To celebrate the reopening of our London Regent Street Flagship store, we introduce to you a new interview series where we speak to young creatives and entrepreneurs living, working, and thriving in the Capital. We'll talk motivation, inspiration, and what it means to be a true Londoner, no matter where you're from.
Tell us about your journey to becoming who you are today, living and working as creatives/stylists in London? Where does the love for your job come from?
Karlmond: My love for styling comes from my love of clothing. I love how indicative clothing is of someone’s personality, and how transformative it can be for self expression. Clothing is an unavoidable choice which an individual has to make, which makes it very personal.
It is a pleasure that I can work in a field that is of my own passions.
Annie: I think I have always loved the transformative abilities of clothing and with my particular line of work the customer profiles linked with that fascinate me. I really love the sociological aspect of why a person chooses to wear what they wear.
On a simpler note I love beautiful clothes and invariably am daydreaming about outfits a large portion of each day!
Annie, how would you describe Karlmond? Karlmond, how would you describe Annie?
Karlmond: Annie is hilarious. She is caring - a great mum to our new baby. I know she loves me when I’m not annoying her, which is fairly often.
Annie: I love Karlmond’s enthusiasm for life and ability to be so excited about the smallest thing, I can lean towards the cynical side and Karlmond always pulls me out of my negative slumps. He has a very silly sense of humour which I share so our bickering invariably ends up in laughter!
Congratulations! Your first child together is on the way! As two styling guru’s you must be fantasizing about the baby’s attire so often. Do you feel like your own parents influenced your sense of style?
Karlmond: my mum would love styling me as a kid. There are pieces I had when I was 12 that I tried to wear for years and years. She still loves her shopping and I would say she’s very chic!
Annie: Definitely. My mum was very selective about our outfits when myself and my siblings were small shipping over Levi’s® and converse when they were more tricky to get hold of in the UK. She had things she liked us wearing and things she definitely did not. My mum was a punk in her youth so had some great pieces that I stole in my late teens - a Levi’s® jacket she wore that was ripped when seeing The Clash being a favorite.
Both of you are working in the same field of play. How is this translated into the work/life balance that you maintain together?
Karlmond: we met on the job! it means we do discuss some aspects of styling together. Our tastes are quite similar but our styling has creative differences. I suppose working in the same field allows us to understand each other’s time schedules and also work frustrations. Maybe it also means Annie is a bit more forgiving when I’m wrapped up in the middle of work and my head is away with the fairies.
Annie: I suppose it’s so ingrained that I don’t think too much about it in regards of it being a work/life balance. It’s just part of our day to day and as such don’t often think of a lot of those conversations as work so much. Though I think there have been points where we both say ’ok no more clothes chat this dinner!’
LDN in Levi’s® is all about the idea of feeling like a true Londoner no matter where you are from or how you ended up in the city. Annie, since you are a born and bred Londoner, what gives you your sense of belonging in this city?
I feel incredibly proud to be a Londoner - for me there really is nowhere else in the world like it. I think there is a togetherness in the city that is really unique. I think the food and fashion scenes of London demonstrate this hugely.
What impact has being based in London had on your professional life?
Annie: I think in the most basic way growing up here meant that I had access to internships and unpaid work experiences that I wouldn’t have been able to afford to do if I hadn’t have had my family home to go back to - it definitely enabled me to explore my options before deciding on a pathway within the industry.
Karlmond: it is a central hub for where things happen. The people I’ve been able to meet, the opportunities I’ve been provided, the open minded nature of London - I’m very grateful for all of it. I wonder if my creative acumen would have developed this way elsewhere.
How would you describe your style? Is there ever anything you don’t feel you can pull off?
Annie: I think I have always favoured sporty, utility sort of aesthetic which has probably simplified as I have got older. I do love to dress up but day to day think I favour comfort - clothing that allows me to run around. I would say that anything super feminine probably doesn’t work for me?
Karlmond: I am impulsive the way I dress. It’s very much what I pick up first in my wardrobe and whatever happens from there. I enjoy smart elements but like others have become slightly more casual since COVID. There was a time where you would never see me in a trainer. I don’t enjoy wearing anything too skinny. I can’t imagine I pull that off well.
So now we’re curious to hear, what Levi’s® look or item will never go out of style?
Annie: there will always be a place in my heart for a Levi's® 501® for sure - and a good denim jacket never really goes out of style in my opinion.
Karlmond: I don’t know why people think double denim ever went out of style. Levi’s® jacket n jeans or shirt and jeans will always be timeless.
