Salman: Clothing, Design and Heritage

I recently had the opportunity to chat with my friend and colleague, Salman. Salman Is known in our team as someone who is very much into their clothing, a snappy dresser and a big fan of multiple genres of music. As someone who is not too much into clothing, fashion or design myself I wanted to delve a bit deeper on the subject and the joy clothing can bring someone as well as what goes in to the thought process of finding the right clothes for you. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did interviewing!

Q. Thanks for joining me today, could you introduce yourself?

A. My name is Salman, I have lived in England since 2011 and before that I was born raised in Denmark. I’ve worked in restaurants, owned a restaurant and also had an alcohol delivery job which was fun! Somehow, I got a temp role at a global customer service centre and here I am 7 years later as a team leader.

Q. You have always come across to me as someone who takes pride in their appearance, you’re well dressed and stylish. Where did your interest in clothing come from?

A. I don’t know if there was a specific thing that sparked it but I remember my Mum telling me that when I was a child she put me in a sweater that I really disliked and I got really upset. So I wonder if I always had some affinity with clothing. As I got older, around 12-13 years old my older brother was very much into his clothes. He took me out once and got me an expensive pair of sneakers so I think it’s continued from there.

When I got those sneakers I felt on top of the world, they were around £100 which was so much money to a kid. I have three older brothers who all had their own styles and I admired them for that.

Q. Do you remember what those Sneakers were?

A. It was a brand that may have been called Acupuncture or something, I don’t know if they still exist but I remember they were the coolest thing for a teen.

Q. How did you begin your ‘Journey’ in clothing on a deeper level?

A. I probably got more into it when I got my first part-time job at around 15 years old, because I had my own money and could buy what I wanted. I was also very much into Hip-hop, I still am and that definitely inspired the way I dressed. I would dress as early 2000’s Rappers would, super over-sized clothes, lots of bling and those kinds of things.

I remember in my first job all of my money would go towards a trip to Copenhagen in order to buy clothing.

Q. What goes in to knowing what works well for you and what doesn’t, is it down to trial and error?

A. Oh for sure because I’ve always been interested in clothes so I guess I just trialed a lot, I had my Hip-hop phase and then went to a different extreme like skinny jeans, V-Neck T-shirts and straightened hair. This was influenced by the people I was hanging out with, the music I was listening to and being in College. I guess I’ve just tried a bunch of different things, some worked, and some did not. If I look back now I feel like some were quite silly.

Q. Would you say you felt they worked at the time but in retrospect you no longer do?

A. I thought I was the coolest thing in those 5 sizes too big jeans but I was 15 or 16 years old and I felt cool, that was what mattered. I’ve been experimenting over the years and getting it wrong I feel I now know what works for me, but I continue to try things I don’t normally wear.

Q. How do you experiment do you just find a new brand?

A. I’m not into brands as such, there are some I do like of course but when some people think you’re into clothing they imagine you’re into the typical designer brands. I am more into the quality side of things and that’s why tailoring speaks to me. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to get my first fully bespoke suit, and that was an experience I only dreamt of when I was younger.

I also get inspired by the things I see around me. The shoes I’m wearing right now were inspired by an older gentleman who happened to be sitting in the dentist office at the same time as me. He was wearing these loafers with a suit, and I thought, “That is beautiful”, so I found them online and bought them.

Q. Nice! In that case would you say that currently looking for clothes is a solitary thing or do you bounce off of other people for input?

A. Fortunately my Wife is quite interested in her clothes as well, so if I buy something I do tend to ask her for her opinion but at the same time it can be solitary depending on where I am.

Q. I remember someone… It may well have been my Dad, telling me ‘If a man cannot take care of his shoes, he cannot take care of himself’ does that resonate with you in any way?

A. Yes, when I was first interested in classic menswear like tailoring there were all these “rules” and I was super fascinated by it, like people would judge you on your shoe, what goes with what and so on. However, I’m not sure that is true anymore, the world has shifted from when men used to wear suits to the office all the time, but I do like buying nice things and I do take care of them.

I’m not super precious with my clothes that I will not wear them much just because they look good, clothes are meant to be worn not just saved for an occasion.

