produced. Event producers are advertising shows with AI-created visuals featuring extravagant staging, luxury venues, elaborate set designs, and flawless model imagery that they already know the real event will never look like.

And somehow, we’re acting like one version is exploitation while the other is “branding.” NO! The issue is the deception. The problem isn’t AI itself. AI is an extremely useful tool that we are all benefiting from. The problem is how people are using it to sell illusions they cannot deliver. YEP! I said it!

If you are marketing a version of yourself, your product, or your event that does not exist in real life, then you are contributing to the same culture you claim to be against. You cannot criticize corporations for replacing authenticity with artificial perfection while simultaneously building your own platform on unrealistic imagery. And before people start getting defensive, this is not about creativity. Nobody is saying creatives cannot experiment, conceptualize, or use technology to enhance marketing. Fashion has always involved fantasy. Editorial has always pushed imagination. But there’s a difference between artistic expression and intentional misrepresentation. If your audience shows up expecting the AI fantasy you sold them and receives something drastically different in reality, that’s not innovation. That’s false advertising wrapped in aesthetics. What makes this even more dangerous in the plus industry specifically is that we constantly say we want authenticity, visibility, and representation. We say we are tired of unrealistic beauty standards. We say we want people to feel seen. But then some people turn around and digitally erase their own bodies, reshape their faces, smooth away every human feature, and present AI-enhanced versions of themselves that become just as unattainable as the standards we claim harmed us in the first place.

So what exactly are we fighting for? Because if we are being honest, some people don’t actually want authenticity. They want the appearance of authenticity while still benefiting from illusion.

And let’s talk about the producers for a second. If your flyer depicts a massive luxury production with elaborate staging, celebrity-level visuals, and high-fashion theatrics that your actual event budget cannot support, you are setting both your audience and your participating talent up for disappointment before the doors even open. Stop using AI to oversell experiences you know you cannot execute. A polished event does not require deception. Some of the best productions succeed because they are honest about their scale while delivering excellence within their means.

There is also a deeper issue here that nobody wants to admit: AI is exposing how much this industry has prioritized perception over substance for years. Some people are more committed to looking successful than actually building something sustainable. AI simply made it easier. But eventually reality shows up. It always does! Your audience eventually sees the event. Clients eventually meet you in person. Consumers eventually receive the garment. People eventually realize whether the work matches the marketing.

And once trust is damaged, it is very difficult to rebuild.

The truth is, you don’t get to condemn unethical AI practices when you’re benefiting from unethical AI practices yourself. You don’t get to scream about authenticity while selling fiction. And you certainly don’t get to attack larger brands for behavior you quietly justify in your own lane because your platform is smaller. Accountability cannot only apply upward. It has to apply inward too.

At some point, we as an industry are going to have to decide whether we actually value authenticity or whether we simply want better control over who gets to manufacture the illusion.