Recently, supermodel Bella Hadid and another model took a group of advertisements, causing an uproar. The two people behave in a pro-controversy, causing controversy. They are considered to be deliberately queerbaiting by netizens. Brand party Calvin Klein later issued an apology statement. In addition to attack advertising relying on LGBTQ group marketing to profit, some of the comments also accused the brand to use the “not old face” model to materialize women.
The freckle girl in the ad, Lil Miquela, is a newcomer to the fire in recent years. In 2016, social media was launched. The number of Ins fans for freckles is now 1.5 million. She claims to be a model and music artist from Ins, from Downey, California. Unlike traditional models, she never has to worry about getting older or getting fat.
The secret lies in that nicknamed “small freckles” is not a human being at all, but an avatar that is “made”.
How could it be fake?
Small freckles look imperfect, with round noses and thick lips, small freckles on the head and two small hairpins. She claims to be a hybrid of Brazil and Spain and currently lives in Los Angeles. Only three years after his debut, he has already appeared on the cover of the magazine and has also endorsed the brand. In her social activities, she attended the Coachella Music Festival and watched Beyonce’s performance. On the Internet, she also expressed her support for transgender rights. Isn’t this a “net red” thing?
Her redness makes people look around. It was discovered that, like her, there are still many avatars coming out of the digital world. It has already set off a boom in the network. The pink short hair Imma from Japan, with the sweetness of Asian girls; the temperament of the blonde girl Bermuda, and freckles are good friends; Noonoouri in Paris, with dreamy Kazi Lan eyes… even the white-haired KFC grandfather has made a big fuss. The old grandfather turned into a sexy and awkward young colonel, known as “Saunders.”
On the other hand, a group of brands, Prada, Fendi, Gucci, Burberry … competed with the virtual network red, and invited them to attend the show. China’s Tmall luxury platform also reached its first cooperation with Nunu last year, inviting her to participate in the art exhibition of Valentino. Netizens have eaten melons and lamented that they “have not even lived as virtual nets.”
Business behind the mask
When you click on the freckled social media homepage, you can see that she is no different from ordinary fashion bloggers. She is almost the favorite partner of all the big fashion brands, and the published blog posts are easy to praise, and the influence is obvious.
If it wasn’t at the end of last year that her Ins was hacked and debunked her “non-human” status, she might not announce her “inhuman life. When the news came out, netizens blew open the nest: this clothing is explosive, and All major brands and stars have cooperated in shooting albums, and they have not sent people a variety of food pictures!
After the wind, small freckles are still the most sought-after net red. In her current social media personal homepage, the new label “Robot” has become the most vinegar. The popularity of small freckles is believed to open a new era of artificial intelligence on social platforms. She was named one of the 25 most influential world-class “net reds” in 2018 by Time Magazine, and was also selected for Trump and Rihanna.
However, because of the appearance, the creator of Shudu, Cameron Wilson, has caused fierce controversy. Two years ago, Shu Du made his debut with a group of golden neck rings. This black female model has perfect black skin, exquisite facial features, slender figure, and countless people commenting on her beauty.
Younger KFC grandfather, pink hair Imma, big head Nunu and “cosmic virtual net red” small freckles are friends of Bermuda, and Arita, who caused people to talk because of too big eyes, and people have produced more More true emotional connections.
The wave of praise turned after Wilson’s interview with Fashion Bazaar. In the interview, Wilson clarified that Shu Du is a virtual model created by him. And people seem unable to accept the appearance of a perfect black woman from the white male mind, and even some netizens criticized his work to satisfy the “fantasy of black men as a white male.” Wilson responded to the storm, he regarded Shudu as a piece Pure art, and as an artist, he is happy to see the debate brought about by this “artwork”.
Regardless of the wait, it is a fact that Shudu is the first person in the digital supermodel. At present, Shudu is not only popular, but also won the endorsement of Rihanna’s personal brand Fenty Beauty, while the French fashion house Balmain officially announced last year that the 2018 autumn and winter fashion will be handed over to Shudu, Margot (Caucasian) & Zh (Yellow). The “SHE” endorsement of CGI models. Shuau’s road has gone further and further.
Real and virtual boundaries
Why do we like cartoon characters, but we can’t say a lot about the feelings of “virtual net red”?
Japanese robot expert Mori Masahiro proposed the theory of terror valley. His hypothesis is that since robots and humans are similar in appearance/action, humans will have positive emotions on robots; but when the degree of similarity reaches a certain level, human response to robots suddenly becomes extremely negative. The rejection of the Terror Valley theory has psychologically set the bottom line for people’s acceptance of virtuality, but perhaps before reaching this visually intuitive rejection effect, people have begun to resist the confusion between virtual and reality.
In the public, the virtual network red that has been advertised as “people” has recently been tried in the deeper “humanity”: Bermuda is a good friend of small freckles. The blonde girl who did not hide her personality was full of drama for the first time. She took the account of black freckles as a prelude and staged an Internet war between virtual nets. She has a hot temper and has the courage to express her emotions in time. It is believed that she is indeed such a character. In the opposite direction, she has also gained a wave of fans.
In May, Russian artists Ellen Sheidlin and Imma released a set of photos with the theme “When humans run into robots.” In the photo, the real artist makes himself a robot image, and the real virtual girl is the same as the real person.
Seeing is believing, it seems to be no longer applicable in the digital age.
In the Internet age, technology has repeatedly refreshed people’s acceptance of virtuality. Pin-up social Zepeto brush screen friends circle; “The Sims” game is all the rage; you can even use “Chinese-style parents” online to raise the baby. Moreover, the creators’ expansion of the virtual network red activity space has long exceeded the scope of fashion: planning the virtual network red social platform, “reducing” the life track, trying to create more real emotional connection with people. These actions have made the virtual network red itself have the right to speak, and more importantly, they seem to have a part of the “person” personality.
The future megatrends show the obvious advantages of virtual net reds than real people net red: no physical fitness can control the body, no personal problems cause people to collapse, marketing convenience reduces brand cost… the boundary step backwards, people think, virtual Will it be one of the alternative models for future survival?
And the seemingly eternal Sims, for the enthusiastic followers, still have the meaning of growth?
