Zalando Accelerates Fashion Imagery with AI, Cuts Costs and Production Time
Zalando, the European online fashion retailer, is now using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to create imagery faster and more efficiently for its app and website. This move is transforming how the company responds to fast-changing fashion trends and reducing costs significantly.
AI Delivers Faster, Cheaper, and Trendier Content
The Berlin-based company operates across 25 European markets, offering a wide range of clothing, shoes, and accessories. According to Matthias Haase, Zalando’s Vice President of Content Solutions, generative AI allows the company to quickly adapt to new fashion trends, especially those driven by social media.
AI reduces the production timeline for campaign imagery from as long as eight weeks down to just three or four days. It also slashes costs by 90%. “It’s not that AI content is better than human-created content,” said Haase, “but it is more timely and relevant to our customers.”
In the last quarter of 2024, about 70% of Zalando’s editorial campaign images were created using AI. These visuals were used to highlight major fashion trends of the year, including “brat summer,” “mob wife,” and “double denim.”
Digital Twins and the Future of Fashion Marketing
Zalando is also developing AI-generated “digital twins” of real models. These three-dimensional replicas appear across product pages and marketing campaigns without the need for traditional photography. This approach streamlines production while maintaining a consistent visual experience for customers.
This trend mirrors similar moves by other retailers, such as H&M, which announced in March that it had created digital twins in partnership with a modelling agency.
For Zalando and other fashion brands with limited marketing budgets, AI offers a powerful alternative to expensive, logistically complex photoshoots. By adopting AI, companies can keep up with rapid fashion cycles and invest more efficiently in digital marketing.
Creative Jobs Evolving, Not Disappearing
Despite growing reliance on AI, Zalando says there’s still a place for traditional creatives. Haase addressed concerns about AI replacing fashion photographers and other creative professionals, stating that while roles will evolve, they won’t disappear.
“Creative people fear that AI makes creatives redundant. I don’t see that at all,” said Haase. “Instead of two hands, they now have six. AI is a tool to amplify creativity, not replace it.”
Zalando’s integration of generative AI marks a shift in the fashion industry, where speed, relevance, and cost-efficiency are becoming essential for staying ahead in an increasingly digital world.
with inputs from Reuters
