Luxury and avatars: an experince of innovation?

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Glasgow Caledonian University,

British School of Fashion

Luxury and avatars: an experince of innovation?

T. Jackson Director,

United Kingdom

Annotation

Luxury fashion brands lead the design agenda for product and brand communications. The evolution of digital technologies, increased sophistication of visual imagery and growth in the use of virtual worlds and gaming present opportunities for luxury fashion to take a creative lead in digital brand engagement. The ability of consumers to download huge amounts of data very quickly means brands now have the opportunity to be more adventurous in working with digital design, especially in respect of aesthetics and complex 3D structures. Millennials and Gen Z are increasingly familiar with avatars through gaming and virtual world entertainment and some researchers believe that within ten years the entire Internet and the way we interact with the world will be dominated by virtual humans.

Keywords: luxury, fashion, design, avatar, 3D, virtual, worlds, digital, online, brand, immersive, clothing, influencer, Instagram, Lil Miqela, Noonoouri, Fabricant, Sims, Drest, Millennials, gaming, engagement, Prada, Gucci, Armani, Moschino.

Introduction

Brands within the luxury industry are synonymous with innovation and design leadership. From cars, to watches and clothing to accessories, products have been characterised by a number of elements including exquisite craft manufacture, highest quality or rare materials and leading conceptual design. The modern identities of most luxury fashion brands are rooted in the pioneering vision of their individual founders. That original vision and purpose of the founder typically drives the DNA of the modern luxury brand, a view articulated by Leonardo Ferragamo, Director of Salvatore Ferragamo when he explained the term heritage; “It's a direction. It's a framework for ideas, innovation, talent, style and vision. It starts withthe founder and is that personality, that vision that spreads throughout the organization and it becomes a philosophy. It is this philosophy that becomes a guiding light for thecompany and its ongoing evolution to becoming a brand”, [Jackson, 2015]. A luxury brand's heritage normally comprises their core competence and history, which combine to provide foundations for its strategic direction and brand story-telling opportunities.

Luxury has continued to lead design beyond product with ground breaking communications and advertising campaigns, which challenge social and cultural norms such as YSL's `LeSmoking' adverts in 1962. This philosophy has also applied to luxury store design over thelast 20 years as leading architects have collaborated with brands including Peter Marino for Chanel and Rem Koolhaas (OMA) for Prada.

We are now in a digital age where reality can be enhanced or even redefined through the use of technologies. Innovation and leadership in design is likely to be undertaken in a technology rich existence where Internet of Things (IoT) and the power of 5G networks facilitate an expansion of creative applications. Consumers' lifestyles and leisure activities are becoming ever more dependent on digital engagement of one sort or another and now 5G broadband will significantly raise expectations. We know that Millennials think digitally first and are open to new brands and experimentation and digital characters are used by young consumers to represent themselves in social media with Gucci's Genies and Snap's Bitmojis as examples.

3D virtual worlds

The use of 3D digital constructs, which are designed to replicate people and products is not a recent phenomenon in luxury and fashion. In fact, a small number of luxury brands experimented with such digital representations in the virtual world Second Life soon after its launch in 2003. By 2007 luxury brands were experimenting in different ways within that virtual world. Armani had a virtual store displaying digital versions of real world clothing in addition to a limited collection for sale to in-world avatars. At one point there was even a tour of the store with an avatar of Giorgio Armani himself. Similalrly, Hublot watches had a dedicated island to showing collections of super-sized watches, which enabled the brand to bring their products to a new segment of early adopter customers. The use of such branding strategies within a virtual world was referred to as Metabranding; in other words, taking real-world brand values and translating them into a virtual context. However, the sophistication of digital images at the time was limited and avatars tended to look unreal or exotic rather than human. In 2007 Prada enhanced their conceptual art and design brand positioning through a collaboration with art director James Lima by producing an avatar themed video called `Trembled Blossom'. Once again the avatars in it were not reflective of real people, but the video provided a spectacular piece of 3D storytelling to enhance Prada's brand DNA. The avatars used in that video had no human identity or personality.

