Nestled in the Journal Square neighborhood of Jersey City, MANA Contemporary is an unassuming building from the outside, occupying what was once a massive former tobacco factory. Today it’s a hive of creative activity, housing the workshops and galleries of local talents like D&B Studio, the showroom and styling practice of spouses Denny and Briana Balmaceda.

In the lobby, Denny arrived in stark contrast to the bare open space and white walls, wearing a vintage-inspired suit and tie with blue-tinted lenses and tan loafers. In person, as much as online, Balmaceda exudes the suave style he’s become well-known for over almost two decades as a digital fashion creator. Later, inside the sun-drenched studio, Denny gave us the full rundown: “I’m wearing my friend’s brand, Bana. It’s like a very ‘70s kind of Saint Laurent-esque suit silhouette. Vintage Valentino tie, vintage Ralph Lauren shirt, and I just thrifted these vintage loafers.” He continued by showing off his red socks: “Obviously, you can’t go wrong with Uniqlo socks. They’re the best.”

D&B Studio is like a museum of vintage and personal ephemera from Denny’s established career and further, from what he and Briana have been building together since tying the knot two years ago. The room is filled with racks upon racks of secondhand garments: swaths of ringer tees and bowling shirts, as well as contemporary collector’s items like the Union Jack Horsebit Loafer from Alessandro Michele’s Gucci and a pair of Nike x Levi’s Jeans. Some pieces are part of Denny’s personal collection, and others are available for purchase or loan.

While serving as the official factory for their own content, the studio is also a home base for community events (like their fabric dye workshop last fall), a source for stylists to pull pieces for various projects, and a place where brands can shoot campaigns. Before meeting Briana and opening the space together, Denny largely did everything solo, keeping it all in his two-bedroom apartment, which, along with a basement storage unit, was overflowing with garments. “Having this space has expanded us in ways that we couldn’t have imagined,” Briana said. “Even being able to welcome friends or have a little business meeting — it’s nice to have a headquarters.”

Look around, and your eyes will gravitate towards Denny’s “Art of Styling” installation, an entire wall covered with 20 looks blending sensibilities from Ivy League prep, contemporary streetwear, classic vintage, and more. The colorful installation, which debuted during MANA Contemporary’s Spring 2026 Open Studios, reflects Denny’s eclectic taste profile. “Growing up on the East Coast, in Jersey and New York, you get exposed to lots of stuff: hip- hop, punk, skateboarding, prep — all those styles,” he explained.

Running a space dedicated to his love of menswear alongside his wife wasn’t something Denny quite imagined when he began posting his outfits online. “From 2008 to 2012, I did everything for the love of it. None of us knew it could be lucrative,” he explained. Denny immigrated to New Jersey from the Philippines as a child and, after high school, went straight to working at a Filipino travel agency. It all changed when he received a digital camera for Christmas, his gateway to the world of fashion.

Denny started sharing his outfits at the height of the blog era, when platforms like lookbook.nu and Chictopia ruled, but soon enough social media arrived on the scene. “Instagram came out, and that’s when the whole game changed because brands started realizing that bloggers — before the word ‘influencers’ was a thing — had a powerful audience,” he recalled. Since then, Denny has amassed more than 100k Instagram followers on the platform, where you’ll find recent campaigns in partnership with Todd Snyder, Timex, J. Press, Nordstrom, Brooks Brothers, and more. Perhaps one of the most full-circle moments in his career was receiving a dedicated interview spread in the inaugural issue of Vogue Philippines in 2023.

Despite what you could call a tenure in the digital fashion space, Denny’s attitude is quite the opposite to the industry’s aura of exclusivity. “You can do it without coming off like you’re better than anyone. Fashion is a world where much of the time it feels very exclusive, so I try to make my brand inclusive and open.” He’s less concerned with encyclopedic designer knowledge and more interested in the mechanics of style — colors, fabrics, silhouettes, and eras. After all, Studio D&B is described by its founders as a “playground for creative souls.” “Once you know the rules, you break them,” Denny said. “People who break the rules are the ones who start new rules and trends.”

During Hypebeast’s visit to Studio D&B’s Jersey City enclave, Denny and Briana shared their takes on fashion vs. style, their love of various vintage eras, and how the digital fashion space has evolved since the 2000s.

How did you first get into blogging?

Denny: After high school, I didn’t go to college, but I was working at a Filipino travel agency. Funny enough, it’s not too far from here! I got this digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix, for Christmas. People had always complimented my style, and I wanted to share it somehow. And this was what, 2008? So I just started documenting it during my lunch break.

