TYLER CHUNG
By Neath Kiem 06/09/23
You might have passed Tyler Chung on the streets or seen him in a New Balance ad or two, maybe not. But one thing for sure is the definite impression he left, confident, definitely handsome, and surprisingly amiable.
“It’s a pretty [person] privilege. People treat you differently depending on how many followers you have,” Tyler Chung says, talking about how social media has changed his perception. He is dressed in a form fitting sleeveless tank and black beanie, his curls escaping from the back. It is the quintessential NYC model-off-duty look. “It’s pretty weird…I get so many clothes now. I just have brands reach out to me to give me clothes! Just sending them to me you know? I don’t even follow them or know them half the time. They just find me and them saying, ‘It’s your style. Just take it!’ It’s pretty surreal.”
According to Chung, it wasn’t always this way. “I wasn’t cool. This only happened in the last year and a half,” he laughed deprecatingly. “I remember being that kid that would reach out to people and ask where they got their clothes from, and now the roles are reversed.”
Chung at 25 is the kind of person that is aware of his good looks, uses it to his advantage (hello modeling career!), and is charmingly down to earth. Perhaps it is more precise to say that he is the kind of person that would voluntarily wear a sleeveless tank in 5-degree NYC weather at the photographer’s request in early February.
In a recent interview with our Creative Director, Chung discussed how his interest in fashion began. He credits his mother for sparking his interest in clothes and fashion as a sense of self-expression. According to Chung, his mother believed that it was better to dress well, and she instilled that belief in him and his brother from a young age. As a result of his mother's influence, Chung developed an interest in fashion and began to experiment with his style. He describes his current personal style as a "starving artist look...homeless but intentional…but not too high fashion." Chung's charming-gameness with his style allows him to stand out in the industry, and it has become one of his most appealing qualities.
Chung's success on social media has been a significant factor in his career. He got started on TikTok by posting transformation videos of his style, which quickly gained 12,000 followers. From there he realized, “Wow, people like my fashion, my style, maybe I could start doing something with this if people are kind of messing with what I do,” and so began his journey. However, Chung's success on social media has not come without its challenges. He admits that he initially found the platform to be cringe-worthy, and he had to work hard to gain followers and build a following. Despite the challenges, Chung persisted, and his hard work paid off.
Today, he is a successful model who has landed a contract with New Balance. When asked about future goals, Chung said he would be interested in becoming a stylist or going into creative direction. Chung's success on social media and in the fashion industry is a testament to the power of social media and the influence it can have on one's career. By staying true to himself and by keeping an open mind to experimentation, Chung has been able to stand out in an overly saturated field and achieve notice from some of the biggest known brands.
In an industry where trends fall fast in out and out fashion, it is clear that Tyler Chung, armed with his down to earth charm and genial smiles, has a long career in fashion ahead of him.
For more, read Chung’s Q&A session with our Creative Director Nita Kiem during their hang on a cold NYC afternoon on our Instagram @KIEMCOLLECTIVE.
