Vogue World Robot Runway Backlash: Why Fans Slammed Lasso-Dancing Robots in Milan

TL;DR

• Vogue World Milan put Chinese-made Unitree humanoid robots on the runway for a lasso-dancing routine set to L'Amour Toujours, sparking instant boos and viral backlash online.
• Fashion fans slammed the stunt as a tone-deaf gimmick that disrespected Italian craftsmanship, human models, and Milan's Made in Italy heritage.
• The revolt highlights a growing fault line in fashion: tech spectacle versus artistry, authenticity, and jobs.

What Actually Happened on the Catwalk

Vogue World arrived in Milan with a promise to celebrate 130 years of Italian cinema and fashion. The open-air show closed Milan Fashion Week with A-list models, Cinecitta-inspired sets, and live performances in front of thousands of fans.

Then came the robots.

Midway through the finale, a troupe of Chinese-made Unitree humanoid robots marched onto the runway dressed in cowboy-inspired looks — denim, fringe, wide-brim hats, and boots. Programmed to swing lassos in sync, they performed a stiff, stomping line-dance routine while Gigi D'Agostino's L'Amour Toujours blasted over the speakers.

The segment was billed as a playful nod to spaghetti westerns and Italian comedy westerns, with human dancers in matching outfits trying to hype up the crowd. Instead, videos from the front row show confused silence, scattered boos, and audience members holding up phones in disbelief. Within hours, clips of the wobbly, lasso-twirling robots racked up millions of views on TikTok, X, and Instagram.

Why L'Amour Toujours and Lassos Set Off the Internet

On paper, the song choice made sense. L'Amour Toujours is a staple at Italian parties and football celebrations, an unofficial anthem of summer nights. Paired with lassos, Vogue's creative team apparently wanted campy, meme-ready fun.

Online, it landed very differently.

Fashion fans called the routine cringe, embarrassing, and cheap. Many Italian commenters said using a beloved national dance anthem to soundtrack machines felt insulting, especially at an event meant to honor Italian culture. Others mocked the robots' jerky movements, comparing them to wind-up toys and theme-park animatronics rather than high fashion.

The lasso detail made it worse. Critics asked what American rodeo cosplay had to do with Milan, with some calling it a confused stereotype that reduced Italian cinema to a spaghetti-western joke. Memes quickly dubbed it the lasso-dancing robot circus.

The Made in Italy Problem

The core of the backlash wasn't just that the stunt was awkward. It was where it happened.

Milan is the global capital of sartoria, of ateliers, pattern-makers, seamstresses, leather workers, and family-run factories. Vogue World Milan was explicitly marketed as a love letter to Italian craftsmanship. To put robots — not Italian artisans, not emerging Italian designers, not veteran supermodels — center stage felt like a betrayal to many viewers.

Comments flooded in: Why fly in Chinese robots to celebrate Italian fashion? Why give runway time to machines when young models and craftspeople struggle for visibility? In a country where Made in Italy is both an economic engine and a cultural identity, the optics of replacing humans with foreign-made tech struck a nerve.

Fashion insiders echoed the sentiment, arguing the segment turned a celebration of human skill into a tech demo.

Tech Gimmick vs. Runway Innovation

This isn't fashion's first robot moment. Coperni had Boston Dynamics' Spot robots walk its Paris show in 2023, and various brands have experimented with drones, AI models, and robot arms. But those moments were framed as design-forward experiments.

Vogue World's version felt different, critics say, because it had no real fashion purpose. The robots didn't showcase innovative construction or futuristic textiles — they just danced badly in costumes. For tech watchers, it also underscored how far humanoids still are from graceful, human-like movement, despite hype from Unitree and other Chinese robotics firms racing to go viral.

Supporters argue Vogue was just trying to be playful and reach a younger, TikTok-native audience. Vogue has not apologized, framing the show as a celebration that mixes cinema, music, and pop culture. Unitree, for its part, has leaned into the attention, reposting clips of its G1 and H2 humanoids performing.

What the Backlash Reveals

The revolt over the lasso-dancing robots is about more than one awkward performance. It captures three anxieties colliding at once.

First, fear of replacement. With AI models, CGI campaigns, and humanoids advancing fast, models, stylists, and artisans worry about being sidelined for cheaper, controversy-free machines.

Second, authenticity fatigue. After years of gimmicky brand activations, audiences are craving real craft, real bodies, and real stories — especially in Italy, where luxury is sold on heritage and handwork.

Third, national pride. Holding the stunt in Milan, the heart of Made in Italy, turned a silly skit into a symbolic debate: should fashion's biggest stage uplift human masters or chase viral tech moments?

The internet's verdict was clear. Viewers didn't want robots doing the two-step to L'Amour Toujours. They wanted Italy.

AndroGuider Team

Articles written by the AndroGuider team. We try to make them thorough and informational while being easy to read.