Evolution of avatars and `avastars'

luxury fashion brand digital design

The use of avatars has expanded beyond video games as brands seek engagement with them in commercial relationships. Perhaps the most recognisable digital influencer currently used in luxury fashion is robot avatar Miquela Sousa, also known by her Instagram name Lil Miquela. Created as far back as 2016 by US tech business Brud, Lil Miquela has subsequently generated considerable discussion and debate about who or what `she' is. With over two million Instagram followers, the activity around the `is she or isn't she (real) mystery has raised the profile of the brands partnered with her. The humanisation of Lil Miquela has also evolved through images and video interactions with real people including bloggers and some celebrities. Lil Miquela promoted Prada's A/W 18/19 runway show and has also featured in a controversial Calvin Klein video kissing real-world model Bella Hadid. The more recent development of a relationship with a `real-world' boyfriend provided fans with the exciting gossip driven content associated with teenage relationships and so increasing both engagement and empathy with her. Other examples of avatars being used to mimic humans include Balmain's 2018 New Virtual Army of CGI avatars with human features and names; Margot, Shudu and ZHI. The three `models' are designed to look human and pragmatically reflect different racial profiles to have maximum appeal.

Both Ohanian's [1990] Celebrity Endorsement and Shrimp's TEARS [2010] models suggest that an influencer needs to be attractive, trusted and have credibility in the market segment they are focused on. In each of these respects Lil Miquela is able to represent brands, which in turn benefit from the halo effect of being associated with her. Then her values arecombined with the brands and transferred to the consumer, as in McCraken's Meaning Transfer Model [1989]. The emergence of avatars as digital characters with contemporary human lifestyle concerns and values is also represented by Noonoouri, although `she' was not created to appear human. Noonoouri is the realisation of a dream by creator Joerg Zuber and went live in February 2018 being assigned an age of 19years, the same as Lil Miquela. However, unlike Lil Miquela, Zuber has said that he will age Noonoouri. With 355, 000 followers on Instagram she defines herself as `cute, curious, and couture'. Noonoouri currently employs a team of seven people working on her hair, makeup, styling, and positions.

Zuber sees Noonoouri as an embodiment of a set of values and ambitions for change that he can shape. He is very transparent about using her to express his values, ideas and opinions which make the character quite distinct from Lil Miquela. Zuber explained; “I am the voice of her and in a way I am giving her the soul, which is very important for me. I think that's the difference between Noonoouri and other digital characters” [Zuber, 2019].

Despite modelling for Dior in the Ultra Rouge lipstick and 'backstage girls' beauty campaigns, Zuber clearly wants her to be more than just an animated digital character; “The reason why I gave her the soul is that I want her to be the voice of different kinds of social activities and I really want her to be heard. She has of course a lot of my visions and ideas and identity. So she is Vegan because

I am Vegan. It's more about issues that she is interested in rather than the brands” [Zuber, 2019].

Digital clothing

In many ways, media is the new creativity, or at least the range of digital technology adaptations is inspiring and enabling new kinds of creativity. In the same way that Bitcoin provides a conceptual, creative and actual alternative to actual cash, so digital clothing and accessories are complementing real world fashion.

The Fabricant is one of the first digital only fashion houses, which produces fashion clothing specifically in a digital only form. Describing themselves on their website; “We are creative technologists pioneering new challenges for human connection and self-expression.” This is consistent with expressing a personal style or fashion statement using real world clothing although the audience maybe more select. In 2019 a US based CEO bought a Fabricant dress, costing $9,500, for his wife. The digital design was rendered onto an image of his wife, the final image then being available for use across digital and social media. It's adifferent kind of ownership that achieves for an individual a very similar outcome to real- world fashion. Although not currently a recognised luxury brand, The Fabricant is reminiscent of a Couture maison where the creations are unique, require skilled craft manufacture and command a high price. In fact, like Haute Couture, The Fabricant's digital artefacts resemble art and are likely to appreciate in value as does much digital art.

In 2019 The Sims 4 featured digital clothing items from luxury fashion brand Moschino through a collaboration with creative director Jeremy Scott. The digital range followed on from Sims themed real clothing sold in Moschino stores. The collaboration enabled the relatively small luxury fashion brand, which had around 60m Euros revenue turnover in 2018, to access up to 20 million unique Sims players. While the majority would not be current customers the collaboration certainly builds brand awareness and engagement with potential future consumers and supports the brand's quirky brand identity from such a trendy tech partnership.

