It’s been over a year since we first chatted with How Two Live sisters Jess and Stef Dadon over here at Husskie, but with the two launching their latest collection for TWOOBS today – we thought the occasion made for the perfect excuse to play catch-ups with the fashionable duo.
Not familiar with How Two Live or TWOOBS? A quick summary: How Two Live is the Instagram account of the Dadon sisters where they share their bold quirky take on fashion. In 2012, they embraced their unique style to step into the design seat – launching TWOOBS, a range of edgy flatform sandals.
Never ones to shy away from a campaign with a difference – today’s launch of the Romance & The Wild One collection sees the girls pay homage to the brand’s animal-friendly practices by featuring a dozen dogs and their walkers. And the pics are beyond adorable [although we didn’t notice any huskies involved… our personal favourite].
To celebrate the launch, we thought we’d pull the girls aside for our own dozen – chatting everything from best messages to biggest misconceptions to greatest “pinch me” moments…
1. Best message you’ve ever received from a follower?
Recently we were listening to the radio [KIIS 101.1] and the hosts Jase and PJ were talking about whether or not platform shoes were cool. PJ started talking about these awesome platform shoes she owns and we quickly realised she was talking about TWOOBS! We posted about it and she wrote to us saying how much she loves the brand. That was a pretty great message to get!
2. Biggest misconception about yourselves?
That we’re twins! We honestly get asked if we’re twins on average three times per day. And then when we say “no”, the follow up questions come… “Who’s older? And by how much?” People just have this weird obsession with twins. Sometimes we feel bad letting people down, so we just go with it and say “yes”. Then they squeal with delight and that answer comes with it’s own follow up questions… “Are you identical? Who’s the evil twin?”
3. Craziest thing you’ve ever done?
Two years ago we went on safari in Botswana and South Africa and it was one of the craziest, most magical experiences of our lives. We’re massive animals lovers (if you couldn’t tell) and there’s honestly nothing better than being two metres from a whole pack of lions in the wild. Our guide even let us out of the truck to go inspect some rhinos up close… that was extra crazy.
4. Best thing about being an influencer?
For us, it’s that we get to do everything together. We’re always each other’s assumed plus one, so we get to work together, go to events together, travel together… it’s the best. It drives our boyfriends slightly crazy, but on the occasion that they get invited to events with us, we don’t hear any complaining out of them.
5. Worst thing about being an influencer?
That people think you don’t work hard, which couldn’t be further from the truth! People see the highlight reel of influencers having fun at events and getting gifts (which, okay, is pretty awesome!) but they don’t always see all the hard work that goes on behind-the-scenes. We try to share it all on Insta Stories so our followers can see all the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into everything we create!
6. Something your followers don’t know about you?
We tend to overshare – so there’s not much they don’t know about us! We once rescued a rabbit we found on the street and named it ‘Thumper’. Is there any other name you can call a rabbit?!
7. Greatest “pinch me” moment for TWOOBS?
When our collab with Gorman sold out online in under 3 hours. We got a call from Gorman about an hour into the launch to say they were selling so quickly that they wanted to reorder immediately, so we basically spent the entire day jumping up and down screaming.
8. Career highlight?
Nothing beats those first moments! The first time we shot a campaign, the first time someone wrote an article on us, the first time we designed for a brand. When you’re building something, you’ve really got to enjoy the journey and celebrate every win.
9. Career lowlight?
When we first started to get trolled on social media, it was pretty hard. You’re just going about your life and work, and then suddenly you’ve got people criticising you for it and trying to tear you down. We’ve learnt to deal with it and also now face it head on – if someone’s writing mean things, we’ll just respond to them quite nicely and relate to them on a human level. They usually stop pretty quickly.
10. Do you wear TWOOBS every day? Do you feel like you’re cheating on them when you don’t?!
Yes we wear TWOOBS most days and have major guilt around not wearing them! We’re pretty excited about how diverse this new collection is and we’ll definitely be changing pairs daily. The only time we really don’t wear TWOOBS is in the middle of winter when it’s so cold outside that our feet can’t bear being in sandals (even if we’ve got socks on!) but we’re working on a new style for next winter that will change that…
11. Why did you decide to use 12 dogs in the latest TWOOBS campaign?
Well, with TWOOBS being completely animal-friendly, we’ve always wanted to do a campaign featuring dogs. With the recent push towards cruelty-free fashion in the industry – with brands like Gucci, ASOS, and Giorgio Armani all changing their practices, we thought now would be the perfect time to shoot the campaign to celebrate that. But secretly, we just wanted an excuse to spend the day with 12 dogs.
12. What’s new about the new TWOOBS collection? What’s next?
This collection features the signature TWOOBS silhouette, but with some added sparkle and spice! We’ve still got our lycra styles, but we’ve also added some incredible metallic styles which we think will be our best sellers… plus lots of frills, hand-beaded gemstones, and our new triple stack for extra height, which will be launching next month. Our next big announcement will be the recipient of our first TWO GOOD grant, where we’ll give $5000 and a mentorship to a female entrepreneur. Stay tuned for that…
Main image: How Two Live | NYC outdoor dog campaign: Henry Lou | Studio images: Scott Newett
Want exclusive influencer interviews and news straight to your inbox? Join our mailing list or follow us on Instagram.
