Virtual Angelababy Slays at Dior Show At Shanghai Fashion Week

Chinese megastar Angelababy launched a virtual version of herself at a star-studded Dior Pre-Fall 2021 show at this year’s Shanghai Fashion Week on Tuesday.

While there was a host of real life celebrities, including everyone from stalwart stars such as Zhang Ziyi to newcomers such as THE9’s “tomboy” leader Liu Yuxin, it was Angelababy’s digital double — entitled Angela 3.0 — who was among the most intriguing attendees.

Why 3.0? Turns out there’s already an Angelababy 2.0, although she’s an unendorsed host on Douyin, China’s TikTok. The 3.0 version meanwhile is rather a resplendent digital representation of the original idol and was all over Dior’s online presentations of the SFW show for Chinese audiences.

A screengrab of Angela 3.0’s Weibo account

Wearing a red leopard-print top, a glitter-festooned dress, and holding the brand’s iconic new Dior Caro handbag, Angela 3.0 went for sleek sophistication with a dazzling outfit that generated some well-deserved buzz — while also adding a touch of cyberpunk by showing off a few flashes of her animated automatron side.

As the first Chinese brand ambassador of the French luxury fashion house, the real life Angelababy also took to social media to echo the major theme of Dior’s Shanghai show, which drew inspirations from pop art and space-age futurism in a disco-inspired scene.

This is not the first time that Angelababy has made headlines for dabbling in the virtual idol world. In September last year, she rocked China’s first-ever virtual influencer variety show Dimension Nova, appearing as a human judge on the bizarre virtual idol contest.

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In recent years, the virtual idol phenomenon has become increasingly prominent in China’s entertainment and fashion spaces, following the appearance of the country’s first homegrown virtual influencer in early 2019.

While popular TV shows such as Dimension Nova have helped this trend to pick up speed, the introduction of digital idol brand endorsements in the ecommerce space has accelerated its commercialization and fueled its growth.

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Included as part of the official calendar of Shanghai Fashion Week, Dior’s show in Shanghai was hosted at the Long Museum art space in the city’s West Bund district on April 12.

In what was one of the first offline fashion weeks in 2021 this year, Shanghai Fashion Week AW21 came to a close on April 13 after featuring a diverse selection of programs including catwalks and trade shows across the city, more of which you can see below:

5 Key Takeaways From Shanghai Fashion Week AW21

Cover Image: Depositphotos