Meet Coco & Breezy. The 19 year-old twin couture eye wear designers (& models) are steadily making a name for themselves in the fashion game. Recently moving to NYC to pursue their dream full time, the sisters hand make all their eye wear and hustle them to various people themselves.
With celebrities like: Ashanti, Kelly Osbourne, Amber Rose, and more rocking ‘Gemela Amor by coco&breezy’, they are definitely going to be the ones to look out for in 2010. I recently caught up with the twins, so they could speak more about their up and coming brand. Read below..
1. When was the company started? Why did you start it?The line was started about 6 months ago when we were 18 years old. We actually showed our 1st line of clothing and we designed the glasses just to add a “POP!” to the garments. The Glasses ended up being the hit! We designed what we call “custom couture eye wear” and started the brand ourselves, with no PR, or any type of management.
2. I heard you ladies recently moved to NYC to pursue this dream? Where are you originally from?
We are originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota which is in the Midwest (where there is really no fashion outlets) and people looked at us crazy or pointed and laughed at us because of our style. We have been traveling back and forth to NYC for a couple years now and we always just went to visit from 2-4 days at a time. But our last visit in NYC was a life changing experience for us. We met so many people, our brand got press, we had a couple red carpet appearances, we did photo shoots, and stylists pulled our eye wear for a few online mags.Back in August, we went back home and told our parents “we’re moving to NYC in 2 weeks”. We were nervous about quitting our regular job but it was time to take the risk and just have 100 percent focus on our brand. We’re young and moving to NYC (last minute) to pursue our dream was a big step. But we’d rather struggle and work hard on our brand in NYC, than live easy in non-fashion state.
3. Can you elaborate on the message behind Coco & Breezy?We have a special bond that no one else has, which we believe gives us an advantage for being a great design team. Just being twins, we have never been separated from each other for more than 24hours. Also something that makes us different from other designers is that we are models for our line as well. We definitely known for our different, edgy and unique look and we are never seen in public without rocking shades.
4. Describe your inspiration(s).
Inspirations… wow where do we start. We love getting inspired and we take everything in and make it into art. What inspired us to design an eye wear line, had a lot to do with our personal life. Different metals, studs, spikes, chains, shapes, sculptures and the glam rock style is our inspiration for our current collection. Also the biggest inspiration is the futuristic look, with some of our “stud star trek’ designs. You feel like your living in year 2020.
5. You already have celebs like Ashanti, Vanessa Simmons, and Kelly Osbourne rocking your shades? How did that come about?Well with Ashanti wearing our glasses, it was really last minute and we didn’t plan for her to wear them. It’s funny because, we were contacting different stylist that we met during our visit just to inform them that we were back to NYC for good. And that same day someone contacted us and asked if they could pull a couple styles for Ashanti for the red carpet VH1 hip hop honors. And we were like “sure.’ It was cool because we got a lot of press from it, and was our first major celeb press. [ After I conducted this interview, Kelly Osbourne recently wore their glasses on 'Dancing With The Stars', click for video. ]
6. Who is the ideal ‘Coco & Breezy’ customer?
They are unisex for men & women. An ideal ‘Coco & Breezy’ customer is somebody that is not scared to step out the box and have the confidence to rock the glasses. If there is 100 people in the room, they are going to be the ones standing out, and will always be remembered.
7. Where do you ladies see yourself in the future?
In the future we see our line expanding and doing clothes as well. I feel like right now how fashion is the younger generation is taking over, and our generation is going to be the next big names in fashion. Since we are starting at such a young age, we are going to remain dedicated and never get to comfortable at what people call “the top” there is no such thing as the top. We are going to grind and work hard so we can be young and successful. We also want to be an inspiration to younger kids showing you can do anything, it just takes hard work. This is only the beginning of our journey, there is a lot more to come.
For more info on Coco and Breezy, make sure you check out their official blog and add them on twitter. Also make sure to check out their online shop (link is located below). Their shades come in various styles and are priced from $50-$125 dollars. Remember, you will be supporting hand made wear.
Love em & they are no that expensive… good luck to them
nice feature. These young ladies are kind of inspiring. I follow them on twitter and they are definitely on the come up. Congrats to them.
YAY, Thanks CL…I’ve been wondering what these were called!
