PAQ: Danny Lomas

Infusing the group with a dose of old school cool is 21-year-old Danny Lomas. “I would describe my style as ‘classic British’,” he tells me. “I find inspiration through subcultures while keeping things clean and neat.”

Having worked at a skate park for three years, you can see Lomas’ influence in the channel’s nod to British heritage brands and classic skate wear. He also leads the way in last month’s ‘How to Make Dr. Martens Look Fire’, an episode where the group are tasked with styling an outfit inspired by a music subculture around a pair of Dr. Martens, a particularly easy challenge for Lomas considering, as Elias Riadi jokes during the episode, that he was “born wearing a pair.”

Lomas hails from Driffield, a small market town in East Yorkshire. All of the PAQ boys bring something to the table, but Lomas’ ace is his respect for independent brands and artists. “My appreciation for independent brands came from growing up in a small town,” he explains. “If anyone created their own brand within our area we’d always show support where we could as opposed to just buying into all the big dogs.”

As a presenter of one of YouTube’s fastest rising style channels, Lomas will be the first to tell you about how much the internet has changed the fashion industry. “You have the whole world at your fingertips, so you can connect with people and see the styles from across the globe,” he says. “In the past fashion depended more on what your local stores carried or what people would bring over to your area. You couldn’t just order something from across the world with a few clicks.”

But the skater is also key in highlighting the internet’s compliancy with fast fashion. “Everyone is trying to keep up with the ever changing styles and ‘the next big thing’,” he adds.

Lomas’ longstanding appreciation for independent brands is indicative of a recent surge in awareness around the environmental impact of fast fashion. “The step away from fast fashion is bloody fantastic,” he says. “The idea that a garment is cool for a few weeks before everyone gets rid is so wasteful and toxic.”

“I love the phrase ‘Fashion is temporary whereas style is timeless’ and all that jazz because it’s so true,” he continues. “I’d rather keep a rotation of 5 jackets over a few years rather than buy a new jacket every week as that defines style rather than following trends for the sake of it.”

Despite being a self proclaimed “simple man”, there’s no denying that Lomas is helping to shepherd fashion-conscious youth into a new, sustainable way of thinking about style. But what does he like to do in his time off? “When I’m not with PAQ I enjoy listening to music, reading books and of course visiting the pub at every chance I get,” he laughs. “You take the boy out of the north, but you can’t take the north out of the boy…” Sounds about right.