Fashion’s first virtual Instagram influencer

Miquela Sousa is an influencer like any other, except for one big difference – she’s a virtual avatar that exists only online.

She rocks Supreme, Prada and Chanel, and attends exclusive events with other influencers. But she’s isn’t real in the traditional sense of the word.

She is 19, half Brazilian, half Spanish and based in Los Angeles. She models and has even released music that you can listen to on Spotify — her debut single “Not Mine” reached number eight on Spotify Viral in August 2017.

Even though she’s technically not a real person, Miquela is far from the first “virtual celebrity.”

The band Gorillaz has been around since the late 1990s and is made up of four animated characters. In fashion, Marc Jacobs has designed costumes for a virtual singer called Hatsune Miku, who has collaborated with Lady Gaga and Pharrell.

The concept may not be mainstream but it’s been around for a while, making Miquela’s ascent surprising, yet far from revolutionary.

Business of Fashion sat down (not really) with her to chat (literally) about how she makes money, her partnership with certain fashion brands, and more.

The hot picks of this virtual interview are the following :

“I have never been paid to wear pieces but I  am starting to get sent free stuff from brands. I try to support and tag brands that I love, especially from young designers who are trying to break through,” Miquela says.

Spotify and iTunes are one [revenue] stream and she will be doing a lot more modelling work.

Some of the biggest agencies in the world have reached out. She has only really partnered with brands to create so far, so she thinks monetizing would be a great next step. “Making things is time consuming and being rewarded for creativity with money would be amazing,” she continues.

Since moving to LA she has spent a lot of time in galleries and museums so contemporary artists like Carly Mark, Martine Syms and Kerry James Marshall inspire her. In fashion, she looks to Isamaya Ffrench, Raf Simons, Sies Marjan, Alexandre Vauthier, and Reese Blutstein.

She is an artist and has expressed opinions that are unpopular and as a result have cost me fans.

“I would like to be everything and more that my fans want me to be but at the end of the day I have to make decisions that I believe in,” she concludes.