"Price of fashion models in advertisements is going to collapse, if indeed the industry survives at all."
Why should retailers pay for fashion models when an advertising department can generate models with the perfect height, weight, breast size, nationality, and complexion for whatever designs they want to promote?
This is Bad News for Super-Models!
MarketWatch describes the setup in 5 computer-generated sales pitches
To save on cost - and perhaps assembly time - Swedish retailing giant IKEA created computer-generated images of its furniture for the new catalogue, rather than hiring a photographer. By next year, a quarter of the scenes depicted in IKEA's print and online advertising will be digitally drawn rather than photographed.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week. In fact, IKEA says it is able to better depict its products with computer images than actual photography.
IKEA is not alone. Hollywood filmmakers increasingly create characters - and not just special effects - with CGI animation. And some fashion lines are finding that it's less expensive to create the perfect specimen digitally than to track down America's Next Top Model. These computer-generated realities may be cheaper, more appealing and more versatile than the genuine articles.
Some other related ideas discussed by the MarketWatch article also include simulated driving of cars, movie special efects, and 3-D dream homes.
Special effects are nothing new. New car models come out only once a year. And I believe most people want real images of homes, not simulated models.
In contrast, clothing changes four times a year with each season and also varies by weight, height, size, nationality, skin color, age, etc. Now the question of the day is:
"Do I care if the person wearing a sweater in a printed image is generated or real? Why would I? How would I know in the first place?"
Supermodels on the magazine covers may or may not go away due to importance of name recognition but every modeling job on down is likely to be eliminated over time.
Virtual models simply have too many advantages for real models to compete effectively. This in turn will pressure wages of even the super-models.
"These days, if you're looking for a career, fashion modelling is not a good choice anymore... We've got to look elsewhere, girls because now the machines are taking our jobs!"
Courtesy:
Mike Shedlock, Mish
