Five year old Alonso Mateo is very likely the most stylish child the world has ever – and very possibly will ever – encounter. He is all drop crotch pants, dark glasses and Tom Ford pocket squares.
And he has 2,500 followers on Instagram, where he shares his catwalk-ready looks with his fans.
In each photo he strikes a confident pose, hand in pocket, gazing off into the distance. The photographs are straight off the fashion pages of Esquire – micro fashion shoots set up on location with palm trees, swimming pool and obligatory dog – dotted with a fair few selfies taken with his iPhone in front of the mirror.
Looking at his mother, an equally stylish figure with a penchant for Givenchy and Chanel, it is easy to see where he gets his élan.
Luisa Fernanda Espinosa is a freelancer fashion stylist who posts her son’s pictures to her own Instagram, where she has 127,000 followers, before they appear on his.
Alonso’s styling is his own doing, though Ms Espinosa says she will sometimes steer him in the right direction if something he chooses doesn’t quite work, or is inappropriate for the weather.
And when they step outside, his fans often take his picture, although Ms Espinosa says her son will sometimes decline if he is too tired.
The pair’s shared a love of fashion has allowed Ms Espinosa to bond with her son, and she says she relishes the opportunity to shop together.
And Ms Espinosa’s work for magazines like Harpers Bazaar and Alonso’s father’s income as owner and CEO of a private equity firm allow the family, originally from Monterrey, Mexico but living in Laguna Beach, sufficient funds to support their shared hobby.
Speaking in an interview with Joy Loves Fashion she said her son’s favourite things to wear are ‘combat boots and sunglasses’ and that his recent obsession with bowties saw him going shopping to snap up all the prints that caught his eye.
Some internet users have criticised the Espinosa family for encouraging their son, who has an iPod and an iPad which he uses to produce his own shoots, to be materialistic. They say that for a young boy, he cares too much about his image.
But Espinosa is defiant. ‘People usually judge right away,’ she tells The Cut.
‘When we go shopping, if he wants loafers just like his daddy and I can afford them, I get them. We’re fine raising our son. He’s always polite, he’s grounded, he’s a sweet boy.
”I don’t think he really notices he’s fashion forward. He’s too young.’
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