The three women gazing into the camera in an advert for French luxury label Balmain look like they could fit in at any high-end shoot, but Shudu, Margot and Zhi are “digital models” whose rise is dividing the fashion world.
The computer-generated trio at the centre of Balmain’s new campaign is the latest example of fashion brands embracing technology to lure digital-savvy younger clients.
Best known of the three is Shudu, a black digital model created by visual artist Cameron-James Wilson last year. She has her own Instagram account with 145,000 followers which describes her as “the world’s first digital supermodel”. Modelling