I Can't Stop Scrolling Menswear Social
Featuring an interview with Andrew Chen, co-owner of clothing brand 3sixteen.
Working in social media, I am always interested to see what posts people share as examples of smart, creative work. What are the themes in the content that’s shared? Which industries pop up over and over again? Last year, it felt like beauty was the blueprint. This year, I can’t seem to escape fashion—and, more specifically, menswear.
I will caveat this by saying I am not a fashion expert, and I am certainly not a menswear expert. I report on what I see. And what I saw was social managers sharing memes from Throwing Fits as templates for their CPG brands, Reels from Percival as examples of great storytelling, and partnerships from Kith as inspiration for unexpected collabs. I’ve heard Aimé Leon Dore used like a verb.
I reached out to John Jannuzzi, author of the newsletter Browser History and former senior editor at GQ, to understand what’s going on in menswear right now. He told me, “Menswear voices seem to be much more open to experimenting on social media. I think if you're looking at the alums of #menswear, you see that they're really more focused on providing entertainment on social—niche memes paired with niche brands that create a very engaged audience (Nolita Dirtbag, Throwing Fits). Maybe ten years ago it was very much like The Impossible Cool and creating a vibe. That, as we all know, just doesn't really work anymore if you want to ‘break through.’”
When I scroll back on a handful of menswear brand accounts on Instagram, the feeds reverse into something more austere. Very few videos. Simple model photos. Product first, always. You’d follow to shop, not be entertained. As Jannuzzi points out, that posting strategy is hard to sustain when algorithm updates prioritize shareable content and short-form video.
Jalil Johnson, author of the newsletter Consider Yourself Cultured and former Fashion Office Assistant at Saks, talked to me about what he calls the “bro-ification” of menswear. “Accounts like Throwing Fits (who I think excel on all their social platforms), DieWorkWear (which I’ve been following for years), and influencers like EdgyAlbert all represent this shift. While there's an undeniable ‘bro-ness’ (though I wouldn’t entirely categorize DieWorkWear in that way), what unites these accounts is something deeper. Through their sometimes crude humor and blunt takes, they bring an almost educational aspect to the table. They’re not just entertaining—they’re teaching their followers, who are likely predominantly male, how to dress and, in their view, how to dress well.”
As more humorous and educational creators have risen in popularity, brands have followed suit. I think about 3sixteen’s personality-forward videos, All Caps Studio’s on-brand ways to educate, and Awake NY’s engaging documentary-style Reels. Johnson pointed to LOEWE’s “sharp awareness of the zeitgeist” and J.Crew Men’s ability to “recapture the emotional connection the brand once held in the minds of many”.
Despite menswear brands loosening up on social, it’s clear they still hold themselves to a high creative standard. The campaigns take risks. The jokes are spot on. The collaborations are surprising. It’s good. As Jannuzzi told me, “This is just what culture is now and [menswear brands] are open to evolving with the times. First person video, complete with the little microphone, does not feel manufactured in any way. Maybe it's a couple of takes, but it's exactly the kind of thing people see on their feeds. It feels like home.”
For today’s interview, I spoke with Andrew Chen, co-owner of men’s clothing brand 3sixteen, and Sean Dunnevant, content producer at 3sixteen. We talk about the role humor plays in their strategy, having a love/hate relationship with social media, and using skateboarding videos as Reels inspiration.
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Rachel Karten: First can you tell me a bit about yourself, your company, and the role you play in the social strategy?
Andrew Chen: I’m Andrew and I co-own 3sixteen with my partner Johan Lam. We are a men’s clothing brand that is based in NY and LA and we celebrated our 20th anniversary last year. Our brand specializes in denim but we also produce seasonal collections and release key collaborations and special projects throughout the year. When it comes to social I oversee all of it: I book photoshoots, line up models and locations, work on broader campaigns, and brainstorm ideas for short form video together with Sean. And sometimes I am in the videos.
Sean Dunnevant: I’m Sean and I film and edit short form videos for 3sixteen. I’m chronically online studying styles and micro trends within the niche that 3sixteen exists in and use that as inspiration to carve out our own niche within that niche haha.
RK: Andrew, why has it been important for you to still work so closely on social?
AC: When I listed out all the things I work on for social, it sounds like a lot and it legitimately is. I think there are two reasons why I am so heavily involved. Firstly, I enjoy doing it. It’s probably the most important way in which we’ve communicated with our customers, all the way back to when we were more active on message boards and then later on Reddit. Customers love to hear directly from a brand they are invested in. Social media allows us to really stay on the pulse of how customers are feeling about the brand and also gives us the opportunity to shape how the brand is perceived. Secondly, I just think it’s important that the voice of the brand stays consistent on social over time, and the best way to maintain it is to just keep owning it.
RK: How critical is social media to your business?
AC: I don’t think we would exist without it, and that’s probably why we put so much effort into it. And that’s also probably why it’s so frustrating when stuff you make that you think is good doesn’t get the eyeballs you wish it did. That being said, despite our frustrations with the current pay-to-play state of social media, it’s still really important to us and so we continue to put a heavy focus on it.
RK: What's your relationship like with social media as a founder? Necessary evil? Fun?
AC: Sometimes it feels like a necessary evil, especially when I am trying to juggle so many other responsibilities at the same time. I know you’re never supposed to show weakness but it definitely can be frustrating when customers just drop questions or comments as if another human being is not on the other end, but I really try not to let it take up too much real estate in my brain. Most other times, though, I feel fortunate to have such a big role in communicating directly with our customers, and I think they feel it too. We have an Instagram Broadcast Channel and sometimes I post from my own account and other times from the 3sixteen account, but it’s always just Johan and me. I feel like for a company of our size, access to the founders is not typically so direct.
