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When I catch up with Kyan and Issey, the twin brothers who have a combined 1.5 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, they have just arrived from Melbourne. It’s late August and the pair has flown in on what can only be described as the perfect Sydney day. It’s been raining for much of the past two months, but today, there’s not a cloud in sight.
Sparkling blue skies bathe the city in a freshness that whispers the end of winter is near. There’s a brightness to the city, and the crisp morning has started to burn off into something slightly warmer, giving us the first real taste of spring. It’s apt, since the brothers are here to celebrate the launch of Chanel’s new men’s fragrance, Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif. The fragrance, which Kyan explains makes him feel like he’s standing “on my tippy toes”, has been designed like an extrait de parfum to boldly encourage the wearer to look beyond their own horizons towards their deepest desires.
The complex ambery-aromatic scent has the same woody notes that have become a signature of the Bleu collection, though with a warm, leathery edge to add an air of mystery. In Bleu de Chanel L’Exclusif, in-house perfumer-creator Olivier Polge asks you to luxuriate in the prospects of new beginnings and ask, ‘What’s next?’. When I ask Kyan to elaborate, he explains that it “makes me feel like another version of myself”.
Issey echoes this, explaining that while he, like Kyan, often leans towards cleaner and lighter scents, one spritz of Bleu de Chanel has him feeling bolder. “It just puts me into a new world,” Issey tells ELLE Australia. “When I put it on, I feel like I’m Superman or Batman.”
For Kyan and Issey, who live between Melbourne and Tokyo, this question of ‘What’s next?’ is ever-present. Kyan explains that he started social media at 15 years old and boldly took action to make his dreams a reality. He’s never looked back. “I just really went for it. I believed in myself,” he says, adding, “I had a vision.” This razor focus also quickly took hold of Issey, who watched his brother travelling back and forth between Australia and Japan for work and decided he wanted a taste of that life as well.
But though Kyan and Issey may seem similar from the outside — they’re twins after all, and both work in the modelling and content creation spaces — forging their own paths has always been a priority. “Being in the same industry, there’s going to be jobs that we do together, campaigns, photo shoots, and sometimes there will be times where it will be hard to distinguish between each other,” explains Issey. “We’ve always been cautious of [that] and try to have our own twist between our content so people can actually tell the difference.”
Their effort to differentiate themselves shines through their content, but also in the way they present themselves. They joke that even a change in hair colour has been a powerful way to separate themselves, with Issey recently embracing a platinum blonde look that’s the polar opposite of Kyan’s naturally dark hair.
“I do think with us being twins, we’re always going to be in sync,” admits Kyan. “We also really do share a lot of clothes, but our individual taste still comes into that, like, we style them differently.”
This journey, they say, is a process. And ahead, Kyan and Issey share how their styles and perspectives have evolved in the past five years as they’ve navigated the beauty industry.
ELLE Australia: You both clearly had an immense amount of ambition from a very young age. What was it that made you decide to just go for it, and how did you find that confidence within yourself to chase your dreams?
Kyan: I think I just always knew I was going to be in some kind of creative field, whether that was doing music or maybe creating or designing. When I started to do content creation, I was like, Oh, this is the one and it really did make me realise that if I’m not going to do it, no one else is going to do it for me. So that’s made me really put the foot down at, like, 15.
Issey: Yeah, similar to my brother, I was honestly somewhat nervous standing in front of a camera or just even talking to a crowd, and I feel like, honestly, I started with ‘Fake it till you make it.’ But originally, I changed that perspective to actually being present in the situation, and now I feel like starting at such a young age compared to now, my perspective has gradually changed, and I feel like I’ve matured a bit in order to understand what’s really happening around me and how I can take this social media career to the next level.
ELLE Australia: What has been your biggest challenge in finding your place within the beauty industry?
Kyan: Definitely finding products catered towards men has been a little bit of a challenge. When I was working in Tokyo, a lot of the skincare products or makeup products were somewhat targeted to women.
But in the past year or two, even in Australia, I do see a lot more products that are catered towards men. And I actually have been repeat purchasing this Boy de Chanel Lip Balm, because Chanel is a brand that has always had a men’s line, even for [skincare and] perfume. So I think it has been a little bit difficult, but we’ve seen some change in the past year or two.
Issey: My personal challenge in trying to find my place within the beauty industry is honestly just the stereotype people have that, you know, [the unspoken rules that tell men to] make sure you do this, make sure you do that, and that’s what people think the norm is. But I feel like if everyone follows the norm, there’s no originality.
ELLE Australia: Do you think men should care more about beauty, and what is your hope for how men would feel about beauty?
Issey: I honestly think beauty is an extension [of yourself]. For example, your style is an extension of your personality, and beauty [is the same]. Some people try to avoid beauty because of the femininity around it. And honestly, in my opinion, beauty should be something [men should feel comfortable with] having a try with. Instead of just seeing beauty as this feminine thing, I feel like it’s just another side you can show.
Kyan: I think a lot of guys, or men in general, do care about beauty, but in such a different way. Trying new products, like a new moisturiser or even a new scent feels good. And I really do think men should just, sometimes, just get out of their comfort zones and try something new. I feel, in 2025, there are products catered towards us more than ever. And I think even trying a moisturiser that’s tinted will really make a difference, too. So I really do think men should maybe just give it a go. I think we both agree that men should definitely care more about beauty.
Issey: I do somewhat understand why men will be kind of hesitant with trying anything regarding beauty, because, like I said before, there’s this feminine thing around it. And I feel like everyone just thinks beauty is for women. And from my perspective, it can be seen like that to a certain extent, but if you really see the wider picture, beauty is for everyone. Regardless of where you’re from, it’s catered towards everyone, like, we’re all just trying to look good, you know?
ELLE Australia: What does the idea of ‘becoming’ mean to you? Does it resonate with where you’re at right now, on your journey through your career, style and beauty?
Kyan: When I hear the word becoming, [I think of] becoming a better version of my current self. And not changing who I am, but feeling more comfortable and expressing my ideas, my thoughts, my new style, and taking that step towards who I really believe I am meant to be.
Issey: I feel like becoming is almost transitioning or trying something new. But also, bringing your past self within your new self, like [opening] a new chapter.
ELLE Australia: You’ve spoken about how you prioritise becoming your own individual selves, and how you are on a journey to becoming better together and also apart, even within the beauty industry. So, that makes sense.
Issey: Adding on to what you’re saying, I don’t think [enough] people are nowadays. So many people are trying to fit into a norm, and they’re not really trying to be themselves. And I feel like, in my opinion, that’s not the most authentic way you can live.
You know, you have your truth, you have your inner self that you want to show to the world, and if you’re just following trends or just doing what you think is safe, I feel like you’re not living to the full extent. You just want to obviously show your authentic self within the world, and by not showing that, I wouldn’t call it a waste, but I feel like you’re missing out.
Kyan: If everyone’s doing the same thing, wearing the same thing, talking about the same thing, there’s no personality to it. So, being a bit quirky, maybe some guy on the street may think you’re weird, but at the end of the day, you’re never going to see him again. And when you are your authentic self, everyone is a bit weird in their own way.
CREDITS
Photographer: Britt Murphy
Photography Assistant: Amanda Chadwick
Skin prep: Chanel Makeup Artist, Jasmine Abdallaoui
Hair: Rory Rice
Manicure: Tulin Coban
The post In Sync Yet Singular — Issey And Kyan Share Their Journey Of ‘Becoming’ appeared first on ELLE.
