PHOTO VIA Dante Kytola

Freshman Dante Kytola is on the social media rise, garnering over 30,000 followers on TikTok. From fashion to lifestyle videos, Kytola loves sharing his hobbies with his viewers and hopping on the latest TikTok trends. 

Kytola began posting on TikTok roughly two years ago. When his friends started posting on the app, Kytola saw it as an inspiration to start his own account. He did not expect his posts to go viral, but after his second post — a simple video stating his preference for baggy jeans — blew up and received around 6 million views, it sparked his motivation to continue posting about his fashion style. 

At first, his content was strictly fashion-related, but as his account grew and his posts started going viral, he also began incorporating lifestyle content. Making vlogs about his everyday life, mundane activities and other ideas made his account more relatable to the general public and the fashion community. These videos allowed Kytola to connect to his audience and build a larger following. 

Even so, he still dedicates most of his account to sharing outfits. The overall theme of his fashion content is streetwear, which is his favorite fashion style. Growing up, he was influenced by his father, who is a fan of rap culture — commonly associated with streetwear. “When I was younger, my dad listened to rap music and was into streetwear too, so I think growing up around him, he just put me into that culture,” said Kytola. Eventually, several streetwear brands caught his eye, including Balenciaga, Acne Studios and Our Legacy. 

In addition to general fashion videos, a big part of Kytola’s TikTok is promoting his own clothing. Kytola was also inspired by his father, a tattoo artist, to create his own clothing company, as he already had an interest in drawing and sewing. Along with his friend, Kytola started their own clothing business in January 2024, called diversity.msp, where they sold their first piece of clothing: a pair of jeans. 

After getting their first order, Kytola recalls feeling disappointed. “It didn’t actually really feel good because I expected to sell way more right away, and selling only one or two pairs of jeans right away wasn’t really where I wanted to be,” said Kytola. However, after growing the business for a year now, it has slowly started gaining more attraction, with many of the pieces, such as a selection of artistic jeans and baggy jean shorts, or jorts, selling out. 

Kytola likes to come up with clothing designs based on what he feels is best. He starts off by sketching the clothing graphics by hand, coming up with multiple versions before transferring those ideas to Adobe and making a Tech Pack before sending the designs to a manufacturer. He produces roughly 50 to 75 pieces per clothing. As of now, their business has successfully sold out multiple pieces, with more clothes to come. “I’ve had sweatpants on there. I’ve had hoodies. I’ve had jeans. I’ve had jean shorts,” said Kytola. 

Kytola notes one of the coolest opportunities he has gotten since growing his TikTok account was partnering with BeReal in January 2024. Initially, BeReal had reached out to Kytola via a direct message on Instagram asking to collaborate. He created a BeReal ad in his own style and advertised it on his page. 

Learning to navigate his clothing business has now given Kytola business experience, which is something he plans to pursue in college, giving him leverage in his future plans. He has also expressed interest in modeling. His dream is to work with Balenciaga, whether it be modeling or partnerships. “I just like the way they put themselves out there, like their aesthetic,” said Kytola.