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Seeker in Nyc

Never settle, constantly #seek. @lyst pic.twitter.com/OXNMHNNyzm

— Lyst (@lyst) July 26, 2016

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SEEK: Lydia Pang

As told to Kelly Agnew, Senior Fashion Editor

Lydia Pang is the Brand Aesthetics Director at top creative agency Anomaly, an art agent and contributing writer for Refinery29. As a self-proclaimed seeker, the Welsh-born creative approaches every project with the desire to evoke emotion—and alter perceptions. Here she talks about her drive to continually discover and experience in all aspects of her life, and why she’ll never be one to settle.

Seeker Beginnings

My father is from Hong Kong and my mother is an artist and so I was brought up to see the world as tiny and creativity as endless. My boyfriend and I met in grey old Wales ten years ago and moved to London. Just when everything was perfect we packed up and moved to NY—time to be scared again. I’ve always craved that scared feeling, I hate to be comfortable and settled.

My sense of discernment one hundred percent comes from my parents. They’re both effortlessly stylish, know exactly who they are and what they’re about.They always taught me that less is more, never over-gild the lily, never drench yourself in cheap make-do or throw money at bad quality imitations. They taught me to invest in key, core, substantial pieces that shout presence and iconic simplicity. I bow down to them daily.

I am a relentless, hungry and life-greedy seeker. To me that means never settling for anything less than exactly what you deserve. What you hunt out in this life, what you surround yourself with, the things that concern you, drive you, shake you, draw you in, those things make up the person you will become.

"To seek means to never settle for anything less than exactly what you deserve."

The Pursuit Of Perfection

I am an emotional shopper, through and through. I’ve always had a very distinctive style, I know what I like, I know my fabrics, my cuts, my angles, the brands who speak to my heart. My eyes are always open for that perfect thing.

I’m a romantic, ya know? I get palpitations when I see The Row has released a new billowing sleeve, I get greedy eyes when Margiela drops that perfect leather clutch, when Acne reveals that chunky navy knit. I crave the hunt and I refuse to settle for the inferior option, even if it means waiting patiently for the sales or wearing my Pleats Please everyday for three months.

The Thrill of Discovery

When I started out in branding, I worked as an Art Commissioner, so it was my job to seek out new exciting artists and commission them to create beautiful work with us. Since growing from that role I’ve always had a passion for finding daring new talent. A year ago I saw a wild child photographer post a casting call on her Instagram, asking if anyone wanted to get shot that day covered in snails. I was like, 'HELL YEAH!' I spent the day witnessing her crazy mind covered in snails and have since gone on to represent her globally as an Art Agent. That day I discovered her I knew she was going to be important.

"I crave the hunt and I refuse to settle for the inferior option."

Her name is Maisie Cousins and she has since exhibited at the Tate Britain, shot beautiful work for Hunger, Dazed, Refinery29, I-D— the list goes on. She is a force to be reckoned with and I’m incredibly proud to work with her and shape her art career. We have a solo show happening in London this year. She is my greatest discovery.

Power and Inspiration

I’m also an art history geek, I adore imagery, visual shifts, trends, art and cultural movements. I want to make work that asks people to feel something, challenges them to think differently. Visual communication is a powerful tool for good and when used elegantly can shift perceptions and behaviors. I like to give everything my all. That’s how I was brought up.

My mother lives by the William Morris quote that you should have nothing in your life ‘that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.’ And that’s it—that nails it.

City of Seekers

New York romanced me hard. All of its dirty perfection and arrogance, it’s everything I ever wanted. The decision to move here was a big one—we had everything in London. But it felt time for a change and I feel like I’m starting to conquer the beast. Everyone here has a story, a reason to be, and I love that. I love New York’s relentless passion for life. Everything is always new and changing.

I love walking my dog along the pier in Williamsburg and looking at that epic skyline. I love walking to work through Soho and watching all the characters, the smoke, the snow, the fog, the piercing sunshine. We got tattoos and sat in a jazz bar in Alphabet City the other day and listened to the barman tell us stories about musicians and my heart felt full. NY has given me the push I was craving in my job. It’s opened my eyes to new ways of working, the different roles of branding. It’s made me want to create more immersive experiences and hunt for different types of artists. There is a tremendous sense of opportunity here. It’s all yours to take.

Shop Lydia's Favorites @lyst​

The Row Women's Black V-neck Blouse - $1428

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SEEK: Danny Hodgson

By Sophie Hay, Menswear Editor

London-based denim-addict Danny Hodgson started his store Rivet & Hide back in 2009 as an online business selling specialist denim. Now considered one of the best denim destinations in Europe, seeking out rare and specialist jeans, shirts and work boots, Rivet & Hide indulges denim geeks' passion for selvedge in its Fitzrovia shop. Here Danny explains how he discovered his passion and why construction is vital when hunting for the perfect pair of jeans.