Q. Don’t you find it sad when you wear out a quality piece of clothing over time though?

A. I do but I think some pieces of clothing can become even better when they are worn, for example leather jackets or jeans. When I can, I will repair and mend my items too, and having a tailor near by that can alter things is highly recommended.

Q. Following that, what do you think clothing can say about someone in a general sense? Do you feel clothing can still make a statement?

A. One hundred percent, I think we like to believe we are not judged on the way we dress but you most definitely are. I am not saying everybody should be wearing suits but you can tell when people put some effort in and do not look disheveled. I’ve noticed it myself the days I’m wearing nicer clothes like a blazer people tend to treat you nicer when you’re out and about.

With that said I do think people generally should think about how they present themselves I don’t mean you need to conform and look like everybody else but just take pride in your appearance.

Q. I think some people can class those who do take pride in brands or their appearance as materialistic how would you counter that or would you agree?

A. I can’t speak for others and I don’t know if being materialistic or liking certain things is a negative but to present yourself nicely doesn’t mean you need to spend lots of money on brands. I buy stuff based on what I like, some of it is expensive, other things aren’t and look great.

Q. Is there a particular style you’ve enjoyed but struggled to gel with?

A. Nothing really comes to mind, I have had friends from many different backgrounds like people really into Heavy Metal who wore lots of spikes but I’ve also had friends who couldn’t understand why I had a eyebrow piercing or why I would wear a certain thing. it’s great to see people express themselves like that, it’s nice to see others into their clothing or style.

Q.  I’d agree, by meeting people like you and seeing how people can take more pride in their appearance has certainly made me think more about the subject, not that I’ve experimented or find myself to be fashionable, but I’ve thought about taking the plunge to buy a certain pair of boots for example. It’s nice to be inspire or be inspired by people.

A. It’s a bit of a hobby for me so I am not expecting everyone to spend as much time as me but I’ve always been into design, I don’t feel “Fashion” is the right word.

Q. Is there a style that you really admire?

A. Maybe not a particular style but I am inspired by different people. Even if it’s a style that I am not particularly into, certain aspects can inspire me to think of putting something together differently.

Q. I’ve always felt men’s fashion/design is perhaps more limited than women’s, would you agree with that statement?

A. I think so and that’s why I don’t like shopping on the high street. It all seems to be the same stuff regardless of the shop you go to.  

Q. If I were to go to somewhere like H&M it does feel like I can only really buy the standard T-shirt, Jeans and jumper. With that said do you think men’s clothing needs a bit of a renaissance in a way in order to get people more open to different styles?

A. Some people are not going to want to spend that time to think about what to wear or spend much time on it, whereas others like myself, spend a lot of time. That is most likely not going to change. But I’d urge people to try new things, it’s fun!

Q. If you had to provide general tips for someone who didn’t know what you wear or where to begin with clothing, what would you say?

A. Buy good quality and look after it. I really enjoy trousers and I’d say that’s a good place to start. I don’t think you need to do a lot to stand out compared to others it’s just about putting a little bit of pride in your appearance.

Q. Moving on from clothing I wanted to focus more on your background. When did you come to the UK and what was the decision-making process in that, the majority of your family now reside here is that correct?

A. Yes. Two of my older brothers were here already living in England for roughly 10 years. We got some money from a house my dad sold, and my brothers asked me if I wanted to come to England to open a restaurant. I’d finished the equivalent of doing your A-Levels in England it’s called gymnasie in Denmark. Coming to England sounded really interesting to me so I packed my bags!

Q. How did it feel to work in a family business and what stopped you from continuing to work there?

A. It was hard as none of us knew what we were doing really, we sat together and brainstormed food we enjoyed. My older brother said “This sounds like an American diner” so we decided to do that. We got it up and running and it became popular, so it was going well, but going from college where there were friends and parties to 12 hour working days was tough.

Unfortunately, we had a fire in the Kitchen when nobody was there, and it took us take a year to reopen. To build the clientele again was really hard and bills became more than earnings, so we had to close.

Q. How do you pick yourself back up as a family after all that, how to do stay resilient or decide you need to try something else?

A. It was hard but we had been closed for a year so we came to terms with it, we did end up loosing our investment but we had a good time and threw a party there on the last night with our regulars and friends. Then I did some odd jobs here and there such as working at another restaurant.

