Models are reportedly accusing fashion retailer Rainbow Shops of utilizing artificial intelligence to generate images that closely resemble them, coinciding with a significant decrease in their assignments from the company.
Reports indicate that Rainbow Shops, a Brooklyn-based budget fashion retailer, informed its models via email in June 2025 about the impending impact of AI technology on job availability. Phil Caraway, Rainbow's studio manager, mentioned the company's shift towards using AI for styling products and creating avatars, suggesting a long-term reduction in the need for human freelancers. Following this communication, models observed a slowdown in bookings by mid-March of the current year, with some unable to secure responses for their availability. Simultaneously, two non-model employees at Rainbow noted a period without human models in the studio.
In March, models began noticing Rainbow marketing materials featuring images that bore a strong resemblance to them but depicted them in different poses or environments than their actual photo shoots. These lookalike images, appearing across Rainbow's website, social media, and newsletters, led many models to suspect the use of AI to create these digital doppelgängers. One model, Francheska Pujols, initiated legal action against Rainbow on May 22, alleging defamation and confusion regarding her endorsement of the company's merchandise. Pujols asserted that her contract did not authorize the creation of entirely new images, poses, or compositions. She described distress over altered images, specifically mentioning a pose she found inappropriate. After a brief withdrawal to seek a private resolution, Pujols refiled her lawsuit on June 15. David Cost, Rainbow's chief digital officer, stated that the company is responsibly evaluating emerging AI technologies and is committed to acting appropriately and in accordance with its contractual agreements with models.
This situation underscores the growing tension between technological advancements and human labor, highlighting the ethical and legal challenges presented by AI in industries like fashion. It calls for a deeper examination of intellectual property rights, fair employment practices, and the need for clear guidelines in the use of AI-generated content to protect individual identities and livelihoods.