Fashion house Valentino criticised over 'disturbing' AI handbag ads

Valentino's campaign using AI-generated visuals to promote its new handbag has come under fire on social media

Italian luxury fashion house Valentino is facing criticism after posting "disturbing" adverts made using artificial intelligence (AI) for one of its luxury handbags online.

The brand announced a collaboration with digital artists as part of what it dubbed a "digital creative project" promoting its new DeVain handbag.

But an AI-generated advert it posted on Instagram has been met with intense criticism from fans, who called the visuals - and use of AI - "sloppy" and "sad".

The BBC has approached Valentino for comment.

The Instagram post promoting the handbag, which has a label to say it was made using AI, shows a "surreal" collage of models spliced between Valentino logos and its DeVain bag.

At one point it shows models seemingly emerge from an ornate gold version of the handbag. At another, the brand's logo transforms into people's arms, before these morph into a coalescing swirl of bodies.

Some Instagram users said AI-generated visuals in Valentino's latest campaign were "weird" and "embarrassing"

Among hundreds of comments left on Valentino's Instagram video on Monday were many criticising its AI use as "cheap" and "lazy".

"Disappointing from a couture fashion house," wrote one user responding to the video on Instagram.

"Advertising campaigns are an opportunity to put talented creatives centre stage. AI in this instance is lazy at best."

Others called on the company's marketing department to "read the room", likened the content to "AI slop" and accused the company of "rage-baiting".

Dr Rebecca Swift, senior vice president of creative at Getty Images, said the negative reaction suggested many see AI content as "less valuable" than human creations.

"While people are excited by AI-generated content for personal use, they hold brands to a higher standard, especially expensive brands," she said.

"Even full transparency about AI use wasn't enough to win them over."

The use of AI-generated visuals in Valentino's DeVain bag campaign, as above, comes amid wider criticism of similar initiatives by other brands

'Creative possibilities'

The fashion industry, like many other creative sectors, has seized on generative AI tools which can create images and video in seconds as a way to cut production and promotion costs.

It has also been cited as an opportunity to examine how new and emerging tech can enhance key processes like design, manufacturing and sizing.

But doing so has also given rise to concern its increased adoption may displace human workers, or reduce the quality of fashion products.

• What is AI and why are some people concerned about it?

Anne-Liese Prem, head of cultural insights & trends at creative digital agency Loop, said although Valentino was showing "the right instinct" by being upfront about the generative AI use, backlash to it showed "a deeper cultural tension".

"The main issue is not the technology itself - it is the perception of what the technology replaces," she told the BBC.

"When AI enters the visual identity of a brand, people worry that the brand is choosing efficiency over artistry.

"Even if the execution is creative, audiences often read it as cost-saving disguised as innovation."

H&M's use of AI to create "digital twins" of models for ads and social media posts sparked criticism about its effect on human models, as well as on photographers and make-up artists who play a key role on shoots.

Meanwhile, an AI-generated Guess advert spotted in Vogue earlier this year raised concerns about its impact on female beauty standards.

Ms Prem said while there were clear benefits and "new creative possibilities" for brands using AI, "the risk is equally clear".

"Without a strong emotional idea behind it, generative AI can make luxury feel less human at a moment when people want human presence more than ever," she said.

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