Lifestyle creator Olivia Neill has spent the past five years becoming the UK’s Emma Chamberlain, slowly pivoting from chaotic, relatable vlogs to establishing herself as luxury fashion’s nonchalant Gen Z darling.
Neill’s career trajectory is compelling because she has gone from doing “say it or shot it” challenges and fast fashion hauls to being a regular at fashion week and working with Chanel, Gucci and Versace – despite not originally having a strong interest in fashion. She was invited to her first fashion week (virtually in 2021) with Ami Paris less than two years after she uploaded her first vlog, and then attended Paris Fashion Week with Miu Miu shortly after.
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Neill began vlogging in 2019 from her parent’s home in Belfast – during her first year of sixth form – and has since accumulated more than 783,000 subscribers. She also began creating TikTok videos at the same time and rose to fame with her comedic dances and lip syncs. She has 1.4 million followers on the platform, and more than one million followers combined across her two spam accounts.
As she has grown up, her content and lifestyle have shifted. She now lives in London, irregularly posts on YouTube and her friend group has changed (her followers are haunted by the fact they will never know why she is no longer friends with Flossie Clegg – and Neill is now besties with Ruby Lyn). She also stopped dying her hair blonde and using fake tan.
@olivianeill my flights delayed so heres a whats in my bag
Some followers have expressed disappointment in this transformation, but her evolution (namely her hair transformation) has teed her up to be welcomed in the luxury space. Her career is moving in a similar trajectory to Chamberlain and TikToker Madeline Argy. Commercial, but premium.
Her charm, influence and young audience – plus her model proportions – are a goldmine for brands. In June, she posed in skinny jeans which led to a flurry of TikToks from her followers announcing the inevitable return of the style. She has also influenced her audience to buy her favourite lipliner, Charlotte Tilbury’s Lip Cheat in the shade Pillow Talk.
@olivianeill Outfit is from the @H&M pre-loved guest designer archive! Drops on Oct 25th, Regent Street!! ad
It’s clear all of the top brands are rushing to work with her. Since January 2024, Neill has worked with Coach, Gucci, Isabel Marant, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Paco Rabanne, Jimmy Choo, Chanel and Burberry. In autumn, she was the face of Peachy Den’s autumn/winter campaign, which was deemed perfection on social, and she has ongoing partnerships with Alo and H&M.
Neill’s natural progression as an It girl is a masterclass in branding and how the right management and stylist (she is currently signed to Elite) can shape an influencer’s career. She has the audience, a successful podcast and endless fashion partnerships – now she just needs to double down on investing in her audience and remaining relatable to her core followers. With these things in place, new levels of global success is sure to follow in 2025.
By Caroline Edwards, news and features writer for CORQ.
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