Hayley Kiyoko and Naomi Scott, the next generation of Disney Channel starlets, hit the media circuit this week and had a premiere to attend before today’s debut of the TV movie “Lemonade Mouth,” the story of kids who form a band. But if this whole experience has been “just weird, just crazy,” as Scott says, dressing the part hasn’t.
Kiyoko, 20, seems poised to become a fashion force, gravitating toward funky styles such as wearing a leather cowboy shirt and shorts with tights. She even pulls off a leather fanny pack.
“I love the fanny pack because I hate bringing those Mary Poppins big bags everywhere,” she said. “I can wear this and keep my stuff safe, and I can always reach my phone and lip gloss.”
Her taste is “left of center,” and while she enjoys the self-expression that comes with fashion, the shopping part is mediocre, she said. The maximum time limit at the mall for this Los Angeles-area native is 90 minutes.
Scott said she would rather be shopping for candy and other sweets, although she likes the occasional spin through a Zara or an AllSaints store. “Fashion” isn’t really her thing, she said, although she’s quickly realizing that paying attention to her clothes, as well as her beauty and grooming routines, are all part of her job.
Looking good exudes a confidence that she hopes her new tween fans will learn, she said, but she wants the emphasis to be on a good, healthy outlook, not on perfection.
Scott has the unfussy, effortless look for which so many strive. As a Londoner, the 17-year-old said she prefers darker colors and subtle shapes, but she doesn’t mind the occasional bit of quirk. This starlet can pull off wearing a gray-print, tank-strap tunic top and chunky flat boots with an oversized pink alligator pendant.
One of her most prized fashion possessions are an old pair of lace-up, Victorian-style boots that her aunt gave her, she said.
Even though Kiyoko is more daring in her style choices, Scott said she likes that her friend always roots things in purpose rather than trend — such as her fanny pack.
But Kiyoko recalls spending her first paycheck — for an OnStar TV commercial when she was in the seventh grade — on all-over gold sneakers by Gwen Stefani’s LAMB collection. As she grows her career, she’d like to do it all, like Stefani — music, modeling and her own fashion brand — she said.
“If there’s one person I think she’s going to be like, it’s Gwen Stefani,” Scott said. “She’s got the whole package.”
