When Aki Kim, 71, and Koichi Suzuki Kim, 73, started posting outfit movies to their Instagram and TikTok accounts (@akiandkoichi) within the spring of this 12 months, neither the couple nor their daughter Yuri (who creates and posts content material on their behalf) anticipated to achieve 1 million followers earlier than the tip of the summer time. Whereas the outfits — from a few of their favourite manufacturers like Issey Miyake, Loewe, Comme des Garcons and APC — change from video to video, the format stays easy, that includes the couple of their California neighborhood.
“We by no means anticipated this stage of consideration and it nonetheless feels unreal to us,” the Kims advised Refinery29 in a joint assertion. “It’s troublesome to pinpoint why we imagine individuals are responding positively. We expect folks recognize our fashion, nevertheless it may also be tied to the enjoyment we convey.” Though the aim of their accounts has by no means been monetary — “as 70-somethings beginning a brand new journey, we imagine style may also help everybody really feel assured and true to themselves. Trend is about feeling good irrespective of your age,” they are saying — along with followers, the Kims have since secured partnerships with manufacturers like ASOS, Warby Parker and Uniqlo, catapulting them into the rising house of style influencer {couples}.
From Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s matching denim outfits in 2003 to Kourtney Kardashian’s Travis Barker-influenced fashion 20 years later, folks have been obsessive about {couples}’ style for ages. In newer years although, this has gone past superstar pairings with web duos like Aki and Koichi, Younger Emperors and extra gaining devoted followings and engaged digital communities.
In June, Remi Alfallah and Erris Burke, 27 and 28 respectively, shared a video of themselves posing of their kitchen that obtained 11 million views and 431,000 likes and counting. In it, the LA- and London-based couple are seen carrying matching black outfits — Alfallah in a secondhand Roberto Cavalli costume, Burke in an AREA crop high and Zara mini skirt. The caption reads, “Nobody talks concerning the struggles of two femmes looking for a non-cringe strategy to submit.”
Burke, who has been creating style and way of life content material for 4 years, met movie producer Alfallah by way of Instagram in 2022, and started sharing movies of Alfallah just a few months into their relationship. Quick ahead to final summer time: The couple created joint accounts on TikTok and Instagram (as @remianderris), sharing movies of their on a regular basis outfits which vary from dishevelled denims and crop tops to mini skirts and boots. Whereas Burke largely wears loose-fitting streetwear, Alfallah likes to pair female silhouettes with masculine equipment like ties, flat caps and chunky sneakers — although in addition they share their garments and coordinate outfits that play to one another’s aesthetics. Now, just a few hundred thousand followers later, the couple has been signed to a expertise company whereas their accounts proceed to develop day by day.
Simply because the Kims hope to supply illustration for seniors, Alfallah and Burke began their account to create an area for queer folks and {couples} who costume like them. “There’s a sure stereotype of extra masculine queer girls that’s usually proven in popular culture, which is clearly legitimate and exists, however for folks exterior of that, [we’re] like, ‘Can I see someone like me who attire extra female, or is extra of a tomboy?’” Alfallah tells Refinery29.
Indiana-based couple Daniel Mirage and Shamaria Thomas, each 21, use Mirage’s account (@daniel_mirage) to showcase fashion tendencies. Of their posts, they put on coordinated streetwear and Y2K-inspired outfits that embrace jorts, shrunken tops, matching Timberland boots and numerous secondhand finds. “We’re each on this bizarre, experimental section the place we all know what we like and don’t, however we’re nonetheless looking for issues that we wouldn’t essentially have worn a 12 months in the past,” Thomas tells Refinery29. “More often than not we prepare collectively and resolve on a theme for the day,” Mirage provides. A few of their current themes included jersey dressing (the place each wore thrifted sports activities tops and matching shorts) and Western-inspired cowboy boots and chunky loafers.
“It was a extremely constructive response,” Mirage says about when he first began that includes Thomas on his account. “All my pals who see my web page had been actually joyful for me.” Mirage’s followers and engagement have grown with their elevated couple content material, which frequently options clean transitions and outfit compilations. Feedback on their movies vary from “me and who?” and “ya’ll praise one another so effectively,” to inquiries about outfit particulars.
Whereas #FitPics isn’t a brand new format, the success that these {couples} are experiencing is additional proof that customers at the moment are in search of extra than simply aspirational style content material. In a current Refinery29 survey that requested 82 readers to checklist the explanations they observe influencers, 56% stated as a result of they make inventive content material, 43% stated as a result of they’re relatable, and 33% stated it was as a result of “they showcase a life-style I like or aspire to.”
@pipanddeya let’s get to work 📸 #girlfriend #boyfriend #comedy ♬ unique sound – Pip & Deya
“Lots of what we see on-line is somebody talking to the digital camera, so that you miss out on that human interplay… And that’s what folks love,” Deya Suresh tells Refinery29. “Like when TikTok got here round, every little thing was so uncooked and relatable as a result of it’s not fastidiously curated and individuals are simply sitting down of their messy rooms.” On their travel-focused account @pipanddeya, Suresh alongside her companion Pip Puveendran, each 33 and based mostly in Toronto, submit match checks, usually on the road or on vacation, and meme movies that present their character. Of their movies, Suresh wears female silhouettes like milkmaid attire, printed blouses, and A-line skirts, whereas Puveendran sports activities tailor-made items, matching units, and activewear. “We needed a spot the place we might simply be us,” Suresh says of their account.
We are able to’t complain, that is our dream job… Nonetheless, it’s not a trip. We get up, we movie, we edit, we go on our emails.
Deya Suresh
Whereas Suresh and Puveendran attempt to keep as genuine as potential, the 2 full-time creators additionally deal with it like a enterprise. This comes with cons. “We are able to’t complain — like that is our dream job and we receives a commission to journey — nonetheless, it’s not like a trip. We get up, we movie, we edit whereas on trip, we go on our emails, ” Suresh says. “One rule we’ve just lately been implementing is we attempt to make our final day of trip a [non-working] ‘us day.’” Alfallah and Burke additionally acknowledge the necessity to steadiness being current of their relationship whereas showcasing private moments that their followers come to like them for. “If there’s a second that goes by and also you’re making an attempt to be current, the place you overlook to movie otherwise you don’t wish to, there’s this lingering guilt like, ‘that will have completed so effectively,’” Alfallah says.
When requested what would occur to their content material in the event that they broke up, Puveendran says he’s not apprehensive about that: “We do bicker and struggle, however finally we’ve the identical love for journey and content material creation that, if I had been to be with someone else who wasn’t a part of that world, I might have a nightmare existence with them. They wouldn’t perceive why I wish to take a pleasant drone shot at dawn [laughs].” Mirage and Thomas agree that their social media journey thus far “has been fairly straightforward.” With their viewers and profession alternatives rising alongside their relationship, in keeping with the 2, their hardest challenges are deciding on outfits and discovering aesthetically pleasing areas to movie.
Because the world of style influencers continues to vary, {couples} content material offers us the healthful vibes we deserve — and two instances the outfit inspiration.
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