Even people without Instagram accounts know Emma Kotos as the dynamic face of that increasingly hyperbolic space.
A beloved and monumentally successful model whose career and cachet rests nearly entirely on her welcoming sense of social awareness, Kotos has built a small empire out of actively turning negatives into positives in her own life, and she hopes to be able to encourage others to be more caring toward themselves and others through her online presence.
Being Real in an Industry That Glorifies Phony
Where other female influencers too frequently fall victim to a lethal combination of their hubris and the ever-morphing demands of a fickle internet, and thus interest in their content likewise nosedives, Emma Kotos has banked both her brand and her continuous popularity on the endlessly likable trait of being real within an industry that often glorifies only what is demonstrably phony.
Born in Seattle but raised in Connecticut, Kotos imbibed a bicoastal, citizen-of-everywhere attitude very young, and it has seeped into every campaign, partnership, and photograph of her professional career.
Blessed with a childhood that was heavy on all sorts of travel and the early independence lessons provided by the homeschooling she excelled at during her academic life has lent Emma Kotos a worldly, self-possessed edge that is highly uncommon in someone of her youthful age bracket, particularly in the internet era when anxiety, FOMO, and other forms of unhealthy desires for homogeneity often rule young people’s perceptions of their identity, both online and off.
Modeling Kindness
Recognizing through her own experience of teen bullying that only hurt people hurt people, she set out to model more than clothes when it came time to utilize her face and image; she intended to model a better, kinder way to move through the world by leveraging listening and patience over cruelty and judgment.
Universal Appeal
Kotos’ comfort in her skin certainly contributes to her universal appeal across social media platforms and, more importantly, in the court of public opinion. With thriving, personally-driven accounts that amass millions of followers and a seemingly never-ending supply of ideas for self-betterment that feel both attainable to a novice and aspirational to a professional, she has cultivated the perfect hybrid for accessible-to-all photographs and videos.
Enjoying sponsorships from Honey Birdette, Shein, EATS, and LINGERIE, Emma Kotos is also a recognizable name in reliable beauty and fashion industry insights, hacks, and trend reporting.
Kotos’ predictions for 2023 include a revitalization of natural beauty aesthetics that she expresses profound and immediate enthusiasm for, both for its broader acceptance of all ranges of feminine beauty and for its potential to promote better mental wellness amongst younger women, particularly.
Natural Looks for Women
Citing the ramp-up of the “clean girl” aesthetic in 2022, a cosmetic vibe that emphasizes less makeup and a more casual approach to dressing, Kotos expresses glee at the public’s growing fascination with more natural looks for women: “I think the biggest beauty trend in 2023 will be embracing your natural features and individuality, which I’m very excited for!”
An Optimist
When it comes to the long-term changes brought about by the pandemic in her field of work and interest, Kotos is an unshakable optimist. She sees a clear line between the popularization of a more relaxed beauty standard to how COVID caused almost everyone to stop and reevaluate the quality and focus of their lives across every category.
She believes a renewed prioritization of health and wellness will supplant obsolete ideas about extreme dieting and irresponsible aggressive exercising. “People are becoming a lot more aware of their health, how it affects them, and their long-term beauty now,” she shares, and adds that she is eager likewise to help usher in skin care as the new ‘makeup.’
With so many feeds filled with meditational practices, yoga insights, and mindfulness tactics, no one would mistake Kotos for a believer in surface beauty even without hearing her articulate such forward-thinking ideas about feeling successful in oneself.
A Throwback to a Simpler Time
As much of her ethos, both aesthetically and in physical practice, is aligned with seventies-era views on being kind to yourself and others, showing gratitude as a guiding principle, consuming healthy food to keep your body strong, not thin, and taking cues from Mother Earth for nearly every life problem, perhaps the best way to describe what makes Kotos stand apart in a sea of ambitious online entities is the fact that she, like the values she embodies, is a throwback to a simpler time.
Ironically, given her profession, that time was a pre-internet age wherein filters did not manipulate feminine beauty. When asked what advice she would give any young woman who wishes to follow in her professional footsteps, her answer is her eternal mantra: “You just have to stand up for yourself, be confident, and never give up.”
This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.