Representing Real People In A Digital World

[Featured image: The Bureau x FIA x Luke Edwardson.]

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This article was originally published in The Interline’s DPC Report 2024. To read other opinion pieces, exclusive editorials, and detailed profiles and interviews with key vendors, download the full DPC Report 2024 completely free of charge and ungated.

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As the Co-Founder of a modelling agency, my team and I have been closely monitoring how 3D technology (and more recently, AI) is intersecting with our world as it becomes progressively more embedded in how the wider fashion industry works. 

It’s easy to think of model agencies as static entities, but my first-hand experience is very different. As a category and as an individual company, we’ve always embraced technological advancements, whether that’s through straightforward functions like 360-degree view website tools or newer experiences like augmented reality model cards. 

And one area that has continually intrigued us is body scanning technology. Over the years, we’ve explored its potential, including a successful integration in 2019 with a 3D foot scanner, a small but significant ‘step’ in testing this innovative space. As readers of The Interline know, though, 3D and digital product creation adoption has continued picking up pace since then, and now we’re working to answer a more pressing question: how can our models play an integral role in this exciting and evolving landscape?

Building generative on top of genuine.

There is a paradox at the centre of the generative AI movement – especially where it crosses over with 3D digital product creation. 

The more advanced our AI systems become, the more vital the human element proves to be. While algorithms can produce avatars with flawless symmetry and porcelain-like skin textures, they often fail to capture the depth and imperfection of real human experiences. More often than not, they stumble into the uncanny valley, where something feels subtly off, leaving them just shy of truly convincing.

There are undoubtedly strong use cases for designing and fitting garments in 3D, and then enhancing the output with AI. But if the industry is going to avoid a slow tilt towards homogenisation – where every photoshoot and every campaign start to look like part of the same whole, we think human models are not relics of a bygone era but critical players in shaping a more authentic and inclusive digital future.

Generative AI has dazzled industries with its capacity to create text, images, and video, but beneath the sparkle lies a fundamental flaw of large, general purpose models: bias. These models rely on human-generated prompts and datasets that often skew toward societal ideals of perfection. Even when programmed to simulate “imperfections,” the results feel curated: gap-toothed smiles or faint scars rendered as aesthetic choices rather than reflections of lived stories. This sanitised portrayal often fails to capture the layered histories that human models bring with them naturally.

Authenticity, whether through body language, nuanced expressions, or cultural depth, is a quality that, right now, no general dataset can replicate. This, alongside current technical limitations, is why we have seen backlash to campaigns that put generated models front and centre. Even when people are not told that photography or videography is AI-generated, or even when they put their feelings about AI to one side, the results are still not landing.

There is a paradox at the centre of the generative AI movement – especially where it crosses over with 3D digital product creation.

This gap underscores the pressing need to integrate real human models into digital campaigns from the start. They bring relatability, grounding the potential of 3D and AI in the reality of human diversity. They offer a way to have the benefits of streamlined design, development, and fitting with 3D, and the possibilities of staging realistic, authentic campaigns without booking a single location or pressing a single physical camera shutter.

This is something I believe, obviously, but it’s also something that needs to be supported through actual results.  So to start preparing our own models, and the wider industry, for what we think is coming next, we set out to build to a set of hyper-realistic avatars of selected models, which can be integrated into fashion campaigns. The costs for these avatars vary depending on the level of look development required and the intended use, but each of them represents the digitisation of a real human being and a real human story. 

We believe this approach offers brands the opportunity to achieve significant cost savings compared to traditional shoots, while retaining the beauty and authenticity of featuring real people—now with limitless possibilities in the digital world.

Adding a human face to the DPC ecosystem.

The rise of platforms like Optitex, Clo3D, Browzwear, and more recently Style3D has come a long way to realising the potential of a digital-native  fashion industry, enabling brands to prototype and market their designs in record time, and unlocking the ability for every in-house brand user to make virtually any creative choice based on a 3D representation of a garment, a piece of footwear, or an accessory. 

Yet the role of human models within these platforms remains underdeveloped. The design and simulation tools themselves have settled on avatars that are utilitarian rather than aiming for human realism. And external providers of digital models have tended to target one extreme or the other between scientific fit and photorealism, without any really landing in the sweet spot in the middle.

