ReadysetDC A CREATIVE URBAN ENTERPRISE

Words w/ Morgan Hungerford

I’ve been a fan of Morgan’s since pandahead was a street-style blog and the gradual evolution into an online magazine has been thrilling to watch. Morgan shares her  thoughts on pandahead, DC style, what inspires her and more with ReadysetDC.

Kat: What have you been wearing lately?

MH: A UNIFORM: black skinny jeans, one of a rotating cast of vintage black concert tees or flannel shirts, a black leather jacket and a hoodie. I’ll switch the shoes up between boots and ballet flats, but comfort is key as of late, but I’m actually really excited that we’re in holiday party season – I’ve been stoked to switch things up with velvet, sequins, and terribly ridiculous shoes.

Kat: How long have you been in DC?

MH: I grew up in Alexandria and moved into the city proper in the summer of 2005.

Kat: What’s your favorite hangout in DC?

MH: I’ve spent a lot of time at the Red Derby lately, but more often than not when I’m out it’s at Velvet Lounge or Black Cat for shows.

Kat: What’s on your wishlist for your Winter/Spring wardrobes?

MH: I kind of go in and out of paying attention to what’s on the radar, fashion-wise, but I’m on a never-ending quest for both the perfect, vintage, turquoise ring and a magic pair of black jeans.

Kat: Where do you draw inspiration from? What attracted me to your work was that unlike so many people in fashion in DC your style is a bit more unconventional. DC isn’t known as a stylish city; does this itself inspire you to prove naysayers wrong?

MH: Style inspiration can literally come from anywhere; I always look to people like Sarah Sophie Flicker and Kate Lanphear (though they’re at opposite sides of the style spectrum) and I recently came out of a total LADIES OF THE CANYON phase where I was digging anything sheer and flowy. Feathers and headdresses are a permanent staple.

DC isn’t known as a stylish city, and I don’t necessarily think it should be. I think if you look at any city you’re going to find pockets of creativity and aesthetic interest, and you’re going to find as many unstylish people in NY or LA or where ever else you go. I’m much more interested in providing proof that there’s a quality of lifestyle here – a bohemian element that goes largely unnoticed not only outside the city, but within it as well.

Kat: Why did you start pandahead? How did it evolve into what it is today? Did you think that it would flourish into the online magazine?

MH: I started pandahead in the summer of 2006 as a street style blog, and eventually I just grew bored of the format. It was starting to become a chore, and it became a magazine out of sheer necessity – it allowed for diversity in the types of projects I could take on. Since issue 1 (we launched in summer 2008) Erik Loften (Vaktiva) has been the magazine’s designer; he’s ungodly talented and just a wellspring of ideas. Nilay Lawson came on as art content editor after issue 2; she manages the art feature for each issue and we work ever-so-closely on the rest of the mag’s content. She’s a designer as well; oftentimes the design aspects within the features – and our print pieces – are hers.
I honestly can’t say I ever thought pandahead would flourish into ANYTHING! It was such a surprise when it caught on as a street style blog and I’m just grateful that it’s also had success in its current incarnation.

Kat: Can you briefly describe the thought process behind pandahead and how long it takes to put together an issue — from concepts and ideas to an issue going live? How do you capture the creative spirit that has emerged in DC lately?

MH: Our goal is always to feature DC as we know it – Nilay, Erik and I are constantly amazed at how diverse the creative environment is in this city and I tend to use the word “lucky” a lot, but it’s just mindblowing that we’re able to take any idea (no matter how insane – this past summer we took 30 people into the woods and emerged with an amazing video of our favorite DC bands covering a kinks song) and we’ll be able to find someone in this city who is not only able to help us carry it out, but who can make it even better than we thought it could possibly be. The entire magazine is based on collaboration, and our philosophy is just to let everyone shine at what they’re good at. That’s why we want to work with them in the first place.

How long an issue takes varies – the initial idea was for the magazine to be quarterly, but with every issue we’ve gotten more ambitious and the features have gotten larger in scale. Right now we’re averaging between two and three issues a year, so anywhere from 4 to 6 months.

Kat: What can we expect from the upcoming issue of pandahead?

MH: We’ll never tell. SIKE. But really, we kind of like to keep things under wraps. you can check pandahead.blogspot.com from now until march for previews, behind-the-scenes pictures, and assorted blog posts from our stellar issue 6 interns, Robyn and Jana.

Kat: Do you have any plans for beyond the magazine? Where do you see yourself and pandahead over the next few years?

MH: Among other things we’re inching ever closer to launching our online store, and one of the more exciting things on the horizon is taking Erik’s, Nilay’s and my creative partnership outside of the “confines” of the magazine. Honestly we just want to do anything and everything that we can, and we’ve got enough ideas to keep ourselves busy for roughly…infinity.

Kat: How does the DC fashion community fit into the larger creative community?

MH: I really think DC is unique in that the different factions of the larger creative community are almost indiscernible. Everyone supports each other’s projects; collaboration occurs as both a selling point and a natural occurrence; music is art is style is photography is writing is…you get it, I know. And that’s why I wouldn’t be anywhere else other than here.

Kat: What are your thoughts on DC’s fashion community/scene right now? Have you noticed a change over the past few years? Where do you see it going over the next few years?

MH: You know, it’s funny – insofar as anyone can be a spokesperson for anything, I wouldn’t really consider myself qualified to answer this question anymore. over the last couple of years both panda head’s course and my own interests have drifted more into the lifestyle category, and while i’m constantly impressed with what comes out the DC fashion sector – De*Nada‘s Virginia Arrisueño is one of my favorite people to work with; DURKL consistently pushes the boundaries of what it means to be a DC-based clothing line; Lori Parkerson at Redeem finds new ways to champion local artists and designers every chance she gets – my only guess as to where it’s headed is where I would assume the DC creative community as a whole is bound: as far as we can take it.

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Check out previous issues of pandahead magazine at www.pandaheadmag.com.

Check the pandahead blog here.

Photography by Tracy Clayton