What were you doing aged six? Refusing to eat your peanut butter sandwiches unless the crusts were chopped off? Maybe. Picking your nose and flicking it under your brother’s pillow? How dare you!
Well, someone who’s certainly not up for either is Japanese street style star Coco. This sassy six-year-old is far too busy carving out a career for herself as the trendiest kid on the block, whose fresh garms and wavey get-ups leave adults for dead. A quick roll call of the brands featured in her last three Insta posts include Supreme, Gosha Rubchinskiy, Gucci, Vans and The Kids Supply — the latter of which we confess to knowing nothing about, but a quick skim reveals it dresses all the cool kind of kids we wished we could have been.
Growing up in Tokyo, Coco honed her street style skills playing dress up on the floor of her parents’ fashion boutique. She one day hopes to follow in their footsteps by owning her own store — only instead of serving looks, she’ll be serving pancakes, accessorised with a side of maple syrup.
Mid-way through fashion month, we caught up with Coco and her lovely mum Misato, to get a few tips on how to be the next street style superstar.
1. Be original
Money doesn’t always buy style, and style doesn’t need money. Adding a second hand or vintage item to your outfit is a good way to show a bit of originality. Coco likes to don a vintage black hat with a few pins for added punk.
2. Snap up some sunnies
Big ones, small ones, some as big your head (no seriously), pink ones, blue ones, rose tinted or red. It’s not just sunglasses, it’s an expression.
3. Get the Coco look
It took Jennifer Anniston 25 years and a leading spot on one of the world’s most famous sitcoms to get a signature chop, it’s only taken Coco six years and a handful of selfies. Channel your inner Coco this season, head to your nearest salon, and get yourself a bob and some bangs à la mode.
4. Customise your closet
When everyone on your Insta feed suddenly starts gramming the same signature pieces you’ve been working for so long you could practically do a #TBT, don’t freak out. You can always differentiate your look by getting creative and customising a few pieces of your own. Take, for example, the homemade IKEA bag Coco so often carries. So what are you waiting for? Stock up on Sainsbury’s sacks! Cop a Co-Op tote! The world’s your plasticised haven to recycle.
5. Be confident
If there’s anything we can take away from Coco’s IG, it’s that it’s not what she’s wearing but how she’s wearing it. Ok, I lie, it is definitely what she’s wearing, but it’s also how she’s wearing it. With confidence. If you don’t have it, fake it — your brain will pick up your body’s cues in due course. Just follow Coco’s lead and repeat after me — legs wide, arms by your side, shoulders down and head high. It even rhymes.
