Fashion retailer Zalando has revealed its using Gen AI to create imagery, including ‘digital twins’ of models.
The European online shop, which sells garments and accessories from brands such as Adidas, Ralph Lauren, Diesel and River Island, said it’s using AI to produce images of models wearing their clothing.
The AI replicas are of real-life models and will be used in marketing campaigns to cut costs and time. Roughly 70 percent of Zalando’s images in the last quarter of 2024 were produced with AI, the retailer disclosed.
Zalando is creating the 3D replicas in partnership with ORENDT STUDIOS, a photography studio based in Hamburg. The 3D twins can replicate a model’s movements and appearance, showing an accurate representation of garments.
“In traditional product photography, what you see is a one-to-one representation – including fabric texture and detail. The power of the digital twin lies in delivering the same high-quality content, but at scale, seamlessly and across multiple channels,” said Torsten Orendt, CEO ORENDT STUDIOS.
Zalando revealed one of the main benefits of ‘digital twins’ – the ability to produce content that aligns with online and social media trends immediately.
In an interview with Reuters, Zalando’s VP of Content Solutions, Matthias Haase, said that AI tools have cut costs for the retailer by 90 percent and reduced production time from almost two months to three-to-four days.
Earlier this year, retail giant H&M also announced it was using AI to create ‘digital twins’ to be used in ad campaigns.
This is one of the major ways AI is impacting advertising campaigns. Historically, ad photoshoots would take weeks, often including abroad travel, and require extensive time, money and planning. Numerous people would be involved, including large crews of photographers, stylists and crew members.
“AI gives us the ability to move at the pace of culture – from spotting a trend to producing tailored content in under 24 hours. It’s like going from two hands to four. That kind of flexibility means our teams can stay creative, empowered and focused, while scaling content that’s timely, relevant, and high quality,” said Haase.
