Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carla Grisel (cece). We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Carla , thanks for joining us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

Genuine support isn’t something that’s asked for, it’s naturally given. I’ve realized since first becoming an entrepreneur, that 50% of the support you receive is from the ones you come across on your journey —— the people who are on a similar wave length as you are, these are the ones who understand the work you’re putting in because they see themselves in you, whether or not it’s in a different shape or form. The other 25% comes from your friends and family who aren’t apart of the journey but are apart of you. These are the people that mainly support what you’re doing, simply because it’s you. The last 25% comes from complete strangers —- these are the ones who see the small results, which are the most important when you’re on the come up. Whether it’s a success post on your instagram, your work being presented in a cool place, or just constantly hearing your name. In all reality, I’ve never had an unsupportive circle —- or maybe I just ignore those, idk.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Here’s a little about me; My name is Cece and I’m a wardrobe stylist, born in Dominican , raised in the Bronx. I am also working on building the biggest talent agency and company the world will have to offer. The way my styling career kicked off is kind of funny. I was always around fashion ( well duh I’m from New York,) but I’ve always felt like I didn’t have the means to dress how I really want to dress —- honestly that was just an excuse. Long story short, around May 2023, I went to Atlanta with a couple friends and we took some shrooms. My whole shroom trip was centered on how much I hated how I dressed, I was literally going to throw all my clothes away (which would’ve been really bad because that’s all the clothes I had for a 7 day long trip,) but honestly after that I got hyper focused on a whole rebrand. When I came back to the city I immediately started cleaning out my closet and playing around with new styles that made more sense with who I am. As I got more into fashion on a personal level, I realized this is something I would actually pursue. This was all around the time where I had been out of highschool for almost 2 years already, I decided not to go to college because I knew I could figure something out on my own & the pressure was on because I had to get up and start being an actual adult. I began working at Saks Fifth Avenue and I don’t even remember applying. I received an email reminding me that I had an in person interview scheduled for literally the next day. Around this time I was unemployed & I tried working at Canada Goose —- they literally said never mind after already hiring me —- not the point. The opportunity at Saks honestly fell right on my lap. From there I gave myself a year to build my network and learn the ins and outs. I ended up meeting another celebrity stylist, Mickey Freeman, while he was shopping with one of my coworkers. I kind of just jumped into the conversation and I told him I was a stylist, still building my portfolio. He immediately saw my potential. Fast forward to February 2024, he came into Saks again and asked me if I was free to assist on a magazine cover like literally the next day, of course I said yes. This was my first big opportunity as a styling assistant. It was Jelani Alladin for the February Cover of Fault Magazine. After this, my relationship with Mickey grew & I worked on a couple of projects with him as his assistant. Being an assistant is one of the easiest ways to learn the ins and out, especially in fashion. I was able to experience being on set for hours, learning all the showrooms, how to communicate with clients, how to learn your worth and your price, the weird parts of the industry, and more. During this journey it was really easy to get really comfortable. I got attached to my workplace and my routine, which kind of distracted me from my bigger picture. I was happy doing the same things everyday and still kind of but not really prioritizing my own freelance work on my off days. Fast forward to September 2024, I got fired from Saks. My manager approached me at 11am to tell me I had to have a meeting with him and HR at 530pm, I immediately knew I was getting let go. Not even 5 minutes after that interaction with my manager, I get a call from Mickey telling me we have to prepare for a really big brand campaign. As a styling intern who just found out that she’s pretty much about to get fired from her day job, this call happened with divine timing. I was really emotional during the meeting because, like I mentioned, I was attached to this job and it felt like that got thrown at me from left field. I actually tried to fight for my job (crazy I know) and they told me to my face to reapply (insane.) I used this situation as motivation to continue what I said I was going to do. I gave myself a year to build the basic foundation, god said your job here is done and you’re getting too comfortable—- time to reroute & evolve. . Weeks before this I finalized my instagram handle, which yes, it’s a pretty big thing. This is the name people are going to know you and your work by so it has to be good. I came up with Cecewetrust. Well my exboyfriend helped with the name — let’s give him his credit. Anyways, this is the name that stuck and will stick forever. We Trust is the talent agency & company that Im building from scratch. Remember the name, it’s going to be worth billions one day. Literally a week after getting fired from Saks, I assisted on my first big brand campaign. Mickey had also invited another assistant, Kid Carol, who later on became my counterpart. She is a visual artist first, and a stylist immediately right after. I pitched this idea that I came up with, earlier in the summer, but I was procrastinating doing it for months. I wanted to recreate the NBA Tunnel. This tunnel is the 30 second walk where athletes go from the bus to inside of the arena before their game. With their outfits being captured within this 30 second window, it’s become a huge phenomenon in the fashion world especially within luxury men’s streetwear. This has also been highlighting the growing influence of the intersection between fashion and sports. I wanted to recreate this so I can attract an athlete clientele, along with rappers, artists, and any others within luxury streetwear. This genre of fashion is also where I most strive in and it was time to fully showcase what I can create. Kid immediately saw and respected my vision and wanted to be apart of it. Given the fact that I just lost my job, I had to find a way to do this whole project on a $0 budget. With the help of Kid, I found 3 photographers, 4 models, 1 look each model. It took 3 weeks to prepare and execute. I had all hands on deck, no idea was a bad idea. I was also able to complete this with the help of numerous brands and emerging designers based out of NYC, such as SSF NEW YORK, Karim Diallo, Clarason Studio and 2 FIT student designers ( Sammy Pho & Ashleen Tuteja.) My friends at Ksubi & Everything’s Fine Vintage also played a huge role in helping me curate all the looks for this project along with my friend, JD, who allowed me to pull pieces from his personal archive. It really took a village to complete this project and it’s the one Im most proud of. I was able to execute this without spending a dime simply because I bet on myself and my vision more than anyone else ever could. My confidence in my vision allowed others to trust the process and trust me with their garments. We Trust is more than just my stylist tag, it’s the company that will help other creatives, independent artists, and more, pursue the arts and talents they’re most passionate about.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What I know helped my reputation within my market and the fashion industry is simply authenticity. Anybody I come across, I make sure to keep everything genuine. Nowadays it’s really easy to lose who you really are and what you love and appreciate because of the pressure of the industry, on top of the realities that people recreate just for social media.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing clientele is, again, authenticity. No matter how good your work is, people are going to come back to you and recommend you to others if they genuinely like the person you are. Your network is your net worth. It’s all about leaving a positive impact on everyone you come across. A lot of the opportunities that come within fashion are based on word to mouth, who you know, and who respects you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Cecewetrust

