Garment fidelity is the whole job
Generators like to tidy clothes. They smooth creases, tighten the fit, shorten hems, move a pocket and run a print straight across a seam where the real one breaks. Each is a small untruth about the product and a likely return. Check what a buyer checks: neckline and collar shape, button and pocket count, hem and sleeve length on the body, how the fabric falls for its weight, sheen against matte, how sheer it really is, and whether stripes and checks meet at the seams as they do on the sample. Logos and placed prints must sit at the right size and position.
Size-inclusive ranges, shown honestly
Showing a range on several bodies helps shoppers only if each image shows how that size really fits. Garments do not scale evenly: a size 18 has different proportions, ease and drape from a size 8, and an image that simply stretches the smaller sample misrepresents both. Base each size on real fit data or a real sample in that size. State what the model wears, with height and size, whether the model was photographed or generated. Marketplace style guides add their own rules, for example on when children's clothing must be shown off-model, so read the category guide before planning.
Real people, digital twins and consent
A virtual model based on a real person uses their likeness, and needs its own agreement. Put in writing what the digital twin may be used for, in which media and markets, for how long, how the person is paid, whether they approve outputs, and how the likeness data is deleted when the deal ends. New York's Fashion Workers Act, in force since June 2025, requires clear, separate written consent from a model before a digital replica is created or used. Fully synthetic models avoid the consent question but not disclosure, since realistic images may fall under the EU AI Act's deepfake rule.
When to shoot the real garment first
Shoot first whenever the image is the shopper's main evidence of fit or fabric: product detail pages, tailoring, technical outerwear, sheer or textured fabrics and anything with a placed print. A flat lay or ghost-mannequin shot of the real sample, colour-checked, becomes the reference everything else must match. Generation then adds what shoots make expensive: more bodies, sizes, poses, settings and markets. In Synthetic White, the sample is saved as an element and product-lock holds its colours, labels and print to the reference while models and scenes change; reviewers still check fit and drape on every body. Concept images made before samples exist should stay internal.
Updated 25 September 2026