CGI models are the latest eccentric craze in the world of fashion. Stylish android Miquela is a hit on Instagram, nearing a million followers over just 11 weeks. Virtual models may only exist behind the screen, but that doesn’t stop them getting places in magazine editorials and make-up ads. One even walked the runway for Milan Fashion Week earlier this year. But what do CGI models mean for fashion. Are they the face of the future or a threat to hard-working human models?

It can be argued that CGI faces like Nfon, Shudu, and Miquela are nothing new. “Discovering new models with interesting features is a big part of fashion, and now the possibilities are endless”, writes Dominic Cadogan for Dazed. Indeed, Chanel and Louis Vuitton have used robots and video game characters in past campaigns. Are digital models a threat to the real thing? Dominic doesn’t think so, noting that “e-commerce sites have photoshopped clothes onto digital bodies for years – but from catwalks to campaigns, actual models still get hired”.

Dazed staff writer Kemi Alemoru disagrees. She opines, “Some… think the likes of Lil Miquela and Shudu are a clever comment on...the fashion industry’s obsession with perfection”, she muses. “However, there’s a danger that this is just another vehicle for brands to cash in on what is popular without having to give props and jobs to POC [people of colour]”. She wrapped up her argument by saying “your CGI imitations only prove that you love the looks of POC, but not the reality of us”.