Vice Style

20-year-old Larry B. is a bit of an enigma in the sense that he doesn't want to tell us his last name and his blog doesn't give too much away, but all you really need to know is that he's the south London kid behind From The Endz, a street style blog with the subheader, 'Streetstyle in its truest form'. It's focused, not on spoiled brats who've spent more of their parents money on a bag than the average Indian earns in a year, but on less affluent types. Larry sets himself apart by intentionally avoiding any of the usual clichés—i.e., streetwear, anything vintage, or overly considered—and instead focuses on working class kids who, he says, are a more real, accurate representation of London's youth.

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VICE: I like your blog's tagline 'Streetstyle in its truest form'. Is this statement aimed at all the street style blogs with manicured looks and over-styled outfits?
Larry B: Yeah, definitely. I think the people we see who look like they don’t care probably care the most, you know? And that’s fine, because everyone cares - everyone checks the mirror before they leave the house - but I prefer seeing something a bit more real. Like you said, it’s that manicured, facehunter vibe, with pictures of skinny Italian girls—that got really boring for me. It all just seems a bit fake.

So, what made you want to go out and document real street style then?
It actually started off as a school project where we had to pick our style tribe and then take 20 street style photos of that tribe.

So that gave you scope to do pretty much anyone, then?
Yeah, but I also did some in Paris and a couple of other places. So it was more just young working class kids expressing themselves in whatever way they chose.

Was there a big difference between working class kids in Paris and London?
The people I saw in Paris were all a lot more trendy - everyone was going for that Chris Brown look with graphic t-shirts and more colorful clothes - whereas here, teenagers don't go for that. It's usually all black or jeans and a puffa jacket with boys in London. Girls are a bit more varied, I guess. I've got a bit of a thing for tomboy girls, though. And pearl necklaces - I love them. But yeah, I didn't take too many photos in Paris because all the kids just looked too styled. 

Is that a no-go when you’re looking for people to photograph, then? 
Yeah, definitely. The thing is, though, there's generally some sort of interaction with the person before I take their photo. I don’t look for the outfit as much as I look for a character. I mean, I'm usually walking round south London with my camera, scoping people out, so people approach me, that's normally how it starts. I like to talk to people a bit before I take their photo too, because it's more about the personality than what they're wearing. I think of it as portraits in a street style form.

Nice way of putting it. Has anyone ever got weird when you asked to take their photo?
Not really, no. Most people love it. They're like, "Ah, you want to take my picture? Can you facebook it to me?"  So yeah, they love it.

Cool. Where's best for taking photos?
I don't really go anywhere in particular, it's more about where I am at the time. If I'm around somewhere and there are people who I can take photos of, that's usually how it goes. I've never gone out with the intention of taking photos and I don't really want it to become that because I want every one person to be, like, quite special.

Cool. So where's the best spot in London for unstyled style?
Elephant & Castle and Camberwell, hands down. Peckham and Croydon town center are pretty good too.

How come?
Because they're places where a lot of young people hang out. You know, like schools, around the big bus garages, places like that. That's where you see young people hanging out, looking the way they want to look. Also, each area has its own look, I think. You know, like south-east is different to south-west, east is different to north, etc.

Yeah, for sure. Have you noticed any particular area trends while taking photos? I used to live on Walworth Road, and literally every school kid had those black Nike bags with the one swoosh on the back.
Yeah, definitely. Those bags are big round here. And Kickers too. That's the uniform. There are definitely differences in the different areas, though. Girls in Brixton and Camberwell are all really into hair weaves, but in Brixton the weaves come down a lot longer because it’s more of an African area and that’s more of an African look, I think, so all the girls and their mums love that. Then, in Camberwell, you've got all the Jamaican girls who are into all that mainstream Kim Kardashian stuff, so they wear their weaves up a lot more and style them.

What about the guys?
There's not much of a difference between the guys in Brixton and Camberwell, really. All-black clothes are definitely the biggest trend I've noticed with boys in south London, if you could call that a trend.

 

JAMIE CLIFTON 

TAGGED: From The Endz