From Gucci to Balenciaga, fashion houses are increasingly turning to the motif of the double, reflecting societal anxieties about identity and authenticity in an era of deepfakes and AI. The phenomenon, described as 'unheimlich' – the German word for uncanny – has become a dominant theme in recent campaigns and runway shows.
Acne Studios' autumn-winter 2023 campaign featured Kylie Jenner alongside a replica of herself in dirty denim, while Gucci depicted Billie Eilish confessing love to her own double. Alexander McQueen's cruise 2023 show saw Kaia Gerber facing a futuristic lookalike. Balenciaga went further, using deepfake technology to clone model Eliza Douglas for all 44 looks in its spring/summer 2022 show. Model Eva Herzigová also collaborated to create a bookable digital avatar of herself.
Identical twins have also been used as a more accessible form of doubling. At London Fashion Week, designer Mowalola Ogunlesi had models walk in pairs, describing it as 'twin-personality'. Alessandro Michele's 'Welcome to Twinsburg' show for Gucci featured 68 pairs of identical twins, while Sunnei’s show the same day also used twin models – a coincidence the designers called a 'scherzo del destino'.
The trend extends beyond fashion into pop culture, with Olivia Rodrigo using matching backup dancers, Harry Styles appearing with seven waxworks, and Drake facing accusations of using a Kim Kardashian lookalike. Photographer François Brunelle's project pairing lookalikes has seen renewed interest, and drag superstar Alexis Stone transformed into Jennifer Coolidge for Diesel, fooling even the actress herself.
Commentators warn the blurring of reality and fantasy raises serious questions. 'The fact that you can imitate just about anything digitally is disturbing,' says Brunelle. 'It brings us back to the question: who am I? Who are we as humans?' As technology advances, fashion's fascination with doubles seems set to continue.