Other digital fashion brands, such as Norwegian company Carlings, also produce and sell items for consumers who wish to display themselves as digitally styled within particular online environments, including games and across social media. This form of digital fashion expression across various social contexts allows an individual to achieve similar social recognition offered by fashion brands but with no physical item and so in a more sustainable way. The monetising of digital fashion for use on personal avatars or images can therefore provide clear revenue opportunities for brands as modern societies grapple with the idea of `de-growth' and pressures to reduce production and consumption of physical products.

Gaming

Gaming has helped establish avatars as familiar vehicles for individuals to express their personal identities with players being able to customise `skins' on their avatars. However, there is an almost philosophical debate about the difference between engagement within a virtual world and online gaming. Games suggest a specific purpose with start and end points and some sort of objective. By contrast virtual worlds, such as The Sims and Second Life, have more engagement which is social and continuous rather than competitive and punctuated by timed objectives and skill requirements. The overlap is that they are both means of entertainment and enjoyed in social groups. Fashion is a familiar vehicle for people to express personal identities to friends and among social groups and this clearly also occurs in virtual worlds and multiplayer online role player games (MORPG).

In Asia, entrepreneur Adrian Cheng believes that gaming and the use of avatars are only going to become more prevalent as younger generations increasingly employ or play with digital characters; “Companies are already looking into Alpha Gen in China or Asia and it's all about Virtual Reality and also about online gaming. So the paradigm shift now in Asia is about how online gaming experiences can influence the consumer”, [Jackson, 2019].

Now avatars can take on more realistic human forms, with their own identities, personalities and sets of values, so they can be positioned to appeal to specific segments of luxury consumers. Equally people can customise their own avatars, which provides immersive experience opportunities for brand engagement.

It is expected that digital influencers will become more common and integrated into consumers' decision making in the future. Dudley Nevill-Spencer, Director Virtual Influencer Agency explained; “I predict the entire Internet and the way we interact with the world, will be dominated by virtual humans in 10 years”, [Ward, 2020]. Crucially HypeAuditor, digital research company, reveals that virtual influences on Instagram have approximately three times the engagement rate of real-world people influences [2020]. Also in Q4 of 2019, 70% of digital influences saw their followers grow [HypeAuditor, 2020]. By 2025 the Millennial generation is expected to represent the largest consumer generational segment for luxury goods, with Gen Z close to joining the market. There are clear opportunities for luxury brands to extend their design leadership positions into the digital, virtual and immersive worlds and so retain their creative and trend setting reputations.

Luxury brands need to lead in the application of technology and take advantage of Millennial and Gen Z consumers desires to experiment and play with 3D computer simulations including the use of avatars and digital characters. Consumers and some brands are already reimagining the essence and value of fashion and luxury products and redefining their relationships. However, it's fair to question at what point does the novelty wear offand an influencer avatar become over exposed through too many brand associations? If the avatar is here to stay as a versatile communications tool for consumers, then may be brands need to develop their own.

References

1. Jackson T. “Hard Luxury: Conde Nast International Luxury Conference.” Consumer Trends, Stylus.com. Florence, April 21-23, 2015.

2. Jackson T. “Luxury in Flux”. The Business of Luxury Summit. Financial Times. Madrid, 19-21 May, 2019.

3. McCracken G. “Who Is the Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations of the Endorsement Process”. Journal of Consumer Research. Volume 16. December, 1989. Issue 3.

4. Ohanian R. “Construction and Validation of a Scale to Measure Celebrity Endorser's Perceived Expertise, Trustworthiness and Attractiveness”. Journal of Advertising. 19 (3). 1990.

5. Shrimp T. “IMC in Advertising and Promotion”, South Western Cengage Learning, 2010.

6. Ward C. “Rise of The Avatars”, Pop Culture & Media, Stylus.com, 21 January, 2020.

7. Zuber J. Conference Speech, Conde Nast International, Cape Town - South Africa, 10-11 April, 2019.

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