Seeker Beginnings

I started Rivet & Hide from my West London flat back in August 2012 as an online business because I wanted an outlet to sell the kind of denim I loved. I've always liked natural fabrics and materials that age naturally. I love clothes that break in as you wear them—for me it's all about well-worn pieces.

When I was in my 20s and 30s there wasn't a lot of raw, unwashed denim available—everything was pre-shrunk or pre-faded—so when I first discovered untreated denim it was a real thrill. It wasn't until around 2004, when brands like Nudie Jeans started providing raw denim to the masses, that I really caught the denim bug.

I used to work for British Airways so spent a lot of my job travelling. As I flew around the globe, particularly in America and Japan, I started to discover the denim scene. It began with getting to know the stories behind the brands and slowly falling in love with the designs. I quickly realized you just couldn't get your hands on these pieces in the UK and I saw a gap in the market. I had never run a business before, but I thought it would be great to be able to share (and sell) the brands that I'd discovered and had a sense that other people would love it too.

Hunting For The Best

I spent a lot of my downtime when I was abroad going into different stores, hunting out new menswear brands. I first discovered most of the labels we stock now as a customer. I probably spent a little too much money on jeans in those days, but that's always trumped by the thrill of discovering a brand that no one else knows about. And once you've discovered one, it's like a snowball effect.

The brand that opened so many doors for Rivet & Hide—and one I was really excited to uncover—is called The Flat Head. It's a Japanese brand that started in 1996 and specializes in that vintage Americana style, inspired by old Levis. They make everything from jeans to shirts using the same techniques that were used in the 1950s. Their jeans are constructed using cotton rather than a more hard-wearing polycotton. This means as you wear them in they will start to wear and split, which is part of the charm and really helps build each pair's character. They are now one of our most popular styles—especially among denim geeks. A lot of our customers like to obsess over the tiny construction details, so we like to offer them a place (and a selection of jeans) that caters to them.

Only Experts Need Apply

We love to spend a lot of time with each customer. Sometimes people will stay in the store for over two hours, learning about different denims and trying on dozens of different pairs. I need to be an expert on each brand to help my customers find the perfect jeans for them. Some of the raw denim or stretch denims can fit snugly so we need to need to understand the fit and construction of each manufacturer. Some of the denim is called "unsanforized" or "kibata" which is the Japanese word for shrink to fit. With that, sizing gets a little more complicated but we never let people get it wrong because we know so much about each brand.

Every Pair Tells A Story

I wouldn't say I had a favorite brand, because I like different brands for different reasons. The Flat Head might be great at one thing, while Huit Denim might be peerless at something else—it's about truly knowing the brands and their strengths. I definitely wouldn't stock any brand I didn't love. Getting Pure Blue Japan in store was a real achievement for us. We are one of the only retailers that stocks the brand outside of Japan, which is really exciting for us—and means that people travel from around Europe to buy them.

Pure Blue Japan make some of the best quality denim I've ever encountered and the manufacturer keeps his methods very close to his chest. He uses a loom that's over 100 years old to make each pair of jeans, which has been calibrated to "loom chatter"—so it shakes as you weave the fabric. This makes the denim unusually textured. They are also experts with indigo dye and experiment with different color wefts and hues. Iron Heart specializes in really heavy denim, 21oz—also making it a great edition to the store.

People love denim with a story and one of my favorites is Hiut. It was set up in 2011 by David Hiut and his wife Claire who are from Cardigan Bay in Wales. He has a motto: 'We'll Get Our Town Making Jeans Again'. Cardigan used to be one of the UK's biggest denim manufacturers, but in the 90s a lot of production got outsourced to cheaper locations and the industry died. He's set up a small micro-factory there which specializes in really high raw denim—and people love the story. I'm always proud to see the UK denim industry booming.

Big In Japan

There are a few reasons why the Japanese are so celebrated for their denim—and why the excel at making high quality jeans. There were several American bases in Japan after the Second World War in the 1950s. The Japanese fell in love with classic Americana and some intuitive businessmen went over to the US and bought up stockpiles of vintage Levis and started selling it back home. This is where the love affair with America and denim originally came from, which led to Japanese denim taking on its own style by experimenting with modern shapes and textures.

Japanese craftsmen are also known for having a meticulous attention to detail. They like to do things correctly and make things perfectly. The final thing that makes Japanese denim so special is the country's history of producing indigo.Japan has been producing indigo dyes for centuries and has a long history of making wonderful fabrics as part of their Kimono culture. Using indigo is long ingrained in Japan's culture.

