Ruby Gloom
Influencers have become essential to digital marketing in recent years. Nowadays, we even have virtual influencers whose image and persona are built by a team of creators. If you’re fans of Lil Miquela, Aoi Prism, Imma, and Liam Nikuro, you’re going to LOVE Ruby Gloom!
Before becoming a virtual influencer and digital artist, Hong Kong-based Ruby Gloom was a stylist, fashion blogger, and style icon—long story short, Ruby was an influencer before influencers were a thing! She became a familiar face on Tumblr and Instagram alongside fellow influencers Andi Autumn, Eva Pinkland, and Amber Man. Heavily inspired by Japanese street fashion, Ruby and her friends incorporated a plethora of staple kawaii colours like pink, purple and blue, Sailor Moon motifs, and cute wigs and accessories, into their style. In August 2014, Ruby launched WeeGirlsClub, a clothing brand inspired by Chinese culture, the digital world, and female empowerment. The tagline on her site reads: “WEE GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!” And her much appreciated Cyndi Lauper reference points to the real spirit of this brand—women should be free to enjoy fashion in whatever way they want regardless of age and race.
Fast forward to 2020 and Ruby one of the most talked-about digital 3D artists in Hong Kong! Ruby has created a virtual version of herself on Instagram and amassed a devoted following of 72.4k. Virtual Ruby Gloom is just like you or me… minus the jet-set lifestyle. She’s a street style gal who has tattoos, loves bell-bottoms, and prefers platform sneakers over heels. She wakes up at noon, smokes cigarettes, does photoshoots, attends fashion events, and hangs out with her boyfriend and friends.
Ruby’s work has been featured on media platforms like Tokyo Kawaii TV, Dazed & Confused, VICE, Vogue, Hypebae, and more. And let’s not forget the avatar she created for the Fashion Farm Foundation. As a 90’s girl, Ruby’s work is heavily influenced by cyberpunk, the 90’s, and Y2K. Her style is coveted by the who’s who of street fashion and high fashion. Top collaborations include Fendi’s F is for… campaign, which involved recreating signature Fendi pieces with Ruby’s digital art.
Ruby’s portfolio is versatile but one thing remains the same: Ruby never tries to present herself as an ideal. Humans have a rigid idea of what makes something or someone beautiful; to Ruby, everyone is unique because of their flaws and imperfections and the virtual world is the perfect place for diversity to flourish. So Ruby creates avatars to reflect that diversity—different skin tones, wrinkles, freckles, pimples, and all the good stuff that makes us “real” as opposed to “perfect”. Ruby hopes to bring her avatars to life in the future, and expand her company, Bakerie Entertainment, which specializes in CGI production. The future is bright, the future is Ruby Gloom.
Written by Vania.
Images courtesy of @rubyrubygloom via Instagram.