RK: Talk to me a bit about your short-form video strategy.
SD: I adapted a lot of my editing style from the content I make for my band Glom. Making content for my music that had a slight tinge of humor and personality was something that took me several years to develop but once I figured out how to come across as genuine—at least I think it’s genuine—it was easy to adapt to 3sixteen. From a cinematic standpoint, I’m really inspired by the peak Vice era in 2009-2014 as well as skateboarding videos from that same timeframe. Every angle is a little tight and the editing style is slightly pushy and fast. I also really like the way MTV Cribs from the early 2000s was shot. The common thread between all those inspirations is the lack of static video. Even if the shot is of someone seated, the camera moves in such a way to create action and tension that makes the viewer interested in finishing out the video.
AC: We meet up often to kick around ideas on what to film and how to film it. Sometimes it’s need-based, like we have some product that is releasing that we want to promote and so those videos are quite straightforward. But if it’s something for a series, Sean and I will text ideas back and forth at odd hours of the night and workshop the script. When we finally land on something that we know is good we’ll just say “writers room” because to us, this must be what it feels like to be in an actual writers room. Last year I made two black caps that have “writers room” embroidered on the front and gave one to Sean. He doesn’t wear his.
RK: Andrew, you're in quite a few of the videos. Is that something you have always been open to?
AC: It definitely took a lot of getting used to. I have had to ascend cringe mountain so many times—at least in my mind—but I trust my team to let me know how the content is landing. Also, with reps everything gets easier.
RK: How did you come up with the different series you have?
AC: This is something that I learned from Link in Bio, actually! You’ve talked before about treating social like TV and creating different shows for your viewers. Previously, we were just making videos and trying to cover things that were interesting to us. It definitely wasn’t aimless but it also wasn’t as targeted as it is now. When I read what you shared about that, I sat down with Sean and tried to figure out the throughlines to the content we create and it came to us pretty quickly.
Denim 101 is just the bucket that all our denim-related content falls into; we try and address topics and questions that we encounter in store every day. Up Close is where we talk in depth about a singular product. It used to be a blog post series on our site but we all know no one reads anymore. In our videos, we really try and communicate the energy and passion we have for our product in the same way that we would if we were talking to you in person. That’s kind of been our guiding principle.
RK: How did you land on 3sixteen's video personality and tone of voice?
SD: With 3sixteen’s content I want to try to maintain a balance between showcasing the various cast of characters and personalities while still providing relevant information about the products we’re discussing. This type of niche menswear can be intimidating to get into, so I want people who are new to it to be put at ease when they see our videos that sport a lighter tone.
RK: What role does humor play in your strategy? I love this video so much.
AC: One of our team members, Jacques, is incredibly fast with the memes. He usually posts them in our internal Slack and we all get a good laugh out of them. Last month we were getting set to release a highly anticipated restock of a black side zip boot and our DMs and comments sections were getting obliterated with “boot restock when” type messages, even when the post was about something totally different. We definitely understand that this comes from a place of passion and that we’re lucky to make things that customers want, but a few of the messages were aggressive, bordering belligerent. Jacques made a “it’s always… and never” meme and it hit home, so I was like screw it we’ll post it to our broadcast channel—if anyone will get a good laugh out of it, it’ll be our most engaged customers. They loved it.
As we’ve loosened the reins on our videos—kind of like what Sean was saying, using humor to disarm and demystify what can be intimidating—I think we realize that we can play things a little faster and looser. We try to let this come through in our copywriting from time to time as well. In 2025, I’d like us to get a little more unhinged.
RK: Are there any other brands you want to shout out that you think are doing a good job on social?
AC: I don’t care what anyone thinks about Supreme and where they’re at now, I still think they are crushing it. Their recent campaign with the weight set featuring Tamara Walcott, the strongest woman in the world, was perfection. I also really like what Awake is doing; their videos are pure New York City.
RK: You have a Substack! Did you make it for purely personal reasons or is there some aspect of writing about your business that was intriguing to you?
AC: I think it started out for personal reasons—I’ve been blogging for a long time and have written for a lot of people and no one at all over the years—so it felt natural. At first I thought it might be a place to write about stuff that had nothing to do with work, but I realized that I love work and that it intersects with so many of my other interests…maybe because I’ve brought so many of my interests into what I do. So now when I write I don’t think at all about whether it should be separated out.
One of my pieces this past summer addressed how and why we started integrating running into what we do at 3sixteen. I always talk to people about it in person, but when you’re on social media you can’t exactly hit people with a wall of text in the caption. I realized that the Substack might also give people a closer look at the why behind what we do at 3sixteen so while it didn’t start off that way, I realize that everything’s kind of enmeshed and I’m okay with that.
RK: What tips would you give other founders who find themselves working on social media?
AC: For many small businesses, founders don’t have a choice as to whether to be involved or not and I empathize with that. If you feel that your personal voice is important for your customer to hear, then you need to find a way to make it fun and engaging not only for them but for you otherwise you’re gonna dread it all the time. Talk about the things you love. Find a way to bring them into what you post on social because people can sense that passion and energy when it’s genuine. It just so happens that I love clothes and we make clothes—but for other parties and activations we do, we try and tie them into things we are passionate about in real life. Community runs. Coffee pop ups. Record nights.
RK: Any final thoughts?
AC: I’m just thankful for the opportunity to talk about the brand from a different angle than the typical interviews we do. I’m honored that you are into our social media work! Getting an email from you was a pretty big co-sign to let us know that we’re on the right path. Thank you Rachel!
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3sixteen mafia
Agreed - it’s having such a moment.