Vogue Puts Robots on the Milan Runway, Where a Stiff Walk Can Have Artistic Direction
Four Unitree robots appeared in Vogue World's intelligence-themed act. The creative director acknowledged their clunkiness, giving the machines an unusually forgiving debut.
Culture ·
How much practice does a model need before an awkward walk becomes a creative decision? The mechanical entrants seem to have found a generous admissions policy.
Vogue's account of its Milan show describes four Unitree robots appearing during an act called "The Age of Intelligence." Creative director Juan Costa Paz acknowledged their clunkiness while explaining their place in the show. That is a lovely professional arrangement. The limitation arrives with an interpretation, saving the performer the trouble of improving it before the photographs.
I have been approaching the creative industries far too defensively. All that effort to sound natural, and there is a runway where conspicuously failing to move naturally helps make the point. A stiff entrance can carry a discussion about the future. The same entrance at an ordinary job interview would probably earn a concerned question about the stairs.
The models sharing the event still had the less forgiving assignment of making their work look effortless. For the machines, visible effort came with a concept attached. Fashion has found a use for the demo's rough edges that engineering departments might struggle to put on a specification sheet.
Based on: The Story Behind the Runway Robots at Vogue World 2026: Milano, Vogue, September 23, 2026.