It was next to a high school, and you know high school kids are like the biggest critics. So at first they would make fun of me, but they got used to seeing me every day, and it became like a little audience for me to practice more confidence, knowing that my style was unique and personal.

Tell us more about what the early blogging scene was like?

Denny: This site called lookbook.nu came out, along with Chictopia and others, where the whole purpose was exactly what I was doing. You just post your outfits every day, and then you share them to this community all over the world. I was one of the only ones not shooting with a DSLR, but I still went number one all over the world in men’s. The women’s blogs were just so hard to beat. It’s a whole different world, and this was a time when men’s fashion was not seen as how it is now. You didn’t really have social media, so it was super niche. My blog was called Look Rich, Shop Cheap. So I was just kind of mimicking runway looks or celebrity looks that you could thrift. I would have breakdowns like, “This is like a $50 outfit, and these are the pieces I got from thrifting.”

How do you think the perception of thrifting changed since then?

Denny: Secondhand shopping then wasn’t considered cool. The people that knew, knew, but to everyone else it was like, “You’re wearing secondhand clothes!?” But I’d go in there and see all these designers and brands you wouldn’t normally find for cheap. When it comes to fashion, I’m not a guy that knows runways; I wouldn’t have been able to identify a collection or any of that. As I’ve gotten older and learned, I’ve developed a better understanding, but my approach was visual at first. I guess it comes from my background in painting and art — understanding which colors and prints clash and make it work. I wasn’t afraid to experiment in that way. I feel like that’s why I gained a following. I’m a 5’7” Filipino guy that wasn’t doing super trendy things; it was a lot more personal. And growing up on the East Coast, in Jersey and New York, you get exposed to lots of stuff: hip-hop, punk, skateboarding, prep — all those styles.

How did the advent of social media change things for you?

Denny: From 2008 to 2012, I did everything for the love of it. None of us knew it could be lucrative, so we were just creating to create. Our passion was to share our art. I call it art because you’re basically your own creative director, stylist, photographer, everything. Instagram came out, and that’s when the whole game changed because brands started realizing that bloggers — before the word “influencers” was a thing — had a powerful audience.

I had a checklist back then with all the magazines and brands I wanted to work with, and it seemed impossible, but I got to check it all off doing what I love and being myself. You can do it without coming off like you’re better than anyone. Fashion is a world where much of the time it feels very exclusive. So I try to make my brand inclusive and open.

How did your relationship with Briana evolve into working together as D&B studio?

Briana: It was so natural. We first met working together in social media at a startup. Within the first couple of months, we could see ourselves having our own brand together sometime in the future. We actually started by doing sidewalk sales right outside my apartment. It was just our foundation that we started with. We knew we needed a space that felt colorful and playful; something that was bigger than just clothes. Having this space has expanded us in ways that we couldn’t have imagined. Even being able to welcome friends or have a little business meeting — it’s nice to have a headquarters.

Denny: The funny thing is, before we moved in, we had a storage space downstairs in my apartment. So imagine this whole two-bedroom Jersey City apartment with all this stuff in there. This studio also acts like a museum for people to just look around and feel who we are, our energy. This is basically our photo studio and our showroom. We have stylists coming in pulling pieces for independent movies, and we have big brands coming in and doing shoots here too.

What’s the difference between fashion and style to you?

Briana: I see it like this: fashion is kind of like being book smart, and style is like being street smart. So like anyone can go and study fashion and go back in history and learn the textures and different levels to it, but then when you’re street smart about it, you’re going out, learning on your own and messing up. When I met him, I was like, “Oh my gosh, my style is not as good as I thought.” But it’s about coming back and being like, “That was awful,” learning from it, and making it your own.

Denny: I also want to say that I feel like if you are into fashion and style, you should really know the rules of it all. Once you know the rules, you break them. People who break the rules are the ones who start new rules and trends. Like the whole idea of wearing black with navy or brown — all these things that people back in the day just couldn’t fathom. But someone has to break it and make it feel comfortable and fresh.

How would you describe your personal styles in a few words, and what’s that dynamic like between you?

Briana: I feel like the first couple of words that come to mind are eclectic, comfortable, and cute. I naturally gravitate toward something that I just feel good in. As I said before, he’s inspired me so much with my own style, like dabbling in menswear and what that looks like for me. Wearing ties on a Wednesday for no reason to the grocery store. But yeah, it definitely feels like we motivate each other and push each other with our style.

