Virtual model Lucy to sell artworks through live commerce show

[Courtesy of Lotte Homeshopping]

SEOUL -- Lucy, a 29-year-old virtual model created by the home shopping channel of South Korea's conglomerate Lotte, will appear in a live commerce show to promote artworks created by Noh Jun, a South Korean sculptor known for sculpting human-like animal characters. The virtual influencer with some 167,000 Instagram followers will interact with viewers to sell three different animal characters -- rabbit, cat, and fennec fox.
 
Lucy, created by synthesizing a face with an image of a real person, was used to promote fashion items. She has appeared in shows for apparel items designed by Vivienne Westwood, a London-based fashion brand, and Italian fashion brand Miu Miu. The 171-centimeter (67-inch)-tall digital model is a car designer who often posts pictures of herself in many casual and trendy fashion items after work. In March 2023, Lotte Homeshopping selected workers with many followers on social media to carry out promotion events and come up with new content through Lucy.
 
Lotte Homeshopping said in a statement that the virtual model would promote Noh Jun's artworks created under the theme of "The Crease of Time" at 8 p.m. (11:00 GMT) on June 12. Lucy will explain each artwork and provide interior design tips. A total of 30 items with 10 pieces each will be available.
 
Lotte Homeshopping has strived to upgrade its virtual human and expand the scope of Lucy's activities. In September 2022, the company partnered with 4by4, a domestic virtual production firm, to improve Lucy with a more human-like appearance. In October 2021, the home shopping channel operator agreed to cooperate with South Korean cloud company Megazone to expand Lucy to participate in a metaverse platform. Lotte Homeshopping will continue to work on virtual effects (VFX), which incorporates computer graphics (CG) elements, to actualize a completely autonomous virtual human. 

Various artificial humans are active as models and singers in South Korea. In July 2021, virtual influencer Rozy was selected as a model for Shinhan Life Insurance, an insurance wing of South Korea's major financial group Shinhan Financial. The digital figure became a promotion model for GS Retail, the operator of convenience store franchise GS25, in December 2021.