Meet Toreno Winn Jr.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Toreno Winn Jr.

Toreno, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
For starters, I was always into sneakers and played basketball my whole life through college. Grew up a collector and a reseller before reselling was popular at 13 years old back in 2005. I studied business in college and double majored in marketing and business management. I graduated in summer 2016 thinking I would hoop overseas or work for Nike or Adidas right out the gate. Dead wrong. I gave up the hoops after weeks of talking with myself and my family and was seeking longevity and a chance to establish a legacy/name of my own. Sneakers were always the end goal but needed corporate work experience, so I took an internship at United Technology Aerospace Systems in Santa Fe Springs, working for the same company my mother was an engineer/manager for. Hated it.

I couldn’t stand being in a desk 8 hours a day. Simply wasn’t for me. I finished my internship and started Uber driving for money to stay financially afloat, eventually worked at BAIT in Orange, CA (Dec. 2016). In my seven-eight months there, I learned about the boutique side of sneakers and fashion, making some great connections along the way through industry parties and random store encounters. I started thinking about to styling while I was at BAIT because my college friends at the Academy of Art said I should mix business and fashion, but never acted on my thoughts. I only worked there on weekends and stylist assisting periodically for Hautelook. It lacked consistency but I learned some things there, and it inspired me to act on my previous thoughts to be a stylist. In my 5th month at BAIT (April 2017), I got linked with an opportunity working social media and content coordination for Times 10 (creative agency in Burbank, CA). I stayed at Times 10 for about eight months as well and started styling in my 2nd month there.

I put “stylist” in my bio end of April, told myself I had two weeks to do my own shoot, or I would be a liar. I never want to make a liar out of myself. I skipped work early May to style a shoot for a waiter who rapped and modeled named Saviour that I met at a Pooh Bear documentary viewing party two weeks prior. He initially thought I was a rapper because of how I was dressed, but I’m sure the atmosphere played a part. I posted the images on my Instagram and got great feedback from not only friends and family, but I attracted a new audience quickly after that that liked that shoot. Regardless, I did it because I wanted to and it was another outlet for creativity and filled the void left in me after hoops. I kept creating and putting out shoots I liked eventually made more connects and caught the attention of celebrity stylist Rasheeda (@RasheedaAmeera) after a long time friend Lucas Prevost (_@lucasprevost) recognized I was passionate about styling and fashion. He asked me to contribute some clothes for a music video shoot (also had to lie and take work off for). Rasheeda would then mentor me in styling and still does till this day.

I picked up an interest in photography while at Times 10 thanks to Niko McKnight (my photography mentor, @fiftyclicks), and would further spark my creativity and groom my eye/taste in fashion photography. Started shooting for brands and eventually garnered attention from Sabriya Dublin who worked at Times 10 with me for a couple months, she connected me with Shae Haley of N.E.R.D. She cosigned me to start his Instagram, (@sha3) and creative direct his content and online image with him. I quit my job the day he offered me in December 2017. I’ve been working with him ever since and now do the same for Chad Hugo of N.E.R.D. as well. She saved me from working a 9-5, literally an figuratively. Since I started styling, I’ve worked with a grip of music artists and brands styling music videos and brand campaigns, along with creating content through collaborative efforts with those I’ve created relationships with along this adventure, which is the best part. I also, do styling, assist in ideation processes and marketing for DR 14 by Sheron Barber.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Yes and no, I gained attention early in my styling career. There’s been some ups and downs along the way, but the rollercoaster of life always has its drops and turns you can somewhat anticipate but never can predict. Life before styling had way more downs than ups. I was miserable at points, hating the consistency of a 9-5 job.

Being trapped in a place for eight hours a day doing stuff I didn’t really want to felt like a waste to me, my mind moves at a fast pace and tends to be all over the place often. It shows in my work. It’s just how I operate, “organized chaos” in a nutshell. That’s why it would drive me crazy, there’s so much I want to do in this life and to be doing something that isn’t in my overall interests and passions don’t allow my heart and soul to be in it.

That’s when I get frustrated. So yea definitely some trials and tribulations along the way, but my faith in God and my passion got me through them, still do to this day.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I’m a freelance stylist, a photographer and a creative consultant for brands/artists. I would say I’m known more for styling and than the other two, but that will change in the near future. I want to truly learn design and put out a couple short films that raise social awareness on modern day issues through the lens of a millennial.

I take pride in the detail of my work. The references being made, the overall level of taste through portrayal of emotion/vibe, and the uniqueness of my creativity. I cannot stand looking like or my work looking like someone else. I pulled that from Kid Cudi, my favorite artist of all-time.

I want to be different at all times and make an account to do so without voicing it directly. If I look like everyone else, I don’t stand out. I like mix unlikely, yet congruent combinations of vintage, designer, a streetwear piece. I pay homage to all genres.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
First and foremost, God. My faith is what kept me sane and still alive, to say the least.

My mom and dad (Annalore and Toreno Sr.) questioned my choice in career early on, but still supported me until I could prove to them I could be financially stable off of working in creative fields. My brother Tyler and my friends Josh Cook, Chris Anderson, Jojo Ballestero and Ace Brown, never questioned me in the slightest, always showed love to whatever I wanted to do. We were all athletes at one point, and I was the first of us to take a leap of faith and delve into something else that didn’t revolve around sports.

I’ve had some great mentors that I previously mentioned, Rasheeda, Lucas, and Niko, but Sheron Barber, LeMar Anglin, Nico Fearn, Julian Gaines and Brandon Walker have all been big instrumental pieces in my career, and I can’t thank them enough for what they done for me and still do, all of them. Everyone I listed has pushed me immensely in a positive way over the last year and a half beyond grateful for all of them.

Contact Info:

• Email: torenowinn11@gmail.com

Image Credit:
Louise Lee (@BrokenMouthGal), Danny McNabb (@deemxnvbb), Mark Nguyen (@MarkLaShark), Krispy (@s0_kirspy), Walter Brady (@WalterWBrady), Ron Khy (@RonKhy)

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