The Rise of AI in Fashion: Are Photography Careers and Virtual Stylists Becoming Obsolete? A Timeline of the Industry’s Transformation

The Rapid Evolution of AI in Fashion: What You Need to Know

In the fast-paced world of fashion, technological advancements are reshaping entire industries at an unprecedented rate. Recent headlines reveal a swift progression toward automation and AI-driven solutions, signaling significant shifts in traditional roles such as fashion photographers, stylists, and creative directors. Here’s a closer look at how AI is transforming the fashion landscape over just the past few months.

A Timeline of Accelerating AI Integration in Fashion

January 2025: A Major Investment in AI Models
Botika secures $8 million in funding, paving the way for AI-generated fashion models. These virtual models are rapidly replacing human photographers, especially for smaller brands seeking cost-effective solutions (source).

May 2025: Virtual Try-Ons go Social and Viral
In May, Doji raises $14 million to enhance virtual fitting rooms, enabling consumers to share their try-ons on social platforms like TikTok using AI-created avatars. Concurrently, Google launches “AI Mode,” expanding virtual try-on capabilities across billions of products with instant, AI-powered visualization (source; source).

Recent Breakthroughs Accelerate Market Shifts
Just two weeks ago, Alta secured $11 million to develop an all-in-one AI stylist platform, threatening to wholly replace human stylist roles (source).
Within the last two days, FASHN AI introduced a hyper-realistic, high-resolution virtual try-on model, eliminating the need for human models in commercial styling images (source).

And today, Google Doppl launched a groundbreaking feature that generates dynamic videos of virtual avatars showcasing outfits in motion—completely automated and real-time ([source](https://blog.google/technology/google-labs/doppl/