Emma Chamberlain Went to Paris Fashion Week
courtesy of Fashionista.com
Don’t get it twisted. We love a quirky, loud, coffee-addicted queen, but there comes a time when
it just gets to be too much. We know the question that you’ve all been asking yourselves: Why, why, WHY was Emma Chamberlain at Paris Fashion Week??? In case you’re not addicted to YouTube/teenage girl culture and you haven’t heard about Emma, allow us to familiarize you. Emma Chamberlain is a YouTube extraordinaire who is more successful and richer than we (and most likely you) will ever be. Oh, and she’s only 17, so that makes us feel really good about ourselves. Emma’s sponsored by a ton of brands including
Curology, QwikMatch and Hollister, which allows her to financially support herself and have her own snazzy Los Angeles apartment and Postmates every one of her meals. Obviously, we are thrilled that Emma is so successful! We are not here to rain on anybody’s parade! She is a self-made woman who earned her success! We just can’t help but wonder, should a girl who is a self-proclaimed Urban Outfitters fiend really be sent to Paris Fashion Week and be sponsored by one of the most iconic fashion brands in the world, Louis Vuitton? Although her seven million, 12-year-old YouTube subscribers are extremely loyal, we just can’t see them banging down Louis Vuitton’s door to buy some luxury clothing after they see that Emma went to their fashion show. Although it’s annoying that someone who knows zippidy-squat about fashion was given this opportunity that others would die for, it’s not Emma’s fault. The real issue here is our society’s unhealthy addiction to social media and influencers. Let’s be honest, we’ve all spent way too much time on YouTube watching David Dobrik’s vlogs when we know that we should be studying for midterms. Countless brands contact YouTubers and social media influencers and beg them to post pictures in their clothes, bathing suits, sunglasses, what have you. Brands like Sephora send YouTubers to LA to endorse their products and film a video wearing their makeup. But do these companies really select their brand ambassadors based off of merit, or is it just based off of their social media following? We’re sure that some brands will select their ambassadors carefully and critically, but the majority? It’s based on how many people are watching their Instagram live.
Now, you may be asking, what’s the problem? Using a social media influencer with a large internet following to promote your brand is just a smart marketing strategy! Well, perhaps. But this brand advertising trend also promotes the idea that a person’s value is determined by the number of followers they have on Instagram. Brands have sacrificed quality for quantity when it comes to brand ambassadors because they would rather have their product seen by a large amount of people rather than a smaller group of people who really care about their product or message.
Basically, it’s another form of a popularity contest. Isn’t it funny how high school never really ends?