Pt. 2: Nick Knight & Tom Wandrag on AI, Ownership, and Fashion’s Future

For the second installment of Models.com’s Industry Access conversation with SHOWstudio founder Nick Knight and A New Plane’s Tom Wandrag, the discussion turns from AI’s possibilities to the deeper questions surrounding labor, beauty, ownership, and the future of fashion itself. As generative technologies continue to reshape creative workflows, the pair explores how fashion can embrace innovation without sacrificing imagination or human agency. “People’s anxieties around AI are valid, but we do have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to direct where it goes,” says Wandrag, arguing that the industry has a rare chance to shape the technology before its future is dictated entirely by big tech. Together with Models.com Editorial Director Irene Ojo-Felix, Knight and Wandrag examine whether AI can help create a better future for creatives and models or whether it risks accelerating the very forces that have already flattened culture, creativity, and opportunity. See more on Models.com. Editor in Chief: Stephan Moskovic Editorial Director and Interviewer: Irene Ojo-Felix Location: SHOWstudio London Special Thanks: SHOWstudio, Nick Knight, Tom Wandrag, Charlotte Knight, and Christopher Michael at Egos & Icons 00:00 Introduction & What AI Still Lacks 00:23 The Need for Control in AI Image Creation 01:03 Working with AI vs CGI Precision 01:22 Ownership, Big Tech & Creative Independence 02:17 AI Reflects the People Using It 03:06 AI Companions & Human Connection 04:17 Intelligence, Evo