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Zip-up hoodies with a collage of New York City memorabilia. Statement black leather jackets with vivid red and white lettering on the back. Camouflage hats with the Pour Les Gens Worldwide logo mirroring the classic New York Yankees hat.

These designs pay homage to the city’s influence on streetwear fashion, and are staples of the PLG brand.

“New York City is a place where you’re trying to find a way to not differentiate yourself, but trying to understand certain aspects that make up your identity,” founder Dylan Antigua said. “Fashion was the first way I discovered that.”

Antigua, a Syracuse University alum, founded his fashion brand Pour Les Gens to honor all things NYC, his hometown, in the summer of 2020. A rising junior at the time, Antigua started his brand as a way to fill his time by pursuing his love for street fashion.

Antigua had no expectations for his first drop and started small, selling only graphic T-shirts. His only goal was to get his brand out in the Syracuse community and let the pieces fall into place.

“I had a lot of faith in (the first drop),” Antigua said. “It was just a project that I knew I really cared about and regardless of the outcome, I was gonna be happy that I even tried.”

Now, the brand has expanded to leather jackets, hoodies and different headwear — a huge step up from when he first started.

NYC is a cauldron of new and innovative streetwear trends, Antigua said. After the success of his first collection, Antigua didn’t have to look far for creative inspiration.

A Queens native, Antigua combines the city’s fashion trends and iconic memorabilia with his favorite childhood sports teams and brands. From the New York Knicks to the subway MetroCard, Pour Les Gens is an ode to The Melting Pot, Antigua said.

Dylan Antigua’s fashion streetwear brand gained traction among Syracuse University students after his graduation. He sees the clothing as his legacy. Ella Chan | Asst. Photo Editor

Antigua graduated from SU with a Bachelor of Science in psychology, and he later came back to pursue a master’s degree in advertising due to his brand’s success. When he was in between school, designing clothes and packing orders, Antigua looked toward his friends for help wherever he could.

Duane Tilghman met Antigua as a freshman through SU’s Men of Color Initiative. Their love of street fashion turned the friendship into a partnership when Tilghman began doing photoshoots for the brand’s collections. Tilghman, who also runs the Instagram page @sufits, has been an integral part of Pour Les Gens. He’s promoted the brand on the page’s Instagram stories.

“It doesn’t feel like I’m working under a lot of pressure,” Tilghman said. “Having to discuss or change something is very easy when working with (Antigua). I’m working with a person that can trust my vision.”

Antigua’s ultimate mission with Pour Les Gens is to make affordable street style clothing for all. Since fashion is now a symbol of social status rather than self-expression, Antigua wants his customers to own timeless street style pieces without falling for “cash grabs,” something Antigua said it’s a prevalent issue in the fashion world.

To ensure accessible and consistent prices, Antigua enlisted Jonathan Caple. Though the two had been friends since their sophomore year, Caple, who graduated from SUNY-ESF last year, didn’t become involved with the brand until the two graduated and returned to NYC.

Caple owns a vintage store in SoHo. Antigua often seeks advice on his pricing for his clothes to keep it affordable, Caple said.

“(Antigua) is always trying to keep it that way for as long as he possibly can and he’s very adamant about that. It’s very easy for me to jump in and help,” Caple said.

Pour Les Gens Worldwide’s ultimate mission is to make affordable street style clothing for all. He wants his customers to own timeless street style pieces without falling for cash grabs. Ella Chan | Asst. Photo Editor

When customers consistently wear his logo, Antigua envisions them wearing his brand as their uniform. He wanted simplicity in his latest drop. He used a black and gray color scheme with a camouflage design — like a soldier. Once again partnering with Tilghman, Antigua returned to his alma mater to shoot the collection.

While Antigua noticed his brand has been gaining traction for several years, he admits he didn’t realize the scale of his success until he graduated from graduate school at SU in 2023. When Antigua returned to Queens, he was surprised to see his brand continuing to gain traction among SU students.

“The fact that I was able to leave a legacy, it told me that my brand is definitely a lot bigger than I actually realized,” Antigua said.

Affordability was always the biggest priority for Antigua because he didn’t want to create a brand for the sake of selling clothes — he wanted his brand to mean something.

Thus, his mission is right in the brand’s name.

“If you translate the name from French, it means ‘for the people.’  PLG is really rooted in the experience of growing up and not being able to afford all of the best stuff,” Antigua said. “ Not having the name in English gives me a really good opportunity to tell this story to people.”

Published on April 30, 2025 at 11:10 pm