Teaser images from the Office of Admissions at SCXR Academy

SCXR (pronounced “Scar”) is a new fashion brand. Its first line of products are slated to release at the end of May, and in the brand’s announcement video its creator Sugar (also known as Angelina Zhang) described its vision by explaining: “I have a hard time explaining what my dream style is. But if I had to choose a word, it’d be fictional.” And while that comment was intended to reference the brand’s aesthetic inspirations like the fashion featured in Bratz, Monster High, and My Little Pony, the “fictional” inspiration seems to go beyond that, moving into alternate reality gaming territory.

The SCXR website is currently fairly minimal, with retail features grayed out. However, registering for updates triggers an in-universe email from SCXR Academy’s Dean of Admissions Lilith Aranea welcoming new students to the academy with the somewhat ominous welcome message, “we can’t wait to see you on campus…The Academy is always watching“.

SCXR’s main character Scarlet, potentially providing a sneak peek at some of the featured fashion

In the project’s launch video, Zhang explains that the SCXR line takes place within the fictional world of SCXR Academy, and centers around Scarlet as the protagonist in a story that should appeal to fans of stories that touch on coming-of-age stories, dystopic thrillers, and mystery / ARG narratives.

While Zhang is still a University of Toronto student, she also built a massive presence as a Canadian online influencer, with almost 6 million followers on Douyin and TikTok alone. Her content leans towards musical covers with a healthy dose of fashion and cosplay thrown into the mix, although she was also one of the more vocal figures explaining Chinese social media platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu (“RedNote”) to US audiences worried about a potential TikTok ban.

In an interview with Gary Guo that touched on the project in January, Zhang explains, “it’s kind of a unique clothing concept because I have a lot of reoccurring character personas in my videos. I have a red haired girl, I have a black haired girl, and they’re very different. And my clothing brand is going to be something similar to using these characters to reflect their styles, versus using me as Sugar to reflect their styles…it’s going to be a virtual influencer brand.”

And it doesn’t seem like that earlier reference to ARGs is hyperbolic: this virtual influencer brand looks like it has some secrets to uncover.

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