Twitter Is Freaking OUT Over Shudu, The CGI Dark-Skinned Model Used To Promote Fenty Beauty
When Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty cosmetic line hit the shelves, makeup lovers and beauty bloggers alike were shook by the collection’s 40-shade foundation base that promised the inclusion of shades and colors for ALL skin tones.
Alongside the integrity of the product itself, the success of the beauty brand relied heavily on its social media marketing approach–a headline-making, hashtag-spawning outreach spearheaded by the Internet’s most-talked about new model–Shudu.
While her stunning snaps gained recognition within an industry that shows little representation for dark-skinned individuals, it was soon revealed that the portraits taking social media by storm were actually 3D images created by British photographer Cameron-James Wilson.
Meet Cameron-James Wilson
Cameron-James Williams is a London-based British photographer and the man behind Shudu, aka the world’s first digital supermodel. Building off of his years of experience working in the fashion industry, Williams used his self-taught 3D design skills to create the entirely fictional Instgram model.
“I’d much rather just go off on my own and explore and learn things visually rather than being taught and told to do things that were extremely irrelevant to what I wanted to do,” said Williams, hinting at the motivation behind crossing over from fashion into digital design.
Source: https://www.isiuwa.com/news/shudugram
The Birth Of Shudu
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Shudu, an Instagram model with flawless dark skin capitvated audiences almost immediately after her Instagram feed went live.
Prompting countless reposts of her editorial-styled shoots with the trending #Melanin hashtag, Shudu quickly became an icon for complexions normally rejected by mainstream fashion publications.
However, suspicions mounted when fans noticed that her entire feed was dominated by pictures taken from one single photographer, Cameron-James Wilson.
Fenty Beauty
When Fenty Beauty’s official Instagram page uploaded an image of Shudu wearing the lipstick shade Saw-C, the digital model’s viral fame skyrocketed even higher than before. Fans of the inclusive product line took to Twitter to praise Shudu’s striking portrait.
“Fenty beauty tagged shudu and i feel so proud,” wrote one supporter.
Source: https://twitter.com/bellasadeghi_/status/961865969625808898
The Big Reveal
Shortly after Shudu snagged the title of hot-at-the-moment model, it was revealed that she was actually not human at all, and a 100% computer-generated image.
“I didn’t know at the time but in creating her it really helped me to deal with things that I was going through at the time,” said Wilson, revealing his thought process behind bringing Shudu to life.
“Feeling out of touch with my own work, underappreciated and that I had talent but I didn’t know what to do with it.”
Source: https://www.isiuwa.com/news/shudugram