Coco & Breezy Dotson
Corianna and Brianna Dotson (better known as Coco and Breezy) are the style icons and creative geniuses behind their eponymous sunglasses line, founded when they were just 19. The twins are also music producers, DJs, and owners of a set of bespoke cottage rentals in the Catskill Mountains.
The Minnesota natives got their start embellishing safety goggles with studs and spikes, DIY-style. They moved to New York City and launched the premium eyewear line that has been worn by icons like Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Serena, and the late, great, superlative style icon Prince.
They’ve partnered with brands that range from Twizzler to Samsung to Zenni Optical and—most importantly, at the age of 26—they’re writing their own rules for their brand.
You can check out their latest projects on Creatively here. And tap on the “Black Creator Spotlight” at the top of your Discover feed to see all the incredible Black creators we’re showcasing this month!
What is the first creative project you remember?
Our first creative project was when we were two years old. Our aunt tells us this story that every time she babysat us, she could never put us in front of the TV like other kids so she started to buy us bags of arts and crafts. But if we received the same bag with the same crafts, we would know and we would tell her so she had to mix them up to challenge us more. We always wanted to create something new.
Describe your aesthetic in three words.
Our aesthetic is unapologetic, effortless, and thoughtful.
What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?The most fulfilling collaboration was our partnership with Zenni Optical. It’s an eyewear collaboration called Planet CB x Zenni and we actually just launched in August. The reason why it was so fulfilling was because for almost 10 years, we said we would live on Planet CB in 2020 and then we—funny enough—launched Planet CB in 2020. We wanted to launch affordable glasses for kids that were stylish. What’s great is that a portion of Planet CB proceeds supports Child Mind Institute’s efforts to provide youth of Black communities with greater access to mental health services.
What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?
One creative project we did that taught us something fundamental was when we did the ‘third eye’ glasses for Prince. He taught us a lot about ourselves because during that time, we got to work with a legend. When he told us he wanted us to design glasses for his third eye, we were like: “How the hell are we going to do this?” This was a real challenge. Just being around someone that creative and that special was amazing. Even if an idea sounded unrealistic, he would just say it; being around him made us think bigger.
Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?
Coco: I think creativity is something you’re born with. And I think the beautiful part about creativity is that you don’t have to be artistic to be creative. I tell people who work in jobs that aren’t artistic like accountants that they are creative because they have to find creative ways to do things or creative strategies. That is really the definition of being creative.
What’s the last dream you had?
Breezy: I just had a dream that Rihanna had a crush on me. She was flirting with me in front of everybody. [Laughs] I was like: “Are you sure you want to do this in public?”
Coco: I don’t remember my last one! Breezy writes her dreams down.
One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?
I hope people will write that they got the blueprint to be Black women entrepreneurs. Men aren’t often criticized for having multiple businesses but [according to society], women can’t handle it. If this is the Coco & Breezy blueprint, I want people to say, ‘If they did it, I can do it, too.’
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