The model of Asian descent, Shereen Wu , has accused designer Michael Costello of using Artificial Intelligence to replace her face with that of a Caucasian model, in a photo from her latest show, held in Los Angeles on October 22.
The 21-year-old took to TikTok in a video that has already gone viral in which she explains her side of the story. "She I have never felt so offended in my entire life. She is my body and my neck, but not my face." With these words she denounced the couturier, who rose to fame as a result of his participation in Project Runway .
At the show, Wu took to the runway wearing a black dress with a sheer bodice and a sequin skirt. The same design that, hours later, another 'woman' apparently wore in the Instagram stories posted by Costello. As shown in her video, her face was replaced using artificial intelligence, with a retouch that eliminated her Asian features and even the color of her skin changed.
The model, upon seeing the image, confronted the designer, who blamed the photographer, stating that he had received the snapshot edited. Without thinking twice, Wu contacted the photographer, who denied having retouched the image. And not only that, the mannequin claims that on the phone, the photographer told her that Costello had deleted her part of her conversation on Instagram, forwarding her messages, as if she had never discussed the subject with him.
Shortly after, Costello deleted the photo from his stories and blocked Wu on the social network. And then he dedicated himself to sharing images created by Artificial Intelligence related to art and fashion. According to Wu, in an attempt to defend the use of this technology in the industry "Implying that everyone is doing it, that I shouldn't be angry and that I am replaceable."
Another model friend of Wu asked the creative the reason for this "face change" and he replied that it had been created by a "fan art" admirer. Wu stressed that he was suspicious that Costello had told three different versions of what happened to three different people.
Another issue that has caused controversy is that Wu says that she did not charge for parading, but rather for exposure and obtaining photographs, and therefore by changing her face, the designer He stole the opportunity for Costello's 12 million followers to see him model.
In his video, Wu also compiled some of the controversies that Costello has been involved in, who has previously been accused of being racist, using the N-word, shaming a model for her weight, and even sexual harassment.
"In the end I may just be another annoying model, without much reach and I'm making a mountain out of a molehill and ruining my career as a model. But I think this is something I should defend," the model concluded.
November 2, Costello published a statement in which he denied having modified Wu's face in the photos of his parade and settled the controversy by assuring that he would not say anything more about it. According to his account, he chose Wu as part of her parade because he loved her "look and confidence" and initially shared her unedited photo on his account.
It was later when, "in the middle of a roller coaster of emotions" after a "show dedicated to his recently deceased aunt," that he reposted a story in which a follower had tagged him and which, presumably, corresponded to the retouched photo of the discord.
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