West London based stylist Daryon Morgan-Impey spoke to Coeval about his practice that lies between fashion, music and skate culture. Unintentionally, Daryon initiated his career on Instagram through styling himself before musician Twstwstwstwst reached out to him. She asked him to help style one of her music videos which opened up greater opportunities for Daryon. Now as an established stylist, Daryon tends to use techwear pieces blended with a London hood approach. As for skateboarding, he has been skating since the age of 16 which has massively influenced him as a creative. Continue reading to hear more from Daryon on his current and future projects.

You work as a stylist at main – what encouraged you to get into styling and how did you go about breaking into the industry?

Haha good question, If I’m honest probably Instagram - for a couple years before I’d been styling myself for fun on Instagram or when I’d go out to events and stuff, I’d never actually thought about being a stylist until an artist Twstwstwstwst asked me to style one of her music videos with a mate of mine (Luke Nakazawa) which is defo one of my favourite shoots I’ve done to this day. Luke’s probably got my favourite style of anyone I know, and we bounced off each other and got some of the craziest techwear pieces for it, stuff that’s impossible to find or would now cost 4/5 figures on the secondary market, like lots of Acronym and early Kiko Kostadinov. It was a really good formal introduction to styling, I guess. I was like a kid in a candy shop, after that I was hooked. From then on work started picking up.

How would you describe your aesthetic in terms of styling?

I guess I would say techwear mixed with a London hood twist, and an occasional bit of avant-garde sprinkled in. Although I like to style many different things, I always try to add a tiny sprinkle of my specific London culture’s aesthetic in there.

What would you say are your main influences?

I’ve been a skateboarder for years, and it’s definitely changed the way I perceive things. My first time really paying attention to how people dress was at the skatepark, all these loud graphics showing off their personal styles.

Another big influence is the London brand Wavey Garms, and the guys behind it Andrés (Branco) and Rhiannon (Isabel). I met them both years ago (I think 2014) through mutuals and those guys are the best. They’re siblings and both stylists, their style is very late 90s/early 00s, from London rave culture to the London rude boy/rude girl era. This was when my mates and I were young in like 2015 getting into jungle and grime music, and our only worries were finding and collecting whatever Moschino shirts we could to wear to raves every weekend (best years ever haha). If I’m honest I’d say a huge part of why brands like Mosch and that whole vibe have made a big comeback in the UK since like 2015 is because of them. Witnessing that transition pushes me to try and be the best I can be, it would be crazy knowing you’ve had an influence on so many people like that.

You are also an avid skateboarder – how does your skating interlink with your styling practice?

I’ve probably been skating for about nine years now and I’ve been quite lucky to make a lot of friends from going street skating and going filming or to competitions around the UK. Skating’s weird, it’s unlike any other sport - when you play football you go out for an hour but when you go out skating with your friends, you’re gone all day. I think that’s probably why skaters have their own culture and way they dress, exactly the same way each skater has their own style on a board. That’s always been mad interesting to me and it’s something that interlinks with how everyone has their own way they dress themselves. Skating is very personal in that sense.

You live, work and skate in London – how does the city influence you as an individual?

London’s the best, it’s like a hub of so many creative people with so much inspiration floating everywhere. In London you can be in such a wealthy area and cross the road and be in an estate it’s crazy, but people from both areas would still get the same inspirations from where they live.

What have you got planned for the near future?

Hopefully to just keep progressing, putting out more work and meeting and working with more super cool people. Erm there’s a shoot I styled a little while ago for The Face Magazine which focused on young black creatives which would be really cool to see. Besides that, I’ve been planning an editorial/zine for a little while and I’m excited to start working on that. It’s my first solo effort where I’m not just styling or creative directing and I’m excited to make a reality.

Aside from fashion I’m coming back from a torn ACL knee injury so I’m looking forward to being able to skate this summer! Haha probably the thing I’m most excited about to be honest.