Coco and Breezy are a package deal. They work together, play together and of course, they create together. The Minnesota twins moved to New York City with a proverbial dollar and a dream, and the duo has built a sunglass empire out of just that.
Their initial designs in 2009 featured studs that were hand-glued on sunglasses, but just a short few years have made a world of difference – not just in the designs, but in Coco and Breezy themselves.
VIDEO: Coco & Breezy Get Sassy As They Discuss Their First Film!
The twins have shed the youth connected with their previous attention-stopping hair and now opt for shaved heads, dark lipstick, and an absence of the shades they both designed and hid behind.
They are no longer the Coco and Breezy you may have known, and they’re celebrating with their new Omorose collection.
The word “Omorose” is a name for beautiful in Egyptian, a word that not only describes their new collection, but encompasses their growth within self, and within their company.
PHOTOS: Coco & Breezy Give Us An “Appetizer” Of Their Full Spring 2012 Collection
Coco and Breezy swung by the GlobalGrind offices to show off their new designs, and to give us a little background on how they plan on being even better in the coming years.
We chatted with the pair until they departed to drop off some samples to ELLE Magazine, proving that a little hard work does pay off.
GlobalGrind: When you look back at the designs you first started with when you moved here, do you think about what you could have done differently?
Coco and Breezy: I don’t look back and think we should’ve done anything differently because they became a really big trend. I feel like when we first started them, they were super new in the market. Of course I wouldn’t say we were the first ones because we weren’t the first ones to do those glasses. But we did help, in the year 2009, bring back the trend of those glasses. Cause fashion is, you know, repetitive. You can never say you were the first to do anything, but we definitely helped with that trend. It is the same with every collection, I never say ‘oh, I wish I would’ve did this.’ You’ll just see it improve with each collection.
Where do you look for inspiration when you’re looking to design?
First it starts off with music. I can’t design and I can’t work without music. But we’re very crazy with our music. We’ll have one day, where we’re just listening to Mozart, blasting it, and everyone will turn around asking us, ‘you’re really listening to Mozart?’ We go from Mozart to freakin’ “Mothafuckin Problems.” I think it’s the music range. We get so inspired by music. That’s what brings us into our mood when we design. And from there, we build our aesthetic.
What’s the filtering process like? Where is the middle ground between you two?
A lot of times I’ll usually start off the sketch. Breezy’s the head designer. Coco, I’m the head head though. Cause you’ll see how it goes. I’ll admit it. So start’s off as a sketch and I’ll usually sketch it up. And then Coco, she’s like a super perfectionist. She’ll kind of rearrange certain things. She’s good at innovating and I’m good at fixing up her innovations. And when we get our first sample, everyone on our team knows that if Coco doesn’t like it, it’s not happening. Coco has to sign off on it.
What about the people who used to bully you growing up?
People used to call us white girls and they would talk about us because we were straight from the suburbs. They would totally talk about us and just say all this bad stuff. All this nasty stuff. They ran us out of there. In eighth grade, I told my mom and dad I can’t. We got internet, cyber bullied. They wanted to fight us. They wanted to jump us for no reason. We didn’t do anything. Just for being ourselves. Being nice. You guys are too happy, why are you always smiling. We got that all our life. And now, people from there contact us. And you know it’s all about positivity.
Our mom and dad were the shit. They let us be ourselves at a young age. If we wanted to cut our hair, dye our hair, be into art. We grew up saying we wanted to be fashion designers. They didn’t say, no, you have to be a lawyer. They said, go for it girls, whatever you guys want to do. Just do it. I remember even third grade saying I wanted to be an entrepreneur. And be a business owner. Our parents would always like, whatever you guys want to do, do it.
What’s the most that has changed since you started?
I think the most thing that has changed is, me, us, our minds. Yeah. I think really, us. I feel like we’ve found our inner selves. But of course, you never find yourself all the way through. I’ve grown a lot as a person. Before we were very timid and shy. But you know, you only live life once. So it’s like you can’t hold yourself in. That’s why we’ve grown a lot. I think even in the last six months we’ve grown a lot. Of course, cutting your hair was part of it. But like, even us, just walking in here not wearing sunglasses. What? You would not see us not wearing sunglasses. Because we were shy. It wasn’t us trying to be cocky or trying to be Hollywood. We were really nervous. That’s the reason why we created sunglasses, to block ourselves away. But now, we’ve grown as women. More confidence, more business savvy.