Q. What was life like growing up in Denmark, what area did you live in?

A. I grew in a little town outside of Copenhagen and it was a nice childhood. After that I moved for college to Roskilde which people may know due to the Roskilde Festival. If you haven’t been to the festival, I can highly recommend it.

Q. Was Danish your first or second language?

A. Technically my mother tongue would be Urdu, but I was born in Denmark and I’ve spoken both Urdu and Danish since I could talk.

Q. Do you find you still use Danish much now or do you find yourself conversing in English more?

A. When I first came to England my siblings and I would speak Danish primarily but over time it switched to English just because we were around others who didn’t speak Danish. Now we still speak English more and I feel my Danish has become a bit rusty.

Q. I think some of us who work with you forget you speak Danish to be honest! I also think you’ve got more of a British accent now! Is there anything you miss about Denmark?

A. There will always be positives and negatives anywhere you live but in Denmark somehow life doesn’t feel as stressful compared to places like England. My references are a bit skewed though as I was living there during college and you get paid to study, student flats are subsidized, but overall Denmark is very relaxed, people seem more relaxed in life.

Q. You mentioned speaking Urdu which to my knowledge is Pakistan’s national language, how else do you stay in touch with your Pakistani heritage?

A. It’s funny because as an immigrant born in Denmark you try to assimilate with the people there and push your culture away which is not a unique experience to me, I know many people who have done that. You try to take on more of the Danish culture but as I’ve grown older I’ve grown to appreciate Pakistani culture much more, for example I love listening to Pakistani music now, we have the best food and my whole family is close and into food so we get together often.

With the internet I can also easily find Pakistani art and information about the culture

Q. I believe in the UK and other western countries there seem to be quite big Pakistani communities who reside there so I imagine it is quite easy to get in touch with other people within the community or buy products from the area and stay closer to your heritage?

A. Because my family grew up in Denmark we didn’t have any family there, we had some Pakistani friends but moving to England there are larger Pakistani communities.

In my own home though I feel it is a great mix of western culture mixed with Pakistani culture as there are things I like and dislike about all of them. It’s nice having an influence from different places and parts I do like together.

Q. Do you visit Pakistan much since moving to the UK?

A. I’ve not been many times, the last time I was there was roughly 8 years ago for my brother’s wedding. We don’t have much family there, but I do want to go back because I feel I appreciate the culture more.

Q. Is there anything you particularly love about Pakistan?

A. I’ve not been enough but I feel there are some really beautiful places there, the food is great and there is a rich history spanning thousands of years. I also really like Mughal architecture so lots of great places to see.

Q. Would you say you feel more Danish, British, Pakistani or a ‘mixture’?

A. It’s odd because if you’d have asked me a few years ago I’d introduce myself as Danish, and I still do sometimes depending on where I am but I see myself as a Pakistani. However, as I’ve mentioned before my culture if a mix of different ones and I “feel” closer to one or the other depending on situation.

Q. Would you recommend if people had the opportunity, they should spend time living and working in another country if so, why?

A. I don’t know if I’d have ever moved to another country if my brothers had not asked me to come here, it wasn’t something on my mind. Would I recommend it though… well it’s been a cool experience and I’ve enjoyed it, and I’m still here. It’s always good to come out of your bubble or comfort zone in some way, especially if you’re from a small town.

I was close to moving back to Denmark once, but England won me over.

Q. You are very much in to music and we’ve had many conversations on that subject, I think you like me are quite varied in your musical taste, you mentioned that when you were more into Hip-Hop you’d tend to dress a certain way, do you feel there is a link from music to clothing and if so how?

A. I think the link used to be stronger for me like with Hip-hop but I don’t know if Rock/Emo music when I was in college influenced me as much, perhaps in terms of my hair… Music is still a massive part of my life and to some aspects there is some influence.

Overall music and clothing play a big part in my life but I’m not sure they influence each other so much these days.

I wanted to thank Salman again for joining me and sharing a bit about themselves and their passion. It has always interested me to learn about why different people may come to the UK or more specifically England and what they make of their time here. I have certainly had my eyes opened more to the world of design and feel I could take some great advice here, what do you think?