Denny: Yeah. It’s fun to wear a tie on a Wednesday going to the grocery store. You live one life, so why not?

How have your outfits changed between, let’s say, 2008, 2018, and now?

Denny: On Instagram, I’ve been comparing my old looks with my recent looks. The whole lesson of that is, one, to never be embarrassed of your old looks, and, two, to help people understand that your core is always there. It’s just the silhouettes change, and sometimes you do adapt to a current trend, but you also mix your own personality with it.

10 years ago, the suits would’ve been more slim, but now it’s a little bit looser. And then five years ago it was a bit more ‘70s, but it’s all similar when you break it down because of the way I choose the patterns and colors, as well as the way I photograph and pose. So it almost seems timeless in that way. I think I look much older too, so it’s nice to see that, the maturation of style and your looks. I feel like people should be more proud of that.

Can you guys tell us a little bit about what you’re wearing today?

Briana: Actually, there’s a funny story about this vest. Denny had this Gucci vest for a couple of years, and it was super oversized — big. So he wanted to shrink it a little to fit his body, and when he shrunk it, it fit my body instead, so it’s mine now. And then we were in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago on Haight Street with a lot of the true vintage. These [pants] are from the ‘60s, and I love that they’re super plum-purple gaucho pants.

Denny: I’m wearing my friend’s brand, Bana — it’s like a very 70s kind of Saint Laurent-esque suit silhouette. Vintage Valentino tie, vintage Ralph Lauren shirt, and I just thrifted these vintage loafers. Kind of looks like it’s modern, but I think it’s about 10 years old. And obviously you can’t go wrong with Uniqlo socks. They’re the best.

Since we’re talking about vintage, do you guys have favorite eras that you invest in the most?

Denny: I love ‘50s tops, but ‘70s is probably my favorite era of style because that’s when fashion just exploded. I also love the ‘80s and ‘90s! I feel like as I’ve gotten older I’ve gravitated towards the ‘90s. It’s funny because, when you watch a movie, Home Alone for example, as a kid you gravitate to Kevin’s outfit, but now as an adult you gravitate to the parents’ outfits. I guess my uniform these days is just jeans, a blazer, a button-down, and a tie.

Since you brought up Home Alone, is there a movie where the costume design or styling has really inspired you?

Denny: Obviously a lot of Tarantino films. I love The Talented Mr. Ripley; I feel like it’s the perfect movie for a prep guy. God, I mean movies like Kids, for skate culture. Just so many.

Briana: That’s hard. Honestly, I feel like this past year I watched Uptown Girls for the first time in a long time, and it has a Gen Z styling for sure. I don’t naturally gravitate towards that, but her [Brittany Murphy’s] character in general was so inspiring. She’s like Carrie Bradshaw, but she’s so free with it.

What are some of your summer style essentials?

Denny: I’ve always loved the flip-flops with a suit look. It’s very early 2000s. I love things that are a juxtaposition. As an adult now, I would say linen is very important. Like you could wear a linen suit; it’s comfortable, it’s airy, and it comes in different colors and silhouettes. You could wear them as separates too.

Briana: Definitely silk scarves. It can be something to tie my hair up or as a top, and then I can accessorize with it too. So you could be in denim shorts and a tank top, but you put a little silk scarf somewhere, and it just adds to it without introducing a heavy layer. You don’t need that in the summer.

Denny: Sunglasses help a lot as an accessory, too. You could have the most basic fit, but if you have really cool sunglasses, shoes, or even a watch, you have that one thing that stands out and it kind of makes the whole outfit.

Fall is just around the corner. Is there anything you guys are excited to start styling in once the season changes?

Denny: Oh, I mean I love layering, so I’m just excited in general for fall. I wish it were the longest season, because you can still kind of wear shorts for a bit. But layering is my favorite part of styling.

Briana: I feel the most comfortable in knitwear. So even if it’s like a knit sweater and then shorts and sneakers, like for fall that’s one of my favorite silhouettes to wear. And as vintage sellers, it’s very exciting because we sell a lot of knits and jackets

How do you guys decide what you’re gonna wear day-to-day? Is that something that starts in the morning or are you already thinking about it the night before?

Denny: I don’t even think about it anymore. People are always blown away when I say that I pack the day of, like two hours before I leave. That’s my zen; I just kind of throw it in there, and I trust myself that I’ll wear it, and I do. That goes back to knowing your style and your own personality and what you’re into, that you could just make something out of nothing.

Briana: I always start definitely in the morning. I don’t think about it too far in advance. I start with one piece of clothing and then just build off of that.