Breeding entrepreneurship at NYU: Wesley Breed’s streetwear universe

In between lessons and finding out, Gallatin junior and trend content material creator Wesley Breed is in brand-deal conferences with media firms, or writing the script of his subsequent closet tour TikTok.

Breed, who goes by @needforbreed on TikTok and Instagram, has accrued nearly 300K and over 150K followers on every platform, respectively. His content material, constant in its clear modifying and essay-like exposition, is numerous. Not too long ago, he’s reviewed seasonal collections, like UNIQLO’s new HEATTECH LifeWear assortment and demystified the luxurious trend and way of life conglomerate Ralph Lauren by charting the model’s universe of sub-labels.

TikTok’s algorithm, Breed says, is tough to foretell — a lot of the platform’s content material can appear senseless, designed to supply momentary leisure. However Breed attributes his account’s progress to considerate content material with a transparent narrative. 

“My content material has at all times been longer and it’s at all times concerned a really private connection to me,” he mentioned. “Having it as a narrative…it’s such as you’ve come together with me.”

In Breed’s hometown, Springfield, Massachusetts, he mentioned lacrosse-inspired preppy-wear was the model of selection. He started posting “Thrifting With Wesley” movies on TikTok throughout the pandemic, filming himself exploring his hometown’s classic clothes scene that diverged from the buttoned-up presentation he was used to.

@needforbreed What was your finest discover of 2022? #thrift #thrifting #thrifted #classic #trend #needforbreed ♬ 180db_ [130] – Aphex Twin

@needforbreed Immediately we mourn the lack of Capcut greenscreen #trend #mensfashion #womensfashion #postarchivefaction #korean #koreanfashion #asianfashion #needforbreed ♬ F.I.L.O (Instrumental) [12inch Ver.] – Nujabes

“It’s so cliche to say, however beginning is the toughest half,” Breed mentioned. “There was a time the place I used to be placing a lot time into these movies and so they had been getting no views. Fortunately the views caught on. I really feel very lucky to have such…a direct viewers.”

Rising up along with his Korean grandmother’s sturdy presence in his family saved Breed’s Korean abilities in test. Now, whereas incomes a Korean minor at NYU, he says that his familiarity with the language has helped him higher perceive the tsunami-like onset of Korean trend, media and tradition within the West—a phenomenon often called Hallyu or “Korean Wave.”

Breed’s been using this wave too, as he’s begun to lean into Asian streetwear’s freshness and ease, citing the Seoul-based model Andersson Bell as his present inspiration. The model builds on the wearable, comfy types of Scandinavian trend homes like Pimples Studios and OUR LEGACY, for shoppers in each Jap and Western markets. 

In a single video, Breed suggests different South Korean clothes manufacturers like Andersson Bell for his followers to strive. The designers he lists usually flirt with conventional menswear conventions — manufacturers akin to WOOYOUNGMI, blackmerle and ADERERROR, which he referred to as an “Asian streetwear big.”

Breed transferred to NYU initially of his sophomore 12 months from Emory College, his mother and father’ alma mater. 

“I wasn’t actually jiving with the circulation of the place different folks had been going,” he mentioned. “I’ve simply met so many extra creatively pushed folks [at NYU] with a whole lot of stuff occurring outdoors of faculty, which I believe was very wholesome for me.”

Members of Era Z, like Breed, really feel simply as inclined to start out companies or turn out to be entrepreneurs as they do to work a company 9-to-5 job. Breed says that being at NYU and within the metropolis has given him entry to extra enterprise alternatives, making it simpler for him to discover what his life may very well be like as a content material creator whereas nonetheless chugging alongside along with his tasks as a pupil. 

Regardless of the alternatives that flood his approach, Breed is disciplined about prioritizing his college work earlier than socializing and content material creation. Proper now, he’s determining whether or not he might make influencing a full-time gig, or if he ought to transfer into adjoining roles with a extra regular stream of earnings, like becoming a member of trend partnership groups at tech giants like Meta, for instance. 

“I wish to see if I can get to a degree the place I can maintain myself in New York simply on social media after I graduate,” Breed mentioned. “I don’t have to right away go company after I graduate, however hopefully by that time, I can leverage my place to be within the media business.”

Breed added that firms are at all times looking out for Gen Z creators who allow them to sensitively faucet into youth markets by creating content material that Gen Z will truly engaged with as an alternative of what company executives think about this group to be occupied with. 

Breed spoke about his optimistic expertise making a video with eBay that gave him nearly full artistic freedom. Being within the driver’s seat permits Breed and different creators to each have their work in a format appropriate for company media utilization, however that’s nonetheless genuine to their private model. 

For now, Breed is actively studying in school and making use of it in the true world. He’s assembly folks captivated with the identical issues he’s and having enjoyable doing it. He’s light-hearted about his future and able to tackle what comes his approach.

“My worst nightmare is that I’m an influencer at 35,” Breed laughed. “However then once more, perhaps tradition will change and that will likely be regular. I do not know what the long run appears to be like like.”

Jason Alpert-Wisnia contributed reporting.

Contact Sabrina Lee at [email protected].