Emma Chamberlain’s Fans Might Not Get Her Loewe Show Look, and That’s Okay

“Wait a minute, what’s going on here?” was the theme of Emma Chamberlain’s look for the Loewe spring 2023 show held in Paris. She says so herself on the phone with me shortly after sitting front row, and it was what everyone in attendance was also thinking—not of Chamberlain’s look but of the show itself.

“This gray dress was intriguing to me and to my stylist as well. We both thought, This is so unique!”

Jonathan Anderson wanted to explore the blurred line between fiction and reality in a rapidly digitized world where everything seems both overwhelmingly real (see: literally everything) and alarmingly fake (see: most of social media) in 53 looks. Chamberlain’s wasn’t one of them. She wore a dress from last season with a hard bustier top that appeared to be made of two lush gray lips coated in wet lip gloss. “It intrigued me,” she says of picking her outfit. “It tricks the mind in a way, and it’s funny. It’s incredible.”

"I don’t normally wear things that are strapless. But I try not to overthink it. I’m just like, ‘If it feels right and fun and intriguing, then why not?’”

Models at the show wore equally surrealist looks while walking around a giant fiberglass anthurium; some of them even had enlarged versions of the Dionysian flower sandwiched across their torso to make a backless top or wrapped around one breast like the sensual bra cup of a dress. There was also a jacquard knit hoodie that looked like it was lined with pixels, worn with a pair of khaki trousers that appeared so blurry it was as if they were sent out on the runway midway through loading.

“Right now, I have a bob. It’s such a fun hairstyle to play with. You have to get more creative when you have limitations. We saw this beautiful photo of Rihanna, and she had all these bobby pins. It looked so incredible on her, so I was like, ‘Rihanna, I am copying your style today!’”Hair by Dafne Evangelista.

Nearly everything warranted a double take, and some looks were even sent down the runway twice, in slightly different colors, as a way to further play into the glitch-in-the-matrix concept. While Chamberlain had a hard time deciding on her favorite look—“Overall, there wasn’t one look that wasn’t fascinating”—she particularly loved the “minidresses with collars.” Those dresses felt very her, not just because she wears collared pieces often (as evidenced most recently by the outfit in her now viral Architectural Digest house tour), but also because their print had a moiré effect that made them jump out of the screen for those of us watching at home on YouTube.

“The hair was a pretty bold moment, and I wanted it to shine. And the look itself is very intriguing, so we decided to go with very simple white eye shadow, which is something that I haven’t played with before, and I now am in love with it.” Makeup by Chynara Kojoeva.

One of Chamberlain’s signature moves on her own YouTube, where she has nearly 12 million subscribers, is a forehead kiss—her very own moiré effect. She leans into the screen at the conclusion of her video, purses her lips, and for a second, her fans feel like she is there in their rooms with them, wishing them well. That ability to authentically connect with people is part of what has made her one of the most influential people on the Internet. On her most recent video, a commenter writes, “I feel like I’ve grown up with Emma.” For so many, she is their childhood and their comfort. She feels real.

“I’m excited to be able to see a show like Loewe that really has its finger on the pulse of where our world is, in the sense of what fascinates and challenges people.”

But scroll down on her videos and you’ll see another comment people write with frequency, “It feels like she’s the last person on earth.” Chamberlain also feels mythical, like a perfect girl made of pretty pixels who started out making videos in a small bedroom in San Bruno, California, and now gets to sit front row at Paris Fashion Week among the most influential people in the industry. Maybe part of Anderson’s mad scientist fashion genius extends to the audience, with guests who bring to life the essence of the collection even more so than the clothing or the show notes can.

“The shoes were very out of my comfort zone. I mean, they were a … jean boot! And when I first saw them, it took me a second, like, ‘Wait a minute, what’s going on here?’ That kind of became the theme of the whole outfit. That’s what makes this fun. Every element of this outfit makes you do a double take.”

Chamberlain is also someone who reads the show notes. Whereas some influencers are clearly only interested in clothing, Chamberlain’s interest in actual fashion is palpable, even over a slightly staticky international phone call. She describes the Loewe show as “art” and thinks “people look at this time of the season and think it’s about being the coolest person in the room or it’s about having the coolest outfit, and it’s not! It’s about hanging out with people who appreciate fashion and getting inspired by seeing these incredible shows that go beyond just what we put on our bodies on a daily basis.”

“Everyone should just be excited to be here and have fun with it. Because fashion is fun; it’s not life or death. It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole of taking it too seriously and ruining it for yourself. The key is to let yourself enjoy it and don’t take it too seriously but appreciate it at the same time.”

Funnily enough, Chamberlain’s look was one of the coolest outfits in the room, which is what happens when you wear what you want. On TikTok, videos of her at the show have already amassed millions of views, leaving a few of her fans confused about the look (they ask, “What is this dress?” followed by skull emojis). Some of her followers don’t get it, and that’s fine. She’s starting to take the style risks her peers don’t and won’t.

“I work with my stylist, and together, we pick out our favorite looks by going through what’s been on the runway and maybe what hasn’t been appreciated enough yet; what hasn’t been worn enough yet. We try to choose something different,” she shares.

Chamberlain should try to encourage her famous friends to take this attitude to the red carpet, where it is sorely needed. They could all use some more “Wait a minute, what’s going on here?” in their choices and definitely a lot more Loewe.

“It’s almost like it tricks the mind in a way, and it’s funny! It’s incredible! We thought, Let’s try it out. I tried it on, and I really loved it.”

Tara Gonzalez

Tara Gonzalez is the Senior Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar. Previously, she was the style writer at InStyle, founding commerce editor at Glamour, and fashion editor at Coveteur.