Style influencers who don’t exist: Is virtual the new real?
As fashion industry around the globe tries to embrace diversity — to do with colour, size and even thoughts — there is a rise in fashion influencers who are changing the meaning of ‘keeping it real’. Meet Shudu Gram, a beautiful dark-skinned ‘supermodel’ who enjoys a following of over 90,000 fans on Instagram. But hey, it’s 2018! So what’s so unusual about a black model making it big?
The fact that she doesn’t actually exist. Shudu is a creation of a London-based photog Cameron-James Wilson. He created the model with sheer use of his creativity, and of course, CGI (computergenerated imagery). Like any other fashion influencer/ blogger, Shudu has also done some brand collabs, modelled in (virtual renditions) of branded clothes and even showed off her love for Rihanna’s beauty line. The reaction? Well, her followers seem divided. An Insta user, Lizzi, comments: “I understand that people are trying to experiment with technology but if it’s about meeting the request for dark skin models there are plenty...”
But, Shudu is not the only one. There is also Lil Miquela, who has 875K followers and the coveted ‘verified symbol’. Be it playing a muse for iconic makeup artist Pat McGrath, giving interviews to magazines or raising funds for social causes, Miquela has done it all. But, can the virtual models replace the real deal?
“The trend is cool. I love the realism. [But] it’s unlikely; humans are far more evolved,” says designer Nida Mahmood. At the same time, designer Anand Bhushan, who has been following Miquela for long now, says, “It adds a fantasy angle [to fashion modelling].”