“Style to me is very personal. When you get out of bed each morning and walk out the door, you are making a conscious decision of how you want to present yourself to the world. If you don’t care about what you are wearing, that is your style choice.”

Karlmond Tang

Stylist and Art Direction

Our Urban Explorer

Could you please introduce yourself to our guests?

My name is Karlmond Tang and I am a Stylist primarily but I do work in art direction. It is a pretty loose term but a great stylist I know used to refrain from using the term director because it felt unnecessary and somewhat restrictive so I go by the title “Stylist”.

How long have you been living in London?

I actually grew up in Watford, just outside of London, but I have been working in London for the past 7 to 8 years now and have lived in London for about 4 to 5 years in Hackney and currently residing in South London. 

You started a career in Finance, majoring in Chinese and Economics in school, so how did you get into the world of fashion and the creative scene?

Great question! I always love telling it because it is crazy how things can happen. I was studying Chinese and Economics at the time and my first internship was at Ernst & Young in Corporate Finance and I was set to start my career within the company after I graduated but a series of events occurred and so I ended up going to Shanghai to work for the China Britain Business Council. My friend who I had studied Chinese with in Shanghai the previous year was going to a Dunhill event and asked me to join so I went and simply by chance, I met a photographer who told me that I should pursue a career in fashion. He then introduced me to his stylist friend in which I assisted on a shoot and from there, it snowballed. I went back to London after and decided to pursue a career in fashion PR. During this time, I had the fortunate chance of meeting so many incredible people that have been super influential to me and that is why I am a huge supporter of mentorship and providing advice to those who are starting out in the industry.

What does a day in the life of Mr. Karlmond Tang look like as a stylist, artist and writer?

Before lockdown, I would work on some fashion shows with designers where we would create a physical space together for their show. Nowadays, I still do quite a lot of styling and the occasional art direction for a look book but I do a lot of wholesale work at the moment. My main field of interest currently is e-commerce because it is the very thing that people are surviving on right now. I personally like to communicate a lot with my peers, exchange ideas, and discuss our frustrations with the things we’re working on. That said, you also need a lot of alone time when you can process all the things that are going through your ahead. Hence, I am thankful that my schedule allows for that sort of flexibility.

How do you think you fit into the term” Urban Explorer”?

A big part of my work requires a lot of research and to find ideas, and travel is a huge influence for anyone and it should be for anyone who wants to do anything creative. Through traveling, you can understand where other habits or cultural influences come from and you have a greater appreciation for it. I believe I fit the term urban explorer because of my thriving curiosity to continuously learn and explore different cultures, places, and its history that can then be applied to my work. In any project that I work on, I try to infuse various layers inspired from my travels and personal experiences, resulting in a more genuine, multi-dimensional piece that when someone looks at it, they may find something a little different each time.

Creativity Starts Within

What does style mean to you?

Style to me is very personal. When you get out of bed each morning and walk out the door, you are making a conscious decision of how you want to present yourself to the world. If you don’t care about what you are wearing, that is your style choice. It is very beautiful to see that each and every person has their own unique sense of style.

How would you describe your own personal style?

My personal style has evolved over the years, but particularly in the last 5 years, I have been quite comfortable in my own skin. I’d like to think that I was going in a more casual and comfortable direction prior to lock down, and perhaps it is because I’m getting older but just because you are going in a more casual direction does not necessarily mean you can’t make it smart or tidy, so I suppose that is how I describe my personal style. I just try to go with the flow; I will consider what to wear but I do not try to think too much about it. It may come as a surprise to some, but I am that person who just dresses up in the morning rather than thinking about what to wear the day before.

Are there any tips to help people find their own personal style?

The best advice I can give people who are trying to find their own personal style is to try something they think they would want to wear and wear it three times because after so many times, you will start feeling comfortable in it and it becomes a part of you, and that will help you gain a better understanding of what fits you. You can also look to brands that you like and start picking up one or two items that complement your wardrobe and before you know it, you will have a closet full of things you like that fits your personal style. Another word of advice I can give to those who are trying to find their style is to make bigger purchases on investment pieces rather than smaller trendy purchases that come and go quickly. High street fashion is very disposable as it is based on fast trends and as a result, you end up purchasing a piece that is everywhere for only a short time before the next fad hits.

