TikTok Creator Nicky Campbell on His Viral Celebrity Fashion Reviews (Exclusive)

• TikTok influencer Nicky Campbell gained a following in 2024 for his no-nonsense, “lazy” red carpet fashion reviews
• Campbell tells PEOPLE about why he started making videos and the best celebrity reactions
• The creator also shares the “most insane DM” he received from a celebrity he reviewed

Nicky Campbell’s viral red carpet reviews started on a whim.

One morning in January 2024, the influencer decided to share his thoughts on celebrity fashion from the previous night’s Critics Choice Awards. In a TikTok review he labeled as “lazy,” Campbell offers apathetic one-word responses to the green screen photos behind him while lounging in bed.

The post garnered tens of thousands of views, and a follow-up (a review of the Emmys red carpet) soared to over 300,000 views. From there, his no-nonsense (but never cruel) fashion reviews continued to take off, with views numbering in the millions.

“I was kind of hungover,” Campbell tells PEOPLE of his original video. “I was like, ‘What should I do today? I know. I’m going to run my mouth about this red carpet that I was thinking about.’” 

A Los Angeles native, Campbell moved to N.Y.C. in 2014 to attend Parsons School of Design. After graduating, he pursued a number of jobs within the fashion industry, including as a fashion assistant at Vogue and a digital editor at the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

When TikTok emerged, the creator recalls being “fascinated” by the platform. 

“I was always trying to experiment,” he says of his social media accounts. “I would try with things that were a little bit more free and a little bit more funny. I would post random fashion content or I would do some little dances here and there just for fun.”

Armed with both his fashion knowledge and social media expertise, Campbell carved out his own niche that resonates with a steadily-growing follower count (currently, he boasts 189,000 on Instagram and 136,000 on TikTok). Now, he’s a go-to source for fashion enthusiasts on social media, gaining the title “the Joan Rivers of TikTok” and churning out videos for nearly every red carpet.

“I will say there are times when I see something and I’m like, ‘I’m a little tapped out,'” Campbell says of the increased demand for content. “I do feel a little pressure if [followers] request a carpet. I’m sort of like, ‘Oh, okay. Let me look at this and let me see what I have to say.’ In general, I try to keep it organic, but I can’t help myself.”

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Campbell’s videos have also drawn the attention of A-listers. After his third or fourth review, he received a flood of comments and DMs saying, “Lisa Rinna sent me here.”

“I went to go check her Instagram and she had reposted one of my videos and was like, ‘This guy’s so funny. You have to get him on the red carpet,’” he recalls.

Other celebrity followers include Gwyneth Paltrow, Kris Jenner and Charli XCX, with many stars seeking out Campbell’s approval on their outfits. The creator describes a recent message from Sarah Paulson as “the most insane DM I’ve ever received.”

“She said, ‘When you like something I wear, I literally scream. And when I let you down, it makes me rethink all my choices. You’re so powerful,’” Campbell recalls.

“I have no idea how it’s happening,” he adds, “but for some reason [my videos are] having some influence over them. And I’m very, very shocked and very, very happy by that.”

Some celebrities aren’t so pleased with Campbell’s commentary. When the creator criticized Holland Taylor’s choice to wear two brooches rather than one at the 2024 Emmy Awards, the 81-year-old actress defended her look.

“I generally am right with you on your takes, but do want to say that while I agree with you re: wearing a brooch — clips — which is what I wore on my suit, are usually worn as a pair at either side of a wide neckline of a gown, or a boat neck or on strong lapels. Mine are paste pieces, bought by my mother, barely twenty. An insane extravagance at about $37 — $800 in today’s money. Some paste is astonishingly good,” Taylor wrote in the comments.

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Campbell posted the comment to his Instagram Stories, adding, “Eating my words! The double — clips — are approved.”

“It was very tasteful,” he tells PEOPLE of Taylor’s response. “I remember seeing that and being so amazed. First that she had commented but also that it had created a dialogue. And we kind of had this back and forth that was like, ‘I disagree, and here’s why.’ We had a great conversation about it.”

This kind of discourse is exactly what Campbell loves about fashion in the first place. 

“We all think differently, and we all have different opinions of what we like and what we don’t,” he explains. “There’s just different backgrounds and experiences that inform that… that’s what keeps it fun, and that’s what kind of keeps the art alive.”

Plus, he adds, “Ultimately, if someone feels good and they look good, that’s really all that matters.”