--- title: "Perplexing AI Video Turns “Harry Potter” Into Balenciaga Ad" description: "An impressive new deepfake video reimagines the well-known cast of Harry Potter as a 1980s-style ad for the Spanish luxury fashion house Balenciaga." date: "2023-03-28" modified: "2023-03-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ai-harry-potter-balenciaga" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "artificial intelligence" - "deepfakes" - "fashion" - "harry potter" - "the digest" --- # Perplexing AI Video Turns “Harry Potter” Into Balenciaga Ad ![An impressive new deepfake video reimagines the well-known cast of Harry Potter as a 1980s-style ad for the Spanish luxury fashion house Balenciaga.]() *\Image: demonflyingfox\* ## Balenci Potter An impressive new deepfake video reimagines the cast of Harry Potter as a 1980s-style ad for the Spanish luxury fashion house Balenciaga, a vision so lifelike and convincing, we wish we could get our hands on a feature-length and Alejandro Jodorowksy-directed reenvisioning of the hit fantasy series. The clip, titled "[Harry Potter by Balenciaga]()" and created by Patreon user demonflyingfox, even uses deepfaked voices trained on the original cast, over a pounding electronic beat. "What is the difference, Potter, between H&M and Balenciaga?" a reimagined professor Snape asks the story's protagonist rhetorically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE39q-IKOzA ## You're a Model, Harry The transformations are uncanny. Snape turns from a grimy, black-haired professor draped in robes into a chiseled, leather jacket and turtleneck-rocking supermodel, while Dumbledore turns in his decorated wizard's cap for a stylish, wide-brim leather hat and blacked-out round sunglasses. "You just created a 2 million dollar ad for probably less than 10 bucks," one YouTube user commented on the video. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to be impressed by the machine learning algorithm's work, [replying]() to the video with two fire emojis. "I’m constantly brainstorming which combinations and mash-ups of popular media might work," demonflyingfox [told *Dazed*](). "I quickly realized these have to be as unexpected as possible, but still make sense. With his innocent and naive vibe, it worked surprisingly well to put Harry in an adult, cold-world scenario. "I already put Harry in the Yakuza world so it was only a matter of time till I’d think of the fashion bubble… and the most memeable company is probably Balenciaga right now," they added, alluding a [previous video](). ## Papal Drip AI-generated imagery is having a big moment in pop culture right now. Earlier this month, an [AI image of Pope Francis]() wearing a Balenciaga-esque white papal puffer went viral, with many not realizing the picture was synthetic. And now that we've seen the potential of a cutting-edge Harry Potter-inspired fashion ad, we can't help but wonder: what if the Boy Who Lived chose to become a male model instead? **READ MORE:** [The biggest threat AI poses? A Harry Potter remake set in Balenciaga-land]() \[*Dazed*\] ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()