Elite influencers shift from relatability to aspirational otherness as their fame rises.

Evidence

Chamberlain—rather than appearing “relatable,” as she so often does, at least when it comes to real estate—occupies the space previously occupied by the traditional celebrity and star. … We presume likeness and identification from Maples, Larson, and Chapman, and that identification comes from how the home is conflated with the person. We may still feel that Chamberlain is “friendly” and “relatable,” but the home—still sutured to the person—becomes a space of aspirational otherness, signifying both identification and disidentification. … As a result, truly successful influencers do not need to worry about answering any questions about where they live, even though they’ll gladly supply some sort of commentary and evidence of their private, intimate, daily life. The real answer, when we get to the truly elite, is provided by Vogue, by Architectural Digest, by other influencers. — Grant Bollmer, Katherine Guinness, The Influencer Factory, 165

Categorization

• XREF: Core to the reading purpose: explains how the SAME infrastructure (home) can signify identification or disidentification depending on the influencer’s position in the fame hierarchy; useful for the real-creator case study. — connects to: Luxury influencer feeds erode the accessibility they once promised — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 267; Veblen held that vicarious consumption shifts from wives to the master as class rises — Brooke Erin Duffy, (Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love:…, 55