Influencer Emma Chamberlain has had an eventful 2022 thus far, from being Vogue’s correspondent and interviewer for the Met Gala in May to recently attending the Venice Film Festival as a Cartier brand ambassador. Chamberlain’s reputation as a fashion icon has skyrocketed — she recently graced the cover of Vogue Australia — and she has maintained her weekly podcast, “Anything Goes,” and coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee. Despite all of her success, many of Chamberlain’s fans still missed her YouTube content, which she paused back in December 2021. However, on June 22, after over six months, Chamberlain ended her YouTube hiatus with a video titled “what’s good in new york.”
When Chamberlain first discussed her YouTube hiatus on her podcast, “Anything Goes,” she explained that she never planned to leave YouTube for good, but planned to change her approach on the platform. In her first video of 2022, “what’s good in new york,” and in the three other videos she uploaded over summer, the shift in Chamberlain’s approach was clear, and honestly, a perfect rebranding.
The best way to describe Chamberlain’s new videos is that watching them is more like watching a television show than watching YouTube. Each one feels like a short episode of a documentary about her life, teeming with authenticity and positivity. Aside from the “what's good in new york” video, Chamberlain’s recent videos have all been titled “24 hours in” the location she was visiting at the time. One takes viewers along as Chamberlain spends a day in the south of France, and the next two are set in Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
The travel content works well for Chamberlain because it doesn’t feel like she is going to these cities solely for content. Rather, it appears she is authentically exploring these cities and someone just happened to capture it on camera. Nothing feels staged or forced; they are intimate and intriguing while maintaining the recognizable simplicity and charm of Chamberlain’s video editing style.
Two factors that contribute to the videos coming off as very personal and simple are the editing and cinematography. At the end of every video, or in the video description, the credits read “cinematography by michael chamberlain,” (her father) and “editing by emma chamberlain”. Long before bringing on her father as her videographer, Chamberlain began her YouTube career doing all of the filming and editing herself. With the help of her father, Chamberlain does not have to stress about camera angles or how the shot looks, because that is all down to him.
Michael Chamberlain has been featured in Chamberlain’s videos before, notably when Emma brought up his artistic career or took him to a Louis Vuitton show. She clearly trusts her father and is able to be her truest self around him, while also eliminating some of the stress of filming solo. Together, the Chamberlains have taken Emma’s YouTube content to a new level and it is beautiful to see.
With the changes to her YouTube content, it is clear that Chamberlain has taken the time to rethink her approach to the platform and rebranded in a way that will engage her loyal subscribers, while also likely bringing in new ones. When Chamberlain began her hiatus, she said she didn’t expect to return to weekly uploads, opting instead to ensure she could be proud of all of the content she released. Chamberlain has stuck to those two ideas, with a less frequent uploading calendar and high-quality videos.
The next steps for Chamberlain’s channel will be a surprise. Fans will have to wait and see whether she continues to post travel content throughout the year or whether it was just a summer project. No matter what Chamberlain decides to do with her channel, she has come back from her hiatus stronger, with more of the entertaining, unique content that her subscribers have come to love over the past five years.