Seek Selvedge

When it comes to selvedge denim I get a lot of people asking me what makes it so special. Selvedge fabric is made on a shuttle loom and the edge of the fabric is finished with a clean finish rather than a projectile loom with makes 2m of fabric which you cut twice to make 3 pairs of jeans. You would only make one pair from the shuttle loom. It isn't that selvedge denim is better quality in itself, but shuttle looms are hard to operate and time consuming to use. They have to be manually operated and produce a lot less fabric. So if you are going to the trouble of making something on one of these looms, chances are you are doing it because you are passionate about denim and care about the craft—which will usually lead to a higher quality pair of jeans.

Continually Seeking: A Taste Of Adventure

If I wasn't geeking out over denim you'd probably find me enthusing over food. I've always loved to experience local cuisines when I'm traveling and I've basically tried anything and everything. I've recently discovered Yotam Ottolenghi and love making recipes from his books—even if it means hunting around 20 different shops and delis to find the right ingredients. I love the satisfaction of finding everything and turning it into something delicious and unexpected.

Article from Lyst.com

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Nudie JeansMen's Blue Selvedge Grim Tim Slim-fit Jeans$186

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Taking seek to the streets with artist : egranger 

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Seek out our new @BARONVONFANCY billboard in NYC. #seek @lyst pic.twitter.com/0vRrsfzIu8

— Lyst (@lyst) July 18, 2016

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Sometimes it's not what we find but how we find it. #seek @lyst pic.twitter.com/lX2k7rVFeI

— Lyst (@lyst)

July 20, 2016

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SEEK: Adam Katz Sinding

As told to Kelly Agnew, Senior Fashion Editor

Adam Katz Sinding is one of fashion's most recognized street style photographers. Constantly on the move from one city to the next, he's always willing to do whatever it takes to get the best shot. Here he shares the truth about street style and his path to becoming a bona fide seeker.

Photo: Vali Barbulescu

Seeker Beginnings

The first photo I took for Le 21ème was in Seattle, of a girl traveling on the same bus as me. She was a barista at a coffee shop I frequented, and when she got off the bus I hopped off too and asked to take her photo. She was freaked out for sure.

Photo: Adam Katz Sinding

The Pursuit Of Perfection

Traveling so much isn’t easy, however it’s constantly stimulating. I love being in new places all the time. I just don’t like the getting to and from aspect of it. I don’t mind flying too much anymore, but I hate airports and traffic. The upside is getting to develop friendships with people all around the world. I can hop off the plane and meet up with people I met on my last trip and have a pretty authentic local experience.

“I’m not interested in taking the path of least resistance in order to just get the job done. If I’m putting my name on something, it better be perfect.”

Of course the routine gets old. I just want to nap basically all the time but it’s a super rewarding job. You have to work hard. I’m not interested in taking the path of least resistance in order to just get the job done. If I’m putting my name on something, it better be perfect—or as close to that as I’m capable of.

Shot Hunting

You have to have the will to sacrifice many hours in an attempt to create photos. The ability to endure 20-hour work days for 30 days straight without a break is probably the most demanding on your body. The ability to run during 6-10 of those hours, chasing people—and when I say run, I mean as in sprinting, is also vital. You basically just need to be insane to do this job.

Photo: Marie-Paola Bertrand-Hillion

On the Competition

All the photographers on the street are competing. Even those of us who are close friends are still competing. There isn’t animosity I don't think, just tension. If I don't like a guy, I can still respect his work. And for me, none of us are more important than the other, so we all need to remember that. That forces us to remain respectful.

Only one of us can have the best shot, but that’s fun. Sometimes it’s some dude you’ve never met and you know he has the best angle. You ask to see it and he shows you and you’re just floored. I love that. I love how we all have an equal chance.

Photo: Jamie Cho

Work Ethic

Before I got into photography, I worked in hotels for years. I was totally neurotic in my attention to detail in order to make sure my guests at the hotel were happy, so I guess that seed was planted in all my work. It’s a bit of a curse, but it does mean I keep the standard high. I’m also very organized — very good at replying to emails in a timely manner. I work hard and I think it's apparent. I am not going to leave anyone hanging.

Constantly Seeking: Photography

Photography takes up the majority of my time. When I am "home" in NYC or Amsterdam I spend most of my time sleeping or going for runs. I think my lifestyle of constantly shooting has made time-off not nearly as interesting as how I imagine it "should" be. I look forward to the last day of Paris Fashion Week, but then when the dust settles I just cannot wait for the next Fashion Week to start—so I travel and take photos even when there's not a FW happening.

Shop Adam's favorites HERE 

This article has been posted courtesy of Lyst.com

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