Update: On Oct. 5, Chamberlain was named number one on the Forbes Top Creator Fashion 50 list.
Influencer Emma Chamberlain is making her way from popular YouTube vlogger to a high-end model and businesswomen.
Chamberlain, 22, has become one of the most influential Gen Z fashion icons in the past five years. Now with “Chamberlain Coffee” and a wide array of brand partnerships like Aritzia and Lancôme; Chamberlain has conquered the world of influencing.
In 2017, Chamberlain, then 16, dropped out of Notre Dame High School in Belmont, Calif. to make her YouTube channel a career. Her vlogs consisted of everything from “LIVING IN MY CLOSET FOR 24 HOURS,” to “KANYE WEST TWITTER,” a reaction to the controversial rapper’s X (formerly known as Twitter) feed. Although this started her fame, Chamberlain’s content and brand evolved enormously, and by age 18, she was sitting front row at Louis Vuitton fashion shows.
One of Chamberlains original claims to fame was her friendship and collaboration videos with James Charles, Ethan Dolan, and Grayson Dolan. The “Sister Squad” as they were referred to, took over social media with random yet funny videos like filming a spontaneous trip to Las Vegas. At the time, Chamberlain was also dating Ethan Dolan; when their relationship ended, the “Sister Squad” dissolved.
Now with 12 million subscribers, Chamberlain, in the fall of 2021, announced she was taking a hiatus from YouTube, although she continues to post regularly on her Instagram where she has 15.7 million followers and has posted a few times on YouTube since.
As a YouTube personality, Chamberlain was known for not taking herself too seriously and being able to laugh at herself and acknowledge that she is not perfect. Junior Ashley Barnes has watched Chamberlain grow into a mega socialite, though Ashley loves that Chamberlain continues to “do everything with humor” and is “able to make fun of herself which I feel like a lot of celebrities are not able to do,”
Chamberlain can laugh at herself from time to time and she connects with her audience by keeping her listeners involved in her life. Senior and longtime follower Soleil Richardson knows this is why she has such a strong following.
“In my opinion, Emma has one of the biggest cult followings of any influencer,” she said. “Her realness and relatability have allowed her followers to grow up with her so there is a sense of trust between her and her audience. This is why they are so interested in whatever she has to say.”
One of the main platforms Chamberlain creates this bond on is her podcast, “Anything Goes,” which can be streamed on Apple Music and Spotify. Each week, Chamberlain releases an episode where she discusses various topics from a real, nonfiltered point of view. Some of her recent releases include titles such as, “building a healthy social life,” “embarrassing things I did in high school” and “living in fear.” Chamberlains’ segments are always helpful, relatable, and genuine. Over time she was able to build relationships with her followers by transitioning into this type of more sophisticated content while still being able to laugh at herself.
Tessa Kleinman-Bershod, a senior at Hewitt High School in Manhattan, has been watching Chamberlain since the start of her YouTube career.
“I’ve noticed that over the years she has stopped vlogging and has done more editorial things and brand deals,” she said. “She has grown her content and expanded her platform in every way possible, and she is so successful, and relatable; I admire her so much.”
Recently, Chamberlain was in France for Paris Fashion Week 2023. She was seen at the Schiaparelli show, and on Sept. 30, Chamberlain attended The Business of Fashion (BOF) 500 event, which honors the celebrities that the BOF recognizes as the most influential players in fashion.
On the BOF website, they acknowledge how popular she has gotten, and list that some of her most recent accomplishments include that, “She has been on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Cosmo Girl and Allure, and has been featured in Vogue Australia and Nylon, and is quickly becoming a front row regular. Most recently, she attended Ganni’s Spring/Summer 2023 show with Vogue,” BOF said.
Not only has Chamberlain expanded in influence of fashion but also by sharing stories of her own personal growth in general. Her fans don’t just love her because she is a style icon, but because she is a real human being and doesn’t pretend to be anything else. Both Ashley Barnes and Soleil Richardson described Chamberlain as “charismatic,” proving she is not famous and influential solely because she is bossy or fame-hungry, but because she leads with passion and humor..