This was a really interesting post I love that CL
takes the time to bring us little tid-bits like this…
hope they continue to do well…
ooo i might buy a pair of glasses these are reasonably priced compared to a.morir
*******I wish the best cool shades.What are the prices?
OMG, these glasses are really dope!
u go girls!
one of em look like dawn frm dirty money….keep doin your thing girls
Those sh*ts are ugly.
They look like flea market shades.
I love this post CL. I love the way you guys posted on the upcoming future designers! I love the style of the shades. I’d def rOcK those!!!
@ Funky Fresh
lol I knew there would be at least one person that would do it.
I buy a lot of sunglasses but don’t wear em , but they will get a play ! good luck ladies
LOL @ 11. I mean I give them credit being young and being business women. However, I think the idea and market it going to quickly become saturated. I mean, these don’t look any different than the ones from that A-morir Kerin.Rose chick you all featured some time back.
Nice to see talent being utilized: on the other hand for my taste I think the glasses suck but for others i’m sure they work just fine.
can’t drive a car in those. you gotta be focused as hell lol
I hope they do well. lol @ “6 months ago when we were 18″. hee hee
———-Yes, they are from here in Minnesota. We used to go to church with them.
———–Nice girls, hope they make it!!
I LOVE THESE GLASSES! & COCO AND BREEZY ARE SO INSPIRING, KEEP IT UP LADIES, YOUR REALLY MAKE A NAME FOR YOUR SELFS!!!!!
kelly osbourne look super cute with those glasses there glasses trendy i love it
ALL THIS IS SO LADY GAGA EFFECT TO ME. I’M SORRY!!
wow these masons are really tryna dominate our world….this stuff starting to look evil!!!!…..im sorry do anybody no about the free masons?
Glad to see young women of color doing their thang……But I wouldnt be caught dead in those things….
#11 THERE IS ALWAYS A NEGATIVE PERSON . WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE BESIDES GETTING ON BLOGS TO SAY SOME NEGATIVE SHIT , THATS WHY BLACK PEOPLE CANT GET AHEAD BECAUSE YOU ARE QUICK TO CRITICIZE …….
Another Amoirr rip-off!! Sorry ladies while it’s cute and all the original designs and concepts are Amoirr by Kerin Rose! Nowadays everybody with access to safety glasses and glue guns are making sunglasses! I’ll stick to regular Gucci shades! I”ll be glad when all this mess is done with.
THEY ARENT A RIP OFF AT ALL. THEY ARE YOUNG GIRLS FROM MINNESOTa, IM SURE THEY DIDNT KNO WHO A AMOIR WAS WHEN THEY 1ST STARTED. FASHION IS ART, AND PLUS THEY ALL HAVE THIER UNIQUE STYLES. EVERYONE SHOULD STAY POSITIVe. FASHION IS ART, AND THESE TWINS EXPRESS WHO THEY ARE IN A SENSE OF USING ART. IN THE FASHION THere Is NO SUCH THINg AS COPY, BECAUSE EVERYONE IS CREATIVE. THE TWINs AND AAMOIR GLASSES LOOK TOTTALLY DIFFERENT.
@chromelife, that’s what the fashion industry is built on people knocking off each other ideas, tweaking it to their own liking and selling….
I’m all for less expensive options especially for folks that can’t afford to spend $200-350 on a pair of shades…everyone should have the option to look trendy (if they choose) at any price point…
This seems way to extra for me (and done millions of times before). The shades are cool but not my type of style….I pass
VERY COOL
cool shades…coco&breezy resemble Dawn (danity kane or dirty money)
I like the shades!!! They are nice! I was trying to figure out who they were in another pic on another site!!! Thats why I love CL you are down to spotlght the up and coming!!! Anyway, wish them success although they are a littlescary looking (the twins).
They didn’t answer any background questions?
Are their parents in the industy?
Where did 2 18 year olds get money to start their own business?
I am just saying its a good inspirational story but don’t make it seem like 2 girls who have nothing coming to NY to sell some glasses. This is a very difficult town to make it in
@ 33. I know Coco and Breezy and they did all this with no connections. They saved money from their modeling gigs and was going to start a fashion line but as they said the glasses is what people were talking about. Trust me, their parents have nothing to do with the industry. LOL.
