VIRTUAL SUPERMODEL BRINGS DIGITAL FASHION AESTHETIC TO LEXUS’ VIRTUAL INTERIOR

Shudu, the world’s first virtual supermodel, partners with Lexus to show off Ondrej Zunka’s futuristic virtual interior of the LF-Z Electrified Concept.

Last month, Lexus launched the Virtual Interiors series, a collaboration with three luminary designers to reimagine the interior of the LF-Z Electrified, a concept vehicle that embodies the future of the brand.  Now Lexus takes the series one step further, partnering with Shudu, the world’s first virtual supermodel, to bring the Virtual Interior to life.

Focusing on the hyper-futuristic interior imagined by digital artist Ondrej Zunka, Shudu was a natural fit to explore the space between reality and digital art.  Zunka’s design features space-age mechanisms, sci-fi materials and nods to artificial intelligence, yet it is rooted in the human experience.  Elegantly perched in the driver’s seat of Zunka’s re-envisioned LF-Z Electrified Concept, Shudu brings warmth and a human touch to the virtual design.

A pioneer in the virtual fashion space, Shudu is no stranger to real-world collaborations. She has modeled in campaigns for Ferragamo and Christian Louboutin and editorial features in Vogue Australia, Glamour Brasil and Harper’s Bazaar Arabia.  This is her second collaboration with Lexus, after last year’s Freedom to Move project which featured masks created by Nigerian architect Tosin Oshinowo and British textile designer Chrissa Amuah.

ABOUT THE LEXUS LF-Z ELECTRIFIED CONCEPT VIRTUAL INTERIORS | learn more

To celebrate the world premiere of the LF-Z Electrified, a battery electric concept vehicle symbolizing the brand’s next chapter, Lexus has partnered with three pioneering artists and designers to re-imagine the latest concept car’s interior. Star footwear designer Salehe Bembury, digital artist Ondrej Zunka and Japanese fashion label Hender Scheme bring virtually rendered interiors that reflect Lexus’ continued dedication to accelerating its electrified future.

Conceived as a platform for collaboration, the LF-Z Electrified Virtual Interior series brings together ambitious and innovative talent across a range of creative practices. The program introduces a new approach to design, a synergy between art, fashion, lifestyle, and technology that challenges the status quo of the automotive space. The collective of creatives, handpicked by Lexus, exemplifies the different aspects of Lexus’ core principles: future-inspired design, Japanese heritage and takumi craftsmanship, and an enhanced human-machine connection.

ABOUT ONDREJ ZUNKA | @ondrejzunka

Recognized for his imaginative 3D animations, Ondrej Zunka began experimenting with design and digital art out of disillusion with the Master of Economy and System Engineering degree he graduated with. After working with various esteemed design studios around the world, he’s now running his own design practice, zünc.studio, based in London as a Director and a 3D artist. Zunka creates speculative realities within his digital artworks which investigate notions of a surrealism, and his complex 3-D animations explore this play with reality in a futuristic spirit. He has applied his vision in creating work for brands including Nike, Jordan, PUMA, Apple, Burberry, MTV, Wacom and Prada.

ABOUT SHUDU | @shudu.gram

Strikingly beautiful and instantly captivating, a mysterious model named Shudu appeared on Instagram in 2017 and she had the world wondering who she was.  Shudu quickly attracted thousands of followers who wanted to know more about her identity. Who was this compelling woman and where did she come from? After some time, it became apparent that there was no Shudu. She was a digital fabrication created by a young fashion photographer named Cameron-James Wilson, an art project to inspire him in a new virtual medium. As Shudu’s platform has grown, writer Ama Badu has stepped in to provide her voice, and to create her story and background.

Cameron-James Wilson has become an industry leader in the 3D Fashion space, and is founder and CEO of the Diigitals, an agency that utilises the rising accessibility of new technologies and is taking the first steps into a new frontier of digital exploration. Acting as both a showroom to illustrate possibilities and a gallery where a portfolio of diverse digital identities can be appreciated, The Diigitals erases the boundaries between reality and digital, and represents a diverse roster of digital creations, each the result of collaboration between creator Wilson and real-life talent. Leading the charge into this new synthetic landscape is Shudu, the enigmatic and undeniably beautiful muse who’s inspiring a new generation of artists. She had the whole world captivated, and now she’s here to lead you to a place where fashion visuals have no limitation.