LO
PilotCognitive automation2023-03-22
Tests of AI-generated models to supplement human models were planned by Levi Strauss & Co., which then said it was not scaling back live photo shoots
Actor and modeloccupation page →
Event date / reported
2023-03-22
Evidence stage
PilotSmall-scale trial in a real setting. Tells us the deployment conditions are being tested, not that they hold — so one pilot is never enough on its own; two independent ones are.
Tasks this bears on
Fashion and commercial modelling
Posing for campaigns, catalogues, e-commerce and advertisements.
Automating✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
A clothing company's announcement. It said it was planning tests later in 2023 of AI-generated models to supplement human models and increase the number and diversity of models shown with its products; an editor's note a week later said it was not scaling back plans for live photo shoots or the use of live models. Whether the tests ran is not established here.
What this means
A brand's first move was to add generated models alongside real ones, and it publicly committed to keeping live shoots after criticism.
What it does not yet show
An announced test and a statement of intent; neither shows what happened to model bookings.
What you can check
Open Levi Strauss & Co.'s March 22, 2023 post on its Lalaland.ai partnership and find "supplement human models".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event, and this stage does not move one on its own: a "Pilot" record counts toward a judgement but needs a second, independent record before the judgement rests on evidence. This one is counted; on its own it changed nothing.
Source
Levi Strauss & Co. — LS&Co. Partners with Lalaland.ai (Unzipped, March 22, 2023, with Editor's Note of March 28, 2023) · verified 2026-09-30 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-09-30 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.