Well, things certainly are in a process of constant change, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our love of good stories. We all love a great story!  Great movies are built around them, great novels and so too – great brands. And the fashion world is no different – defined by its ability, or perhaps, mission – to push boundaries – hard. But how hard is too hard? Is there a limit?

Earlier this year Louis Vuitton, unveiled the star of their spring summer advertising campaign – and that star was not a human. Brainchild of Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director at the fashion powerhouse, we welcomed Lightning, a fictional heroic, pink-haired figure from the hugely popular video game Final Fantasy XIII, who has sass, power and bags of personality. She is also immensely beautiful in an almost perfect way.

The consequential rumblings that human models may one day face the chopping block in favour of VR models were almost necessary.

With all the rumblings around this, we might be under the impression that using non-human models was a first for fashion. The truth is however, that it wasn’t, and neither was it a first for pink-haired Lightning. She had in fact, previously graced the pages of Japanese men’s fashion mag Arena Homme Plus, donning looks from Prada’s 2012 spring collection, alongside other Fantasy XIII-2 cast members.

And…..years earlier, 2006 saw Alexander McQueen projecting a hologram of Kate Moss for his fall show. Yes, thats right – a hologram of a real human! Since then Burberry, H&M, Topman, Forever 21, Ralph Lauren and Guess have all been among the brands that have experimented with VR or holographic models. In fact, a study published in 2014 in the International Journal of Fashion Design goes as far as to suggest that some day, holograms could actually replace human models (Harper’s Bazaar)

To support the trend, innovators and Tech firms are creating a range of tools for the production of avatars and holograms.  London-based Kino-Mo, aims to make holograms more affordable. And, just earlier this year Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveiled a 3D scanning booth that can create animated and dressed 3D models in minutes.

So – is this something that fashion needs to prepare for? 

Well, it might make total economic sense to some, top that off with not having to put up with mood swings and fainting episodes relegated to over worked models, and it might seem even more “fitting” (couldn’t resist the pun). The change in how brands are choosing to use technologies such as periscope, and VR glasses, lends even greater plausibility to the concept that perhaps, one day we will be faced with a slew of fictional characters on virtual catwalks.

But why should this surprise us? For years the fashion world has turned to actors and actresses to showcase their creations. Does it even matter whether that is a fictional or real character?

Should it come as any surprise then that storytellers have been experimenting with digital platforms and the fashion world as far back as 2003? Probably not.

Meet Franz Cerami, creator of Miss Digital World a project that in 2003 was the focus of  plenty of rumblings of its own, catching the attention of CNN and Reuters and even Santo Versace, Co-CEO of the Versace empire.

Franz is an artist who has dedicated his life to mastering the art of storytelling. He is also Professor of Digital Storytelling and Cutural Heritage at University Suor Orsola Benincasa Napoli.

The first edition of Miss Digital World saw submissions from 3600 digital artists from around the world. The inspiration – the representation of identity – using technology as a platform. The astounding success of Miss Digital World spurred Franz to create the Miss Digital World Calendar in 2007.

I asked Franz for his take on things. On the use of Lightning as a model for Louis Vuitton, Franz personally prefers a model of augmented reality, based on true and human beauty and identity. However, he acknowledges that virtual or not, what exists at the core of this, as always, is a great story.  As long as a story can be believed in, or offers a possibility which meets a need, there is a potential for engagement. “The need is always the same” says Franz. He likens this to our love of pirate stories. “The pirate is part of us”.

Miss Digital World, in fact was won by chilean Katty Ko, based on Katty Kowaleczko, actress of the South American soap opera Passion. Already hugely popular – this fictional character had a “story” as represented by her identity in the soap opera Passion.

So….. though clearly we may not all aspire to be pirates, or Lightning (if there are any Final Fantasy fans reading this) there is a need in many of us for the qualities of courage, power and sass that are represented by these characters.

What so for the current focus of digital storytelling and modelling?

“The focus for storytelling today” Franz says “should be not so much on the technology but on creating open stories, where people are invited to jump in. Technology in itself cannot create emotion, we need technology to create the language of storytelling.”

While we’re all pretty clear on what technology can now offer in terms of  immersive platforms for brand engagement across the board. And, we all enjoy the speculation on how these platforms will be put to use, what remains unchanged is the purpose, and that purpose is creating engagement via emotional connection and great storytelling.

So….. while it may be plausible that virtual models and fictional characters may become more widespread in the fashion world, that probably isn’t a question that should warrant the number of raised eyebrows that it has. What really matters most is the story behind those characters, and the story behind the brand.