--- title: "J. Crew Is in Hot Water After Its “Vintage” Ad Turned Out to Be Faked Using AI" description: "Clothesmaker J. Crew used AI to guzzle up its own aesthetic and create ads with seemingly fake models, without issuing any AI disclosures." date: "2025-08-31" modified: "2025-08-31" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/j-crew-ad-faked-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai slop" - "ai-generated" - "fashion" --- # J. Crew Is in Hot Water After Its “Vintage” Ad Turned Out to Be Faked Using AI ![Clothesmaker J. Crew used AI to guzzle up its own aesthetic and create ads with seemingly fake models, without issuing any AI disclosures.]() *\Image: J.Crew via Instagram / Futurism\* The American clothing brand J. Crew is under fire after it was revealed that the company used AI to guzzle up its own aesthetic and promote ads with seemingly fake models. The images, which were published to Instagram earlier this month, don't raise immediate alarm bells. Presumed human men are pictured embodying J. Crew's vintage Americana-prep aesthetic: vibing on boats, cycling past storefronts in muted colors, drawing and painting in their paint-splattered studio, and so on. But as style blog [*Blackbird Spyplane* first spotted](), upon closer inspection the images are absolutely littered with signs of AI slop. The errors range from small oddities — misaligned stripes on a rugby shirt, for instance — to more blatant errors, like one man's foot facing backwards and another's hands melting into the handlebars of his bike. https://www.tiktok.com/@edgyalbert/video/7543021646144097566?embed_source=121374463%2C121468991%2C121439635%2C121749182%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121497414%2C121477481%2C121351166%2C121811500%2C121487028%2C121679410%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%2C121819198%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&refer=embed&referer_url=www.thecut.com%2Farticle%2Fdid-jcrew-use-ai-on-instagram-campaign.html&referer_video_id=7543021646144097566 After *Blackbird Spylane*'s reporting unmasked the slop, the company updated its Instagram captions to include a callout to someone named Sam "AI Sam" Finn, who refers to themselves as an "AI photographer." Still, J. Crew didn't actually cop to the use of AI in the caption; instead, they referred to the campaign images as "digital art." The captions also don't acknowledge whether the depicted models are real people or not. As [*The Cut* pointed out](), there were a large number of folks in the comments section who expressed annoyance and anger at the images. Which makes sense! Unbeknownst to J. Crew, it seems, a [lot of people do care]() whether the humans used in the advertisements designed to sell them clothes exist — and, to that end, whether the actual items J. Crew is actively trying to sell them are shown in their real form, or are a hyperreal, AI-generated version. https://twitter.com/BLKBRD_Spyplane/status/1960350157662527575 When *The Cut* reached out for comment, J. Crew issued a terse response — that, once again, failed to acknowledge the use of AI. "We're always exploring new forms of creative expression, expanding how we work, and finding fresh, innovative ways to create content," the company told the magazine. "This partnership with Sam Finn Studio is one of many examples of how we engage artists of all genres to interpret our brand and experiment with different art mediums." We don't know what's sadder: J. Crew's lack of disclosure around AI use, its decision to leave sloppy AI errors all over the campaign, or its belief that its iconic aesthetic, born out of decades of design and creative human labor, should be swallowed up and ralphed back out by AI. **More on AI slop:** [*Wired and Business Insider Accidentally Published AI-Generated Slop Articles by Seemingly Fake Journalist*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()