The Modeling Shift: A Career Persevering or Disappearing?
A vocation truly affected by the current state of affairs in the world.
Modeling.
Modeling. A vocation truly affected by the current state of affairs in the world. Nevertheless, models and their agencies are uniting in an effort to push through, not only their livelihoods, but the vision of the fashion industry at large. Our personal affection towards the human touch in fashion sometimes has us wary of automation and technology. However, in some cases, we are witnessing its pollination effect on the newly found blossoms in the modeling industry.
We were absolutely ecstatic about G-Star Raw’s approach to presenting their new collection by creating a full Stay at Home Catwalk, thus driving forward the designers’ vision and the models’ joyous and safe interpretation of it.
G-Star Raw, Stay at Home Catwalk
Seeking for more of these feel-good and unrelenting stories, we hopped on a call with 12 Miami-based modeling agencies. Aside from hiring models to work from home and having an option for a shot-at-home images, they went ahead and assembled their full-on quarantine teams. They consist of a model, photographer, stylist, and hair and make-up artist whom you can hire for a remote professional photo shoot wearing clothing shipped from the brand. As beaches start opening in Florida, as indicated by the current news cycle, you will be able to have those beautiful shots on the sand.
And if the same old approach doesn’t do enough to tickle your inspiration-toes, try something as inciting as Bella Hadid’s FaceTime shoot with @briannalcapozzi @haleywollens and @Laurenperez.
Bella Hadid for Vogue Italia with @briannalcapozzi
Alessio Albi
An Italian photographer Alessio Albi has also been shooting models via FaceTime. On his Instagram profile you can see a wide range of FaceTime photography work with models shot in their houses, and outdoors. The most difficult part in creating FaceTime photography for Alessio was the absence of physical presence. The distance makes it harder to create the bond with the model, and harder to communicate. The overall process has to be much simplified in order to work.
Updating your online catalogues with new styles has never seemed as both exciting and futuristic as with Zeekit, who have, by combining fashion and technology, developed the first dynamic virtual fitting room, giving every person the chance to see themselves in any item of clothing found online.
Turning our gaze towards the less savory and more questionable approaches in the modeling industry, we find ourselves in San Francisco, an incubator of modern innovation, where Rosebud.AI turns mannequin images into model images using an artificial intelligence-generated face of an existing model. Quite stirringly, they state that, “We can take an image of a 65-year-old woman driving a convertible down the Amalfi Coast and programmatically modify it into a 25-year-old Chinese woman or a man going through his midlife crisis. “
And then there are the CGI models — or highly stylized virtual models that can replace on-model editorial photo shoots. More than likely you already heard of Lil Miquela and Brud, who have been “modeling” and booking brand sponsorship deals.
These models can now be tapped for elaborate, on-location photo shoots, unlike human models. “We are one of the only [companies] in the world who can put together fashion shoots that look like traditional fashion shoots now, so we are in an interesting position,” says Cameron James Wilson, CEO and Creative Director of The Diigitals, the UK-based digital modeling agency behind Shudu, who appeared in Vogue Australia, and the Balmain campaign. In the past month, the company has seen an uptick in interest. “People are extremely interested in what we can provide, not because they think it's cool, but they actually need it.”
The diigitals is the world's first modeling agency for virtual celebrities
Beside having a roster of virtual models, The Diigitals can create a digital photo shoot from existing 3D clothing files, or the agency can adapt product imagery into 3D assets. A full editorial takes approximately three weeks, depending on the complexity, and it can create exclusive, bespoke models. It can also create digital versions of existing models if the opportunity were to come up.
“That’s definitely a conversation that models should be having,” Wilson says. “I see this as a tool to multiply opportunities. Gigi and Kendall probably get so many offers; they couldn’t even do them all if they wanted to.”
“The biggest question is not can we, but should we?” Wilson says of editorial photo shoots during this time of crisis. “Is this the right time? How will this come across to the general public?” While he recommends that brands should be conscious of tone, he notes that they might take advantage of this time to develop innovative content and advertising to prepare for when customers are ready.
