Ada Kokosar’s Decade in Street Style

Photographed by Phil Oh

After attending fashion weeks around the world for more than 15 years—and not just the women’s shows, but couture, menswear, and pre-collections, too—you’d think Ada Kokosar might be a little, I don’t know, over fashion? At least a little burned out? Not quite. As a stylist and “OG” street-style star of the late 2000s, she’s experienced every peak and valley the industry has cycled through: the death of heels, the rise of influencers, the minimalist backlash, the Gucci-fication. She’s seen the ranks of street-style photographers swell from just a few people—Scott Schuman, Tommy Ton, Phil Oh, and Rei Shito among them—to a traffic-blocking swarm. And yet at no point did she waver from her own sleek, highly personal sense of style. She’s still committed to the unfussy, mostly-monochrome aesthetic she established long ago. (She even color-coordinated the apps on her phone!)

Kokosar’s genuine fashion obsession and consistent style has made her a regular in Phil Oh’s street-style slideshows, from 2011 to the Spring 2020 shows in Paris. All the exposure has led to some pretty significant business opportunties. She’s parlayed her digital fame into a few collaborations, including a sold-out line for Other Stories and her own line of PVC shoes, Midnight 00.

“I think what people appreciate the most is that [my style] feels really authentic,” Kokosar told Vogue last year. It all comes down to her offhand, spontaneous styling: “I pack everything as looks [for fashion week], and take a picture of the look, but I actually never wear it. I wake up on the day I want to wear it, and then I need to change something. I think it’s the mood, the feeling, or the vibe of the moment. I always need to change or contradict myself.” In other words, avoid looking perfect and you’re golden. For a lesson on her artfully undone look, we’ve traced Kokosar’s style through the decade in 29 photos below.