Image Credits

Cover Image of stylist: Shot on iphone
IMAGE 1: Photographer – Isaac Poole @isaacpoole | Model/artist – Thelonious Lincoln @thelo3k | Wearing – Top&Bottoms CLARASON STUDIO @Clarasonstudio, Bag SSF NEW YORK @ssfnewyork
IMAGE 2: Photographer – Isaac Poole @isaacpoole | Model – Malaye @malaye__ | Wearing – Set ASHLEEN TUTEJA @ashleen_tuteja, Shoes Balenciaga @BALENCIAGA, Bag sourced by EVERYHINGSFINEVINTAGE
IMAGE 3: Photographer – Isaac Poole @isaacpoole | Model/artist SUPERSTAR RAH @superstar_rah | Wearing – Jacket SAMMY PYO @sammypyo, Bottoms Joshua Jamal @byjoshuajamal (courtesy of JD’s personal archive,) Bag- SSF NEW YORK @ssfnewyork, Shoes custom made
IMAGE 4: Photographer – Isaac Poole @isaacpoole | Model/Designer – Karim Diallo @karimdiallo_ | Wearing – Cardigan&Top KSUBI @ksubi, Bottoms KARIM DIALLO @karimdiallo_ Bag LIMBO LUCK sourced by EVERYTHING’S FINE VINTAGE, Shoes Travis Scott x Airmax 1
IMAGE 5: Photo captured on Iphone | Model/artist & Stylists- Cece @Cecewetrust, Kidcarol @Kidcarol , Thelonious Lincoln @Thelo3k | Wearing- (Cece, left side) Top N/A, Bottoms KAPITAL @Kapitalglobal from JD’s personal archive, Shoes YZY
@yzy, Bag TELFAR @telfarglobal (Thelo, middle) Top&Bottom CLARASON STUDIO @clarasonstudio Bag SSF NEW YORK @ssfnewyork Jacket Moncler @moncler (Kidcarol, right side) Shoes Marni, Necklace by KIDCAROL, Jacket Cece’s personal archive
IMAGE 6: Photographer – Viktoria Kirus @viktoria.kirus
IMAGE 7: Shot on iphone, Location: KidCarol’s Home Studio, NYC