---
title: "Synthetic model (AI model): meaning in product photography | Herofab"
description: "A model in a fashion image who was generated by software and is not a photographed person. The garment shown is real; the wearer is not."
url: https://herofab.app/glossary/synthetic-model
language: en
updated: 2026-10-06
---

# Synthetic model

A model in a fashion image who was generated by software and is not a photographed person. The garment shown is real; the wearer is not.

Also called **AI model** · **AI fashion model** · **virtual model**

![Model wearing the white strapless dress on a white background](https://herofab.app/img/ex/dress-model-886.webp)

Made with Herofab · Virtual try-on

A synthetic model is created from a description, such as an age range, a body type and hair, and not from a photograph of anyone. Because the model can be saved and reused, the same face can wear every product of a collection, which gives a catalogue the look of a single shoot.

An image of a synthetic model shows how a garment looks when worn; it is not a record of how that garment fits a particular body, and measurements remain the place where fit is stated. Marketplaces and regulators have begun to ask that AI-generated images of people be marked, and such a marker can be stored inside the image file.

Updated 5 October 2026

[Create model](https://herofab.app/tools/ai-fashion-models) · [Virtual try-on](https://herofab.app/tools/virtual-try-on) · [On-model image](https://herofab.app/glossary/on-model-image) · [AI image labelling](https://herofab.app/glossary/ai-image-labeling) · [Virtual try-on](https://herofab.app/glossary/virtual-try-on) · [All terms](https://herofab.app/glossary/)