Fans of Rhode makeup and Hunter boots might have gotten their hopes up this week — only to be let down — if they spotted the AI images on social media depicting a collaboration between the beauty brand and the footwear brand.
The AI mockups, including photos and video created by @claure_studio, showcase Hunter’s classic rubber rain boots in Rhode makeup-inspired shades, plus an extra detail that’s strongly associated with Hailey Bieber’s beauty brand: a slot to hold lipgloss was added to the boot shaft. Rhode is known for phone cases that can carry its peptide lip treatment, a fact that is even in one of Justin Bieber’s songs. (“That’s my baby, she’s iconic/iPhone case, lip gloss on it.”)
While the photos were convincing and viral memes joked about the concept of putting lip gloss on a boot, a quick Google search verifies that the collaboration isn’t real. The original posts from @claure_studio were labeled as AI, though other accounts picked up the photos and further circulated them around the internet — and not all posts labeled them as AI, leading to commenters engaging with the content as if it showcased a real product. FN has reached out to Rhode and Hunter for comment on the mockup.
Hunter, which celebrates its 170th anniversary this year and is fresh off a reunion with Kate Moss, does engage in real collaborations with other brands. In 2026, they released another limited-edition collection with LoveShackFancy and teamed up with the Copenhagen-based brand Ganni. Rhode, on the other hand, has created pimple patches with Justin Bieber but hasn’t made a collaborative collection with a fashion brand as of yet. The brand launched in 2022 and has since been acquired by E.l.f. Beauty in a $1 billion deal.