Did fashion sign its own death warrant after allowing the use of AI models?

Barely had Anna Wintour clip-clopped out the office in her Manolo Blahnik sling-backs, the rest of the Vogue team seemingly tossed editorial integrity out the floor-to-ceiling window. The fashion world is in a tizz after an AI model appeared in the mag for the first time. Of course, unrealistic beauty standards are nothing new, but instead of the usual airbrushed fakery, it featured an entirely AI-generated advert.

Not even the clothes they are trying to flog us are real anymore, yet somehow they still come with a four figure price tag. AI is reshaping the world so rapidly that I'm considering becoming one of those historical re-enactors. But I only want to go back a couple of years. Is there a recent past appreciation society? I can't do without my mobile phone and voting rights, in that order.

The pixel pin-up comes from London-based AI design agency Seraphinne Vellora, which sounds like a Slytherin villain from Harry Potter and is just as sinister. Clients can choose from ready-made creations or design their own, like a sexy Build-A-Bear Workshop. While top models, exhausted from back-to-back fashion weeks, can double their money.

"If you're a model, imagine taking two jobs at once - one in Japan, one in Milan," reads a breathless blurb on the website. "It's you, replicated flawlessly within your AI Twin, ready to be the star of any campaign, anywhere in the world."

Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? But anyone who has binged on Black Mirror can foresee the catastrophe coming. You know that TV series where promising new technology ends up destroying lives in increasingly nightmarish cautionary tales.

The plot would go something like this - a beautiful model inundated with contracts signs up for her avatar to handle the jobs she'd rather skip. The twin is flawless, fearless and tireless.

No assignment is too tough whether it's bikinis on a polar ice cap, or leather chaps in Chernobyl. The money rolls in. But bookings soon drop off. Why fly in a human when a pixel-perfect avatar can be summoned with a click for a fraction of the cost?

No first-class tickets, no hair and make-up crew, not even a M&S sarnie. And then, why would brands pay for a digi-twin when they can create their own fantasy supermodels.

It's less a Faustian pact, and more an industry death warrant. Take humans out of the picture, and you just have a nice picture. It's not fashion sweetie darling.