Models accuse fashion brand of using AI to recreate them (petapixel.com)

Models have alleged that the fashion retailer Rainbow Shops used AI to create lookalike images of them after their work with the brand declined. In an email sent to models in June 2025, Rainbow’s studio manager informed them that AI technology would lead to fewer job opportunities, signaling a shift toward AI-generated content in the company’s marketing. By March of this year, models noticed images resembling them—but in altered poses and settings—appearing on Rainbow’s platforms, raising concerns that their likenesses were used without consent. One model, Francheska Pujols, has taken legal action against Rainbow, claiming that the AI-generated images misrepresented her and violated her contract, which only covered images from official photo shoots. Pujols argues that these AI depictions created confusion around her endorsement and issued a public statement highlighting the distress caused by the altered images. Rainbow’s chief digital officer responded by asserting that the company is carefully evaluating AI technologies while maintaining compliance with contractual agreements. This incident underscores significant implications for the fashion industry and raises ethical questions about AI usage and intellectual property rights in a landscape increasingly influenced by machine-generated content.