Shein Uses Likely AI-Generated Luigi Mangione to Model Shirts

This summer’s style is anti-capitalist chic, brought to you by Shein. The retailer is currently investigating how an image of Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last year, ended up on the face of a model, according to the BBC.

The image of Mangione, smiling and looking ready for a beach day in a short-sleeve floral print shirt, seems to have popped up on the fast-fashion giant’s website sometime this past week and caught the eye of shoppers. The BBC ran the image through a facial recognition tool and found it had a 99.9% match with images of Mangione, though the publication did indicate it’s not clear if the image is AI-generated or was made using manual photo editing tools. But these days, why would you go through all the Photoshop trouble? Regardless, the image has since been removed, but it has been documented via the Internet Archive. Shein said it’s launching an investigation into how this happened.

“The image in question was provided by a third-party vendor and was removed immediately upon discovery, the company told the BBC. “We have stringent standards for all listings on our platform,” it said following a pretty clear example of lax enforcement of those standards. The company also said that it plans to strengthen its monitoring processes and “will take appropriate action against the vendor in line with our policies.”

Shein didn’t name the vendor in question, but 404 Media reported the shirt was being sold by a brand called Manfinity with the very wordy product description of “Men’s New Spring/Summer Short Sleeve Blue Ditsy Floral White Shirt, Pastoral Style Gentleman Shirt For Everyday Wear, Family Matching Mommy And Me (3 Pieces Are Sold Separately).” Catchy!

Manfinity apparently regularly uses AI-generated models, per 404 Media, which spotted some generative gym bros selling t-shirts and gym attire, some of which are more convincingly designed than others. The report also spotted a number of AI models used by other brands that sell on Shein. The fast fashion company has also been the subject of lawsuits alleging that it has scraped work from artists online and sold products that directly copy the creative works.

The use of Mangoine’s likeness to sell products definitely isn’t just limited to Shein. He’s become something of a folk hero for his alleged crime. Merchandise featuring his image and messages of support for him started flooding platforms like Etsy shortly after his arrest, with sellers donating portions of sales to his legal defense efforts. Seems unlikely that any funds from the Shein sales will be going to Mangoine, rather just using his recognizable face to get attention. If so, mission accomplished.