What are some exciting projects you are working on at the moment?

The thing I have been wanting to work on for a while now is a photo book to celebrate vintage clothing. For this project, we will be working with many renowned photographers and creative teams to create one single image for a particular look that pays homage to the way people used to shoot in the 80s and 90s that was more organic and less formulaic. In today’s industry, photographers are required to plan out a shoot ahead of time and provide mood boards but back then, photographers would just turn up to a photo shoot where they would shoot a certain outfit on the spot with little planning, allowing room for inspiration to guide them. For this project, we want to work with many different photographers to create one single image that will encompass that piece of clothing, and so we hope to collect 100 different images for the book.

Being in the creative field, what inspires your work?

It may sound surprising but food really inspires me. Food is so explorative. I suppose that because my parents were both in the restaurant business, I was exposed to such rich and fascinating Chinese cuisine at a young age comprising of so many flavours, textures and elements. To me, eating is such a multisensorial experience that truly inspires me, so I always think about how I can infuse the same unique experience into my clients’ shows.

Are there any parts of London that you go to for inspiration: If so, could you recommend a few places to us?

As I mentioned, food inspires me a lot so I really enjoy going to Dumpling Shack in Old Spitalfields Market; it is one of the best. In terms of different areas in and around London, I really like Hackney for its ease of convenience to go to different places with so many incredible restaurants like Peg, Pidgin and Cornerstone. I think all areas of London have something great to offer.

Your Instagram game is strong! Any tips for our readers on styling and editing?

My only advice is not to think too much about it and just post what you like on social media. There is such a fine line in social media where in some ways there is an advantage to have some presence on these platforms, whether it be for business reasons or keeping in touch with people. However, it can also become toxic where you are feeding into this image of a life that is fabricated and not real. Hence, it is so important to be genuine and use social media in a healthy way.

London Fashion Week took place recently and we’re always thrilled to see all the latest creations during this time of year. Were there any brands that really stood out to you this year?

Fashion Week can be very enjoyable when you get to go see the shows and get up close to the clothing, but during Covid when you are at home watching 2-3 hours of catwalks it may not be as exciting. That said, I do follow various brands on social media and in some recent behind-the-scenes posts at a Louis Vuitton show that a few of my model friends walked in, they were doing some pretty amazing things that get you excited. Another brand that I love to watch is Valentino; everything they create is absolutely beautiful. One of the London-based brands I work with in supporting their collection unveiling, A-Cold-Wall, is always a highlight of mine during London Fashion Week because they are understanding of who the modern-day man is. The inspiration for their show this season was all about commuters and “commuters of the future”, so seeing how people might dress in a couple of years in the workforce is such an important conversation to have because we are slowly moving away from the typical business suit and into casual-wear culture. With the emergence of a new work-from -home culture, there is a huge conversation surrounding what is professional wear. So, these are definitely a few brands I enjoy following during fashion week.

Travel Inspiration

In your line of work, how often would you say you travelled (in a pre-pandemic world)?

It is hard to recall because I actually can’t remember what it was like prior to the pandemic! My girlfriend and I were going to go to Japan for two weeks in April and then we had to cancel it. She has also been asking me to go to Spain with her every year since her and her family go quite often. I have travelled across all of Europe and have gone to beautiful places like Morocco when I was young, then I moved to Shanghai for some time after graduation. I used to want to travel more but as you get older, things change. That said, now that I am in a relationship you have the desire to want to explore the world together and enjoy unique experiences so Hong Kong is another place that I would love to re-visit again.  

Now that traveling is slowly opening up, are there any places you’d like to visit?

I would definitely like to travel to Asia, particularly Singapore, Japan, Bali and Hong Kong.

I would like to do four days in Singapore to see my brother because I never had the chance to visit him in the six years that he’s lived there. I would go to Hong Kong for the incredible food and to visit family and friends.

In 3 words, how would you describe London?

Culinary, Welcoming, Layered

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