Daniel Luu is bringing streetwear to the city.

Run by alumnus Daniel Luu, dvniel.luu is a streetwear brand founded in December 2021 that primarily sells hats but has also branched out to shoes, socks and other items at affordable prices. Brought up in Richmond, Luu said he witnessed crime, drugs and poverty in his community while also facing barriers to accessing quality education. Nevertheless, Luu said there were many aspects of the way he grew up that he found he liked, including streetwear.

“I always grew up liking streetwear,” Luu said. “I always grew up buying a lot of clothes, buying a lot of shoes and then selling them. I always try to flip it, make more money and sell it, make more money.”

While he had to balance his schoolwork, working several jobs and handling other responsibilities, Luu said he always maintained an interest in fashion. He said he began understanding the differences and uses of the various materials used to make his products. He grew up making collages and wanted to use that knowledge to create something both meaningful and familiar and ultimately craft a story with his designs, Luu said.

“For me, I wasn’t just in it because things look cool,” Luu said. “I was in it because I started to realize I enjoyed the stories and design stories that came with everything. We’re telling our stories through products, or telling our stories through a different medium where it turns products into.”

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Growing up, Luu said he became fascinated with consumerism and the need for people around him to constantly buy merchandise. Specifically, in his community, he said many people would give money to major corporations that they did not have any connection to, creating a feedback loop of people pushing money into large corporations rather than helping out their own communities. Luu said he wanted to change the culture of constantly aspiring to have Gucci, Louis Vuitton or other designer brands and rather encourage people in his community to be more financially savvy.

From there, Luu said he wanted to combine his love of the broader culture surrounding streetwear with his interest in fashion and his academic background. But before he began dvniel.luu, Luu said he decided to pursue graduate school once more at UCLA. He said his graduate degree in urban planning helped with his fashion sense, giving him a different perspective on how clothing can be used in multiple functions.

“There’s a lot of things that I draw from urban planning, and now how I move forward in creating my design language,” Luu said. “Rather than it just being a product, it becomes something that has a lot more details added to it and has a lot of sentimental value when you tell a story.”

Alongside Luu, who is the brand’s primary designer, Johnny Chhom serves as a business partner and focuses on bridging the gap between art and culture. Chhom said the duo originally became close due to their similar backgrounds, including being Southeast Asian.

“Our story is what’s going to get people to get behind us,” Chhom said. “That story is just the underdog story. … He and I, we’re not only just selling clothes and promoting a brand, but we’re promoting a story, and that story is supposed to make people feel inspired and elevated.”

[Related: Student Simona Konstantinovskaya’s passion for thrifting inspires clothing business]

Luu and Chhom started working together to craft products for the local community, attempting to represent Long Beach, where they met, Luu said. He added that he wants to focus on highlighting places not typically featured in merchandise – such as Richmond, California, and Long Beach, California – in order to bring more public attention and awareness to the cities and their residents. Marley Dong, a longtime friend and customer of Luu, said Luu’s work ethic is how he stands out in the streetwear field.

“(He is) someone that I trust in a lot, and with his work ethic, he is really driven. He is really focused on what he’s doing,” Dong said. “If he wants to do something, he will not only think about it, he will continue and continue to do and grow whatever he put his mind to.”

Although he is currently working at Texas Tech University on a collaboration, Luu said he is seeking out every opportunity possible to expand his brand. Luu said he is always aspiring to greater heights while working multiple jobs and continuing to collaborate with nonprofit organizations.

“How do we create something that makes ourselves indispensable to this world? That leaves a legacy in whatever way you can imagine it?” Luu said. “For me, I want to be able to show that it’s possible.”