‘Glasses Connoisseur’ Emma Chamberlain Brought the ‘Nostalgia Factor’ to Her New Warby Parker Collab (Exclusive)

Emma Chamberlain knows what she likes.

“If you saw my personal eyewear collection, you would honestly be worried about me,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively, right after receiving a Zoom invite to discuss her brand new Warby Parker collaboration, which is now officially available. “It’s so intense. I am a big connoisseur of glasses. It’s my number one supplement.”

Content creator and Everything passes The podcast host’s love of eyewear – and Warby Parker in particular – goes way back, so it only made sense to collaborate with the popular brand for her own collection. While Chamberlain is growing her fashion empire, she’s been working on expanding design and curation, which has allowed her to add another project to her resume that combines many of her favorite things (including pigeons, but more on that later).

Emma Chamberlain for Warby Parker.

Warby Parker

Last Look: Emma Chamberlain

“The most challenging part of this was making the final decisions,” Chamberlain says of his collection of six limited-edition frames. “I definitely experienced a lot of decision-making fatigue because I had so many choices that it became difficult to make decision. One thing was easy though, and that was the nostalgia factor.”

Chamberlain, 22, recalls walking into a Warby Parker store in San Francisco with her dad at age 14 to buy a pair of e-readers.

“We’re drawn naturally, and that rarely happens, at least for me as an avid online shopper,” she says. “So it was a very organic discovery.”

Emma Chamberlain for Warby Parker.

Warby Parker

The layout of the store and the large selection made her happy the whole time she was shopping, and it sparked a joy in her that made her fall in love with the brand – and glasses as a whole.

“You can see everything and they’re so welcoming that you get your hands dirty and go in there and try whatever your heart desires,” she says of the stores. “As a 14-year-old at the time, it was very rare for me to walk into a store and touch anything I wanted.”

That day, Chamberlain bought a pair of Durand frames—and in the collection she designed, she has her own take on Durand because “it obviously had to be included,” she says.

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Emma Chamberlain for Warby Parker.

Warby Parker

The rest of her collection — which starts at $95 a pair — includes what she calls a “diverse and balanced” group of frames that will appeal to a wide range of customers, because she wants as many people as possible to wear her glasses. While she admits to being the first person to reach for out-of-the-box fashion pieces and avant-garde silhouettes, she knows that’s not what the everyday consumer will do. Therefore, she chose colors that are neutral (with a shift!) and shapes that are flattering.

“I love colors that are neutral yet fun, with one exception being red, because I think any outfit can have red,” she says of the colors you’ll find in her collaborations. “The colors are muted, but still exciting. You can’t wear a crazy light blue pair of frames every day. It won’t always work. It might work for some, but it’s harder to style. I wanted to choose colors that I felt were easier to style on a consistent basis.”

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Emma Chamberlain for Warby Parker.

Warby Parker

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For frame shapes, in addition to the “classic” Durand, she also has a Braswell wire frame, which she calls “timeless,” and a “statement” Lonnie frame—which she admits are “not that bold” for her, but will be for some people.

“This is a totally accessible shape that can spice up an outfit if you want to,” she says. “I tried to hit as many aesthetics as possible. Not all glasses look good on everyone. We all have different face shapes, we all have different noses, we all have different ears, we all have different foreheads. Everyone is so different and everyone’s glasses look different.”

For the campaign, shot by Emily Lipson and styled by Chamberlain stylist Jared Ellner, the Chamberlain Coffee creator wears each of her frames and shares the spotlight with a selection of pigeons — her favorite animals.

Emma Chamberlain for Warby Parker.

Warby Parker

“It’s almost like they chose me,” she says of how the humble pigeon became her favorite animal years ago. “I spent so much time in cities with a lot of pigeons: New York, Paris. And I think maybe it was a subconscious thing. It was like, how therapeutic can it be to love something that is hated but is abundant. Every time I see a pigeon, guess whose face it has a smile on its face? Me. Everyone else was like, ‘Yo, pigeon.’ Not me. I said, ‘Wow, what a beautiful little animal and what a little friend this is to me.’ ”

When filming was in order, there was literally “no other option” for her co-star, she says. “It was the perfect mascot.”

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Emma Chamberlain for Warby Parker.

Warby Parker

As Chamberlain’s creations roll out into the world — at select Warby Parker stores and online — she feels a little anxious and a little like she’s giving birth, but mostly relieved. She’s excited to see it all come together, she’s excited to be a part of Warby Parker’s Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, and she’s looking forward to her next collection with the brand — because she promises that this is definitely not the end.

Emma Chamberlain for Warby Parker.

Warby Parker

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“I always deal with perfectionism in some way,” she admits. “I think it’s normal when you design something to feel a little bit of regret or feel like you would have done something differently. Every time I’ve designed something, I’m always like, ‘I should have done this, I should have done that,’ but that’s why it’s exciting that Warby and I aren’t done. We didn’t end up together.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education