Meet Yardsale, South London’s subcultural skate brand

Dan’s cleverly edited skate montages with attractive urban backdrops were naturally the perfect promo material for a skate-orientated clothing line. Each short film transfers the mesmerising click and run of a skateboard, with colour palettes oozing stylish nostalgia for a simpler, more chill time. Apart from, that time is now for Yardsale.

The hype began at the Wayward Gallery in 2013, when Yardsale premiered a film called LDN-LAX, launching some pretty clothes and boards with it. And having just announced a collaboration with Vans, the bedroom project initially only worn by skaters in London has grown to uniform them worldwide – Dan and his fellow Yardsale skaters even got recognised in Tokyo. But with streetwear infiltrating fashion, even non skaters want a slice now.

Yardsale’s success owes itself to its effortless authenticity. The clothes are on point, the boards have sick graphics and their films are hypnotic. We got to know the man behind the brand and more on their major new collab…

Were you into fashion designing before you started Yardsale?

I had never really designed anything before. I feel like it was only when I started Yardsale that I became interested in designing stuff.  I have always been interested in clothing though. Me and my friends have always looked out for cool pieces when we skate and travel. 

Who’s in Yardsale’s skate team? 

At the moment it’s Curtis pearl, Julian Kimura, Sam Sitayeb, Charlie Birch, Cooper Latimer, and Jhian Namei, and we’re starting to flow guys who are killing it in London as well. Zach Delarue and Valentine Katz are getting stuff too, as well as a young buck from Bristol: Bear Myles.

How much has South London influenced the brand?

A lot I’d say. It’s where I grew up and I’ve always spent summers in South-East London. I like the way me and my mates see it, and I think that our experience of the area comes out a lot in the videos. It’s just come from having a lot of good summers here and skating all over, finding new estates and view points. It’s the hilliest part of London and the sun sets in a certain way behind the city, which gives you crazy skies in the evening. 

Your films and lookbooks are amazing, who shoots them? 

I still really enjoy shooting the videos and try to have as much control as I can, but I also like having friends film and add their vibe to it too. Like Josh Church and Austin Bristow- I think it’s cool to have those guys contribute their view of what we do. 

As for the look books, they’re all pretty rago to be honest. The last one me and Julian shot together, and it rained all day so nothing looked good. We had to release them the next day as well so I ended up having to shoot them the morning before on a disposable camera from Boots. But in the end they came out sick. The camera was so cheap that the light leaked through, but that made it way better and we ended up using it as the main photo.

How do you feel about the growing skate clothing landscape? Are more non-skaters wearing your clothes?

I feel like as we’re a skate brand and skating is something that I’m very passionate about, I always get more hyped when I see skaters wear the stuff, or when I see someone in my area wear it. But clothes are clothes and I enjoy the fact that everyone wants to wear them.

How did the Vans collab come about?

I used to work with my friend Dave who then was given a job high up at Vans. He’s always been hyped on what we do and when he got the job one of the first things he wanted to make happen was a shoe with us. Which is sick.

How did you decide on the design?

The design took ages because I felt like I was being too adventurous with my first ideas. I was trying to remake shoes from the 80s that Vans had made, which is kind of impossible and a bit dumb for the first shoe we did with them. So, I focused on making a shoe that’s sick to skate in and has a strong style whilst not being too over the top or flashy. I just wanted something that would look and feel good to skate in. I ended up picking a Ray Barbee epoch shoe which was made a while ago, and an authentic pro which is a classic shoe we all like to skate in. One of the main focuses was getting the colour right, and I spent a lot of time looking through old Vans colourways and making sure to pick a colour not many people have seen before. Then the main thing I guess is the stripe at the bottom. I felt like it was different without being ostentatious. It’s more like a Vans shoe from the 90s or a Tommy Hilfiger shoe.

Are there any other brands you really want to collaborate with?

I mean collaborating with brands isn’t something we really focus on. We always like doing our own thing. But Vans is something that we’re all into and it’s also crazy to get the chance to design your own Vans shoe. Seeing as we have all worn their shoes since we were kids. But I’m sure future collaborations with brands we care about will happen in the future. I’d just like to be very selective as to who its with.

Is the Covent Garden pop up store your first one in London?

Yeah its just around for a few weeks, until the 5th January. It’s like a Yardsale skate shop. So we sell skateboards as well as all of our clothing. I want to start doing more though. I like the idea of doing different pop-ups a few times a year in different locations rather than having a permanent store, that way you have the chance to do something different every time. I think we’re going to Tokyo and Taiwan next to do one, which will be fun.

You’re known in Japan, what’s the skate scene like over there?

It’s really sick, We went there a few years ago and had a crazy time. Tokyo is a mental city. The people are really nice and love partying haha.

What’s 2019 looking like for Yardsale?

I just wanna keep making clothes, videos and skating. And travel loads. 2018 was a fun year and I wanna just keep doing that.

Check out Yardsale’s website online here and follow them on Instagram here.