Miquela Sousa, or Lil Miquela, is a character which was created by Trevor McFedries and Sara DeCou. The project began in 2016 as an Instagram profile. The account details a fictional narrative which presents Miquela as a cgi character and model in conflict with other digital projects, while marketing a variety of brands, primarily in fashion. As a marketing tool, Lil Miquela has featured product endorsements for streetwear and luxury brands such as Calvin Klein and Prada. By April 2018, the account had amassed more than a million followers. As of June 2020, she has over 2.4 million followers.
Origins
The character Miquela is a teenaged Instagram model from Downey, California. Miquela's first Instagram post was made on April 23, 2016. British model Emily Bador was rumored to be Miquela; Bador openly acknowledged the physical similarity between herself and the character. In April 2018, Brud announced that it was the creator of both the character and the Instagram account.
Online presence
Miquela has been pictured with a number of celebrities including Diplo, Molly Soda, Millie Bobby Brown, Nile Rogers, Shane Dawson, Samantha Urbani and Pabllo Vittar. She has been interviewed and or profiled in a number of publications including Refinery29, Vogue, Buzzfeed, v-files, Nylon, the Guardian, Business of Fashion, and The Cut. She appeared on the cover of Highsnobiety in April 2018. In February 2018, Miquela did an Instagram takeover for Prada as part of Milan Fashion Week. On May 16, she did a Calvin Klein ad with Bella Hadid, in which both were animated. In April 2018, a second, similar character known as Bermuda "hacked" into Miquela's account, deleting all photos of Miquela and replacing them with photos of herself. Lil Miquela and Bermuda were then revealed to both be characters created by Trevor McFedries and Sara Decou of Brud. The two online personas then began posting pictures together, and eventually the account was again run by Miquela's team. This narrative positioned Miquela as a social justice activist, something considered problematic when seen in tandem with her use as a marketing tool.
Music career
Trevor McFedries, a cofounder of Brud, is a music producer and DJed known as Yung Skeeter. The use of Miquela as a virtual musician has been compared to Gorillaz and Hatsune Miku. In August 2017, Miquela released her first single, "Not Mine". Miquela has released several singles since her debut with "Not Mine," including "You Should be Alone," "Over You," “Right Back,” and a collaboration with Baauer titled "Hate Me." She released two new singles on 31 July called "Money" and "Sleeping In".
