Courtesy of Brigette and Danielle Pheloung
CANNES, France — Danielle Pheloung says she’s fine if people call Phe Phe, the fashion and lifestyle brand she runs with her identical twin sister Brigette, “just another influencer brand.”
The twins “look up to” creator-led brands like Parke, Dairy Boy and Daily Drills as inspiration, Danielle said in an interview during the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity last month. Aware of the high expectations for and scrutiny on creators-turned-founders, the sisters are embracing the skeptics and finding their identity as co-founders.
“Our community is very excited, and almost feels like it's their baby in a way, because they love us,” said Brigette, known by her handle Acquired Style. Even criticism of their brand has led to people finding their products. “I found a message from a girl who said, ‘Oh I found your video from a girl saying there was a hole in her shirt, and I went to your website and bought 10 things,’” Danielle said.
The twins are navigating an increasingly common transition in the creator economy: moving from promoting other companies' products to selling their own. Since Phe Phe launched last fall, the twins have folded the brand into their personal content — including a viral bachelorette party that generated an estimated $1.7 million in earned media value for a beauty-brand sponsor — while facing the scrutiny that has followed a wave of influencer-led startups.
Brigette was the first of the sisters to start posting while working in corporate fashion after graduation. She recalled looking at influencers online and feeling like their path was attainable and that she could do the same. She started posting on TikTok during the pandemic era and the account grew quickly. “It became bigger than I could have ever imagined,” she said. “I never really looked back on getting paid like, $22 an hour for working in corporate fashion.”
Even with in-family inspiration, Danielle was torn about whether to pursue content as well while working in finance at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs; she was reluctant to “give up this trophy, this resume that I had.” Despite being fulfilled, her sister’s new life as a creator was hard to resist. “I was also like, the life that Brigette is living is insane, why can’t I do this? We’re identical twins, if it works for her, would it work for me?” she said.
She had no plans to leave her job when she began posting corporate content — like office outfit-of-the-day (OOTD) videos and productive morning routines and tips for balancing a demanding job — until she realized the power and opportunity in the creator space. She questioned why she was spending all her time and energy helping financial advisors instead of building her own business.
Once Danielle started posting, Brigette’s content got another boost and they realized they had a new angle as twins. “The sister aspect is very relatable, but then the twin aspect is very unique, so we play into it as much as we can, because it makes our content stand out,” Brigette said. “There's a lot of New York City influencers that are doing the same thing as us, [who] are in lifestyle, fashion, so we try to leverage it as much as possible.”
Some casual viewers still don’t realize that there are two of them, or they believe that Danielle’s account is a burner or personal version of Acquired Style, Brigette’s handle. Brigette has a larger following of more than 2.9M on TikTok and Instagram as opposed to Danielle’s 1.1M on the platforms (a recurring bit in Danielle’s content) and they said they are open with each other navigating the creator space and comparing their deals.
“She deserves higher rates than me … She's been in this industry for so long, she built our empire, and I tagged along and made it stronger,” Danielle said. They produce their content, down to the editing styles, in the same manner, figuring what works for one will work for the other, and look to each other for inspiration.
Building a brand
Now, they’re leaning on the twin identity again, and believe that being twins is their top asset as co-founders.
“Working together is like we unlocked a superpower,” Brigette said. Brigette tends to lean into the creative decisions and Danielle the financial, but they decided to do everything together after initially debating splitting up the responsibilities more officially into a CEO and creative director role for accountability.
When they began teasing Phe Phe’s launch last fall, followers and online observers speculated that it would be a hair-care line, or perhaps corporate wear inspired by Danielle’s OOTDs. Instead, the brand launched with casual loungewear pieces they model and wear in real life — an intentional choice Brigette said was designed so that they can “continue to create and build these pieces alongside our following.”
The first seven months of the brand hasn’t been without challenges.
“There's just so much behind the scenes that we didn't expect, like all the decisions that we need to make,” Danielle said. Brigette cited production timelines and manufacturing partnerships: “There's a lot that comes up that throws us curve balls.”
They say the work has made them “more thoughtful creators” having seen the brand owner side of things and imagining entrusting other creators to promote their products.
Life events as content and a business strategy
Asked about a potential work edit or corporate collection, Danielle said every launch this year will be tied to a major life event. The biggest example yet is Brigette’s custom bridal gown for her legal ceremony.
She’s strategizing about how much of her nuptials to share on social media after her bachelorette party broke the internet. Some creators have chosen to document and monetize every stage of their personal lives, including their wedding days.
“I spend a lot of time thinking about strategy and how I do everything in my life, and this is obviously a huge life moment. I definitely want to portray it to my followers in the best way,” she said. “I want them to feel like they're along for the ride as well, but you'll have to wait and see exactly how I do it.”
That balance between privacy and sharing content is one of the biggest challenges for the twins.
“Consumers want to know everything about the creator, and they want to be seen, and they want to be heard, and they want a real point of view from you,” Danielle said. “It's just trying to find that fine line of how much do I share while still setting boundaries, because it's just getting more and more personal as the days go on.”
This story is part of Verified, a newsletter that is published by Washington Post Creator, a team outside The Washington Post’s newsroom that is focused on the creator economy and content partnerships with independent creators. Learn more about Washington Post Creator.
