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The dangers of automation have forever been whispered — with men exchanging their uncertainties, warning of the potential worries. Machinery, it’s assumed, is too much of a convenience. It will eventually consume the middle-class, stealing employment opportunities and forcing millions to be without support.
Such claims are met with caution, and a little disbelief. There is much still to debate about the influence of robotics on the economy.
There can be no debate, however, that one position will forever remain human: fashion modeling.
In 2009 Masayoshi Kataoka (member of Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) unveiled an automated catwalk model. The robot — which stood 158 centimeters and boasted exaggerated features, offering a deliberately cartoonish appearance — debuted at the Institute amid a flurry of photographers. This collection of wires and battery-powered operations received commands via a transmitter and was told to pose like a fashionista.
The results were less than thrilling.
The machine lacked the fluid motions of human models, stomped her way instead down the runway. Her expressions were perpetually startled and her figure did not lend itself to the ideals of fashion. The effect was simply too jarring.
And, because of this, the job security of models remains in tact. Few can deny the novelty of a robot posing for the camera. Fewer still, however, can deny that the attempt is ultimately futile, with the purpose of style meant to embody creativity and not science.
This has led many to propose alternative uses for Kataoka’s invention — none of which involve the fashion industry.