GO GIRLS!!!
that A.Morir chick rips off glasses styles from the disco era in the 70s. It’s all recycled. Plus I rather support black up and coming designers. Not to mention, their shades aren’t as highly priced as hers. I like their story.
i love aspiring artists. i might cop a pair just to support. keep on doin your thing!!!!
@mianivebesque. Why are people upset when someone has a different opinion? What is so wrong with #11 saying they think the glasses are ugly? What does it have to do with you? Criticizing is not what is keeping black people down. Sometimes it can be constructive. It’s black people’s (and sometimes the system, can’t forget the system…) lack of priorities and togetherness that keeps people down.
Hey Hey Hey Hey!!!! I loooove these shades!!! Keep going strong ladies!!! I think I just found my birthday shades AOOOOOWWW!!!! lolz
They look like Dawn from Diddy’s group wack money! Nice glasses though…
@11 they are no better than my Gucci and Chanel glasses that I purchased from Neimans -only to watch a special at home that said “designer glasses are made in China for $1.50-$3.00 per pop)..I have yet to buy any designer shades yet ..All designer shit lacks quality crafting but carry’s a 50-70% mark-up price ..I have been spending my money at Sample SALES only..Those big stores ill no longer get my DOLLAR!
Love the glasses…..pretty unique…
Do your thang ladies!
I can see Ri Ri really rocking these shades, she can pull it off!
Yes definitely not for the weak hearted people. I can see Rihanna wearing these too.
CHECK OUT THERE BLOG…THESE GIRLS ARE TRUE INSPIRATION STORY, THEY MOVED TO NY WITH NO HELP FROM THE INDUSTRY AND THEYRE HITTING HIGH….LOVE THE SHADESS
THESE GIRLS ARE TRUE ORIGINAL ARTISTS….THEYRE STYLE STUCK WITH THEM FROM MIN AND CAME WITH THEM TO NY…THOSE WHO JUMP ON THE TREND ARENT TRUE ARTIST LIKE THESE…TIME AND PASSION.
DDD
AWESOME GLASSES !
Good for them, I hope they go really far…. nice to see minorities doing something instead of shaking their tail feathers.
Good for them, I hope they go far. Its nice to see minorities on the come up without shaking their asses, they have talent and using it.
whats going on with comments?
I admire their drive…. The shades are a little trendy which might cause the hype to fade. Hope they have more to offer with their line
I’M HAPPY 2 C YOUNG BLACK PEOPLE DOIN THEIR THING!!!
IT INSPIRES ME!
sooo whhhhyyy did I think the picture of the twins was a picture of the girls from the Dirty Money crew….no tea..no shade…it took me a min to realize it was the designers and not Dawn and Kaleen. Glad these girls are doing their thing
This is nothing new ..
Definitely not something I’d rock but oh well ..
A few of them are realll ugly
This whole “being different” trend thing is starting to annoy me.
Everyone’s tryna be/look different and stand out but yet they all look alike.
But good for them I guess.
It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it, this is the difference between constructive criticism and negativity…but I’m not a big shades buyer, I’m into recycled shades, more like hand me downs… But they are edgy and different…I’d buy if I wasn’t so into shoes…
@13 i thought every comment on this post would be like that 1
so inspirational. i thought i was doing it, but they showed me. i need to figure out a plan to get like them.
I Stopped dressing up when I realized everybody was trying to different or should I say trying to be edgy-rock glam- so I just throw on a plain T and loose fit trousers I’d rather not stand out anymore . I’m happy the twins are making it but there’s nothing impressive about the glasses and the twins’ style who claim that they always stand out. If were to walk the streets of NY guaranteed ll see ppl dreesed like them. I wish them the best of luck though.
Im waiting for Pyscho Judah to come on here and give a sermon on how these glasses are a work of evil, or how they have some relations to the freemasons- LOL
Yay!! My girls made it on CL! Amazing personal friends of mine, so happy for them! Lets show them what we can do from the 612. (No pun intended on the rhyming.)
Cheers and Bless! ~Ty
THEY LOOK LIKE DAWN FROM DIDDY’S GROUP.
WHY ARE YALL CALLING THEM LADIES???
THEY ARE TRANNYS…DONT U SEE THE ADAMS APPLE?
AND THOSE ARE JUST KNOCK OFF’S OF KERIN ROSE SHADES.
BE ORIGINAL.