The world of design is highly competitive. It requires creativity, passion, and a certain edge to create products that make them stand out. Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing young eyewear designers/musicians Corianna and Brianna Dotson, better known as Coco and Breezy– two sisters who possess all the above traits and something more.
Renowned for their unique style and funky eyeglasses, including the trademark third eye sunglasses that they designed for the late artist Prince, the twin have earned a name for themselves in the framework industry since 2009. That was the same year when their company, affectionately named after them, was founded. Recently, the widely successful duo branched their unique and personal design ideas farther than just their own company by partnering with the well-known and affordable online retailer Zenni Optical.
The two eyewear brands have come together for a children’s line by the name of “Planet CB by Coco + Breezy x Zenn.” Not only are the collaborated glasses stylish and affordable, but a portion of the proceeds from the glasses sold will be donated to the Child Mind Institute (CMI). Coco and Breezy have worked very closely with the institute, ensuring that their generous donations support Black children’s mental health through CMI’s Healthy Brain Network.
At the top of our interview, both sisters said hello, but Breezy had to tend to another commitment. For the duration of our talk, Coco elaborated further on the Zenni collection and shared some specifics of their designer life.
TrueStar.Life: Going into your partnership with Zenni, what were some things you knew had to be included in your new glasses?
Coco: Oh! Well, it was a wish come true. …Even as we grow and scale our company and as we partnered with an already big company, we wanted there to be a personal feel and a personal touch. And I think that’s so important because the way we started, we had a personal feel and a touch. And when we started growing we started to lose it a little bit, and then we realized that people love to feel like their our friend. They want to have a story, they want everything to be intentional and for us whenever we’re designing our product or when we’re naming the product or creating the marketing campaign, we like to always have intention behind anything and everything we put our hands on.
And so when we were making the glasses, a lot of our frames are named after affirmations. And so we thought it was really important for us to bring that onto our Planet CB and collaboration with Zenni collection because we want people to feel like we want them to feel happy and we want them to know that these are our words to you, and lets like, share them with the world.
Interviewing Coco and hearing first hand how proud she was about her familial company was inspiring and an honor. To get the scoop on the twins personal styles and the ups and downs of going into business with each other, watch the video above. For more information on Coco and Breezy visit the Zenni website and follow the sisters on Instagram.
By Kendal Amos, Sophomore, Little Black Pearl