Photo Credit; Getty Images
Gucci’s shift toward AI-generated marketing has sparked a significant controversy, highlighting a growing rift between high-fashion heritage and digital automation. By replacing human talent with algorithms, the fashion house faces accusations of hypocrisy for claiming to champion "Italian craftsmanship" while simultaneously removing the human element from its creative process.
"Bleak days when Gucci can't find a real human Milanese grandmother to wear an outfit from 1976," said one in response to an AI-generated image of a glamorous older Italian woman in a classic Gucci outfit.
The pictures have been clearly labelled as "created with AI" - but critics say they are an example of "AI slop", a term for the deluge of often low quality AI-generated material that is flooding social media.
Others have questioned why a high fashion company would need to use the cost-cutting tech for its marketing.
It comes as Gucci creative director, Demna Gvasalia, prepares to present his vision on the runway for the first time in Milan on Friday.
However, it is not the first time the Italian fashion giant has used the technology in its marketing.
Gucci previously commissioned digital artists to produce visuals, including AI-generated images, auctioned as non-fungible tokens by Christie's.
In December, it released an AI-generated video of a model strutting down the runway while photographers behind her fell over themselves - literally - to capture her.
A flurry of other designer and high-street brands, including Valentino and H&M, have also explored the use of generative AI tools for social content and advertising, often citing this as a creative exercise.
