AI Actors Land on *Fashion COSMO*: What Are the Five Major Fashion Magazines Thinking?

On the evening of August 27, 2026, an unexpected "figure" appeared on the cover preview posted on the official Weibo account of *Fashion COSMO*. Fang Taozi, the leading actress of the AI short drama *The Laid-off Girl*, landed on the cover of the COSMO CRUSH column with the theme of "After the Prism", becoming the first AI actor to unlock the cover of China's top five women's fashion magazines. 

Immediately, the hashtag #Fang Taozi Fashion COSMO Cover Preview topped the entertainment trending list, and as public opinion fermented, the entry has climbed to the top of the overall Weibo trending list.

The reason behind this phenomenon is not hard to understand. After all, Fang Taozi can almost be regarded as the top influencer of AI short dramas in recent times.

If you have browsed short videos in the past two months, you have most likely seen this face: straight bangs, long sleek black hair, and two iconic small moles on both sides of her cheeks. She is Fang Taozi, a fully AI-generated virtual character from the AI short drama *The Laid-off Girl* that was launched on Douyin on June 12, 2026.

In August this year, the second season of this drama was fully completed, with the total number of views on Douyin exceeding 360 million. Different from other AI short dramas, the production team of Fang Taozi has built a fairly complete operation system for her. She has an independent social account that continuously updates various life-oriented vlogs covering scenarios such as cooking, working out, and commuting, almost completely replicating the operation model of real influencers. As of August 25, the number of Fang Taozi's fans on Douyin has exceeded 510,000.

Perhaps precisely due to the effect of this operation system, Fang Taozi's commercial monetization capacity once even surpassed a large number of mid-tier real influencers. According to data from Ocean Engine Xingtu, her advertising quotation is 168,000 RMB for 1-20 second videos, 208,000 RMB for 21-60 second videos, and 258,000 RMB for videos longer than 60 seconds. Although relevant reports have pointed out that her quotation is somewhat inflated, and the actual cost of shooting a full advertisement is about 80,000 RMB per minute, this quotation still exceeds that of many real influencers with millions of fans, and even once approached that of some bloggers with tens of millions of followers.

Of course, the controversies that came along with her skyrocketing popularity are no less. In addition to a color contact lens ad endorsed by Fang Taozi in July that was removed from all platforms on suspicion of false promotion, controversies over the character using face-splicing technology and her shooting style imitating other real female celebrities have never ceased since this short drama became a hit.

In contrast to the character's explosive popularity and controversies, *Fashion COSMO* boasts an extremely high status in the fashion and entertainment industry. Although the magazine did face some controversies in previous years, many people still recognize it as one of China's top five women's fashion magazines, and regard it as an important criterion for measuring the commercial value and fashion status of artists.

Although the COSMO CRUSH column that Fang Taozi is featured in this time is not the cover of the official main issue, it is indeed part of the magazine's system, which is naturally regarded by many as a sign that virtual characters have begun to integrate into the mainstream fashion industry. Many people also point out that Fang Taozi's appearance on the cover of *Fashion COSMO* actually means that AI characters have gradually transformed from AI-generated performance props into independent cultural IPs.

Of course, apart from these positive voices, there are also considerable criticisms and opposing opinions. Many critics believe that letting an AI character appear on the cover of *Fashion COSMO* is purely a traffic hype act, and even a kind of disregard for real actors. After all, the issue of AI characters using face-splicing technology is a topic that cannot be skipped ever since AI short dramas became a hit.

Apart from these controversies, there is another set of figures that deserves more attention. According to data from the China Netcast Association, a total of 367,000 micro short dramas were launched on various platforms in the first half of 2026, of which AI short dramas accounted for more than 74%. This means that among the roughly 200,000 AI short dramas in the first half of the year, although many hit works have emerged, Fang Taozi is the only AI actor that has truly achieved cross-circle commercialization.

This means that no matter whether Fang Taozi's appearance on *Fashion COSMO* is regarded as hype or a trend, as the 1 in 200,000, she is already an industry signal that cannot be ignored, which effectively proves that virtual characters can have more commercial value and possibilities. However, beyond that, the industry may also need to further reflect on the vulnerability of AI celebrities in terms of ethics, law and public trust.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Star Capital Theory", written by Luo Lan, and authorized for release by 36Kr.