Coming up with original ideas is part of what keeps life fun and interesting, and the same goes for fashion. Brent Yancy—the stylist, designer and owner of Bradenton's 3rd WE + RE Create Studios—reflects this through his designs and his personal style, which he describes as "cozy, cool, confident and comfortable." It's an ethos that his clientele, which includes celebrities and athletes, has embraced.

3rd WE + RE Create Studios is a fashion house, clothing store and design studio where fashion mavens can purchase limited-edition designer pieces—think: Nike Dunks, the newest Jordans and vintage BAPE—plus clothing and shoes created and designed by Yancy himself.

Yancy grew up in Sarasota and attended high school in Bradenton. He went to college on a football scholarship, but wound up transferring to Bethune-Cookman University, an HBCU in Daytona, to finish his studies. He doesn’t remember a time when he didn’t love fashion, but he does recall Booker Middle School as the place where his fashion sense developed.

“In middle school, I was sneaking my clothes to school in my bookbag and changing when I got there,” he says. “I always liked nice clothes and nice shoes. I always liked having a nice outfit on.”

Yancy launched his fashion career when his brother was playing football at Temple University in Philadelphia. Yancy styled 10 players on the team—all of whom went on to play in the NFL, he says.

"I would fly up there on a Tuesday or Wednesday with a bag full of clothes I designed and everyone would pick their pieces and buy them," he says. "I would leave at the end of the week with an empty bag.”

In January 2020, after building a clientele that includes the Pittsburgh Steelers' Chapelle Russell and the New Orleans Saints'  Keith Kirkwood and Brian Poole (also a Bradenton native), Yancy opened 3rd WE + RE Create Studios in Bradenton. He draws the colorful, pattern-packed designs for his own 3rd brand on his iPad before bringing them to life as clothes and accessories. The space also has what Yancy calls a “hype room” that's home to high-end designer items that are hard for most people to get their hands on—things like limited-edition skateboards and toys, sneakers and clothing that he sources for his clients. He cites Jimi Hendrix and the late Virgil Abloh, the former artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection, as inspirations.

“You can’t do anything without fashion," Yancy says. "If you’re a famous singer, you have to have nice clothes. People who play sports want to wear nice clothes when they leave the locker room. Most people want to look nice, and fashion is important.”

He doesn't shy away from hard work. "I might work at the store from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., but all the factories I work with are overseas, so I have to stay up until 6 a.m. [to communicate with them], and I might not get to sleep until 8 a.m.," he says. 

That laser focus is paying off. The Council of Fashion Designers of America—one of the most influential organizations in fashion—recently profiled Yancy, and he dreams of opening a place where young designers can come and work on their products—finding manufacturers, sourcing fabric, marketing their brands and more—in a collaborative space. That way, they can be hands-on with their designs and others in the industry.

"I want people who are younger than me to know they can do anything they dream of," he says. "There are careers that are out of the ordinary, and creating a new avenue for yourself is an OK choice. Always be in the mix of everything."

3rd WE + RE Create Studios is located at 5205 26th St. W., Unit C, Bradenton. For more information, click here.