But there are strong arguments for incorporating real people into 3D and DPC workflows: hyper-realistic virtual fittings, avatars informed by diverse body types, and campaigns that resonate deeply with either broad or extremely granular consumer demographics. This integration isn’t just about representation, it’s also about innovation. Human models can lend their data, measurements, facial scans, and movements to create avatars that embody authenticity while retaining the adaptability of 3D avatars, and the flexibility and cost benefits of AI. 

This hybrid approach marries the best of both worlds, offering both creative flexibility and emotional depth. Recognising this opportunity, we’ve also set out to build  strong partnerships with leading 3D platforms, rigorously testing our avatars to ensure seamless compatibility. 

To add further weight to this assessment, we’ve also followed those models as they are used, and watched them unlock  greater efficiencies across the extended value chain chain. By capturing a model’s biometric data and likeness through advanced photogrammetry and proprietary processing techniques, we’ve also stress-tested  how integrating real-life models into a brand’s workflow can significantly reduce the need for physical samples, ultimately helping brands lower their carbon footprint.

Ethical and Practical Challenges

As encouraging as our results have been, though, , the opportunity to bridge the benefits of 3D and AI with the authenticity of real people comes with challenges. The inclusion of real human data in digital ecosystems raises significant ethical questions about privacy and security. Sensitive biometric data has to be safeguarded, encrypted, and / or anonymised to protect the models contributing to these systems. 

And the biggest question the industry must address is the fairness of compensation, and what structure will be used to govern royalties or usage fees, ensuring that models who are scanned once (or a small number of times, as technology advances)  benefit from the ongoing use of their likeness in perpetuity. 

Without these safeguards, the integration of human models risks becoming exploitative rather than collaborative. A robust framework of regulations and best practices is going to  be crucial to maintaining trust and encouraging participation. 

This area has required significant time and development on our part, as we navigate the complexities of managing models’ data in a fast-changing digital landscape. With legislation varying across regions, crafting contracts to safeguard the use of our models’ digital twins has not been straightforward.. Beyond the contracts, we’ve also needed to establish a bulletproof framework to protect our models’ data. All files are encrypted and restricted from being exported or shared outside the 3D design platforms. Additionally, we’ve needed to implement systems to monitor avatar usage, ensuring that our models are fairly compensated wherever their likenesses are used. 

This is, I believe, work that needed to be done by an entity with direct, extensive  experience in advocating for, protecting, and promoting the value of human models. The contracts that this future will require hinge on technology, interoperability, and encryption, but they have their roots in non-technological principles like fairness, ethics, and inclusivity.

Case Studies in Contrast: Victoria Beckham and Dove

While most segments of fashion are forging ahead with DPC strategies, with a lot of brands targeting majority digital prototyping, sampling, and advertising within this decade, the industry still stands at a crossroads when it comes to determining how people will be incorporated into those strategies. And the addition of AI into DPC workflows has now brought those two paths into stark relief.

I firmly believe in the middle path: incorporating real models into a 3D environment bridge the gap, offering the best of both worlds. 

Victoria Beckham’s recent AI-infused campaign for the Dorian Bag offers a compelling example of what’s possible when digital creativity pushes boundaries. Her team blended AI-generated imagery with traditional photography to create a surreal, cinematic allure. While visually striking, campaigns like this can feel untethered from human reality, more fantasy than connection. 

In contrast, Dove has drawn a line in the sand, eschewing AI-generated models to celebrate real, diverse bodies. Their commitment to authenticity resonated deeply in a world increasingly saturated with digital perfection. 

I firmly believe in the middle path: incorporating real models into a 3D environment bridges the gap, offering the best of both worlds, authentic connection and innovative digital integration.

Toward a Hybrid Future

We feel the path forward is neither purely digital nor solely human but an intersection of the two. By combining the speed and scalability of 3D visualisation and generative AI with the authenticity of human models, brands can craft experiences that are both innovative and relatable. This approach not only enhances consumer trust but also positions human models as indispensable contributors to the future of digital creation.

At The Bureau, our goal is to keep building that bridge, helping fashion realise (and put into practice) the truth that human beings should be  not just represented but celebrated in the digital age.