IT’S EMMA’S WORLD, WE’RE JUST LIVING IN IT
DENIZ AKKAYA
Chamberlain is a YouTube star, award-winning podcast host, global ambassador, and a CEO with a combined social media following of over 35 million. Whether you’re a die-hard YouTube fan or not, you’ve probably heard Emma Chamberlain’s name. Let’s take a look at her rise to the fashion world.
The 20-year-old influencer – who has collaborated with two of the biggest names in fashion, Louis Vuitton and Vogue, started her career with her extremely relatable vlogs during her junior year in high school in 2017. High school can be a transformative time for many people, and Chamberlain’s viewers have been able to watch her grow up as both an individual and in her career. Chamberlain’s personality began to shine as she posted more vlogs of her doing simple things like cooking (and very much failing), driving to get iced almond milk lattes or thrifting. Her unique style of editing complemented her quirkiness and made her even more relatable.
There’s a direct indicator here, which is the reason why new generation is so obsessed with TikTok is the same reason why Emma rose to fame. After years and years of looking at altered, filtered and unrealistic images on Instagram, we, as a collective, crave all things real. When we look at our tiny screens, we don’t want to see the same visuals over and over again, we want something that we can relate to and something we can see a part from ourselves in. Emma said multiple times in her previous interviews that she just “talks to the camera like it’s her friend”. Therefore, while watching Ms. Chamberlain’s videos, you feel like you are on the passenger’s seat on her route to her favorite coffee shop Philz.
As Emma’s following grew, so did she. A young girl, who moved to Los Angeles at the age of 16, has been criticized by some people as “we want the old Emma”, while it is actually very normal to grow up and change during the painful years of puberty. She started her channel as a depressed and confused teenage girl, struggling to navigate life, then she built herself to be the young and successful woman that she is today.
She started her coffee business at the age of 18 and it felt so different because we all knew she wasn’t just pushing a product out for her following to buy. She actually put out something that she really knew and care about. And of course, as anyone who follows this recipe, she succeeded.
We all are guilty of thrifting more than we need to. Over the years Emma became obsessed with thrifting and this obsession grew into an interest of fashion. Her quirky personality shone through her clothes as her personal style evolved more and more. It was that authenticity that soon caught the eye of the fashion industry, leading to fashion partnerships with brands ranging from Calvin Klein to Louis Vuitton, which saw her in editorial campaigns and at runway shows during Paris Fashion Week.
The Met Gala is one of the biggest nights in fashion and includes very high-end fashion at that. Many people online were up in arms after rumors started to swirl that Emma along with Addison Rae, Dixie D’Amelio and other influencers would be walking the coveted Met stairs. Despite being invited by Anna Wintour herself to her very first MET Gala, and even being entrusted with correspondent duties for Vogue on the red carpet, Emma faced all kinds of hate online for basically just existing at the event last month. In a recent interview with the V Magazine, Emma opened up about the online criticism she got: “In a sense, the fashion world itself has been around forever and influencers and digital celebrities are very new and haven’t necessarily earned their stripes yet. I think some people are not ready to accept it as a new form of celebrity, which I totally understand because it’s like mixing something new with something classic and it can feel wrong. The world of fashion and fame has to evolve in order for it to grow and that seeing influencers make appearances at these types of events is a natural part of that and it only makes sense. When people were questioning my entrance into it, it was kind of scary, but at the same time, I understood where they’re coming from. My only hope is that people will accept me into it and let me be a part of it.”
Honestly, it’s been a blessing to watch her grow into the person she is today and we can not wait to see what she has yet to accomplish.
