Even though filters were first created on the ephemeral photos and videos sharing app Snapchat, it's on Instagram that they have evolved to become true works of art. Offering the possibility to create a virtual identity and environment using augmented reality, the filter is now at the heart of a socio-cultural phenomenon. An opportunity for fashion brands to expand their respective worlds beyond a tangible environment and mere products by developing their own filters.
Gucci was one of the first to design a filter, allowing its users to dress up in an 18th century style wig. Now its library includes I See You, a versatile filter that gives the user a headdress decorated with the "GG" logo, and Eyes-o-Matic, featuring a robot that does the makeup of your virtual self.
This fun way of creating a link between a brand and a potential customer is also being employed by Prada. Following the theme of its Summer 2020 campaign, the label developed Acronyms: A filter that allows you to discover your "Current Prada Mood" according to the letters that compose the brand's name. Examples include "Potential Romance Always Deserves Attention" or "Perfect Realists And Dreamers Alike". Following this entertaining trend, Victoria Beckham's filter lets you find out which "version" of her we are, from the "CEO" to the "Spice Girl " and the "Fitness Addict", while on Versace's profile, Optical Medusa revisits the brand's logo.
Other filters, such as those created by Balmain, Jacquemus, or jewellery designer Alan Crocetti, offer the possibility to play virtual dress-up. They allow brands to make their products momentarily accessible to everyone so that we can visualise ourselves with their signature products, whether it's a nose ring in the shape of a band-aid, a BBuzz handbag or the latest sunglasses. Of course, a large number of unofficial filters created by Instagram users themselves can be found alongside this official compilation, often featuring the logos of popular brands such as Off-White or Balenciaga. Can we turn our faces into fashion items?
