New York Magazine – August 05, 2019

18 new york | august 5–18, 2019

intelligencer

From the Cut:

Camping Gear

for Insiders

First came fashion

Tevas, now ...

By Emilia Petrarca

around 5 p.m. on a recent weekday,

Pabst Blue Ribbon beer was rapidly disap-

pearing from a $696 cooler at Snow Peak’s

Soho location. In the past few years, the

Japanese outdoor store has become an un-

likely watering hole, bringing together ur-

ban foragers, downtown artists, and the

fashion set. It’s the kind of place where one

might bump into Jenna Lyons and her son

preparing to outfit her upstate house for

tented sleepovers. “We have models come

in, and I’m like, ‘Oh, shoot! What are you

doing here?,’ ” said Akil County, 26, a Brook-

lyn native who’d never been camping before

he started working for the brand two years

ago. “But it makes sense because it’s an ‘If

you know, you know’ kind of thing.” Some

customers might walk in off the street, en-

ticed by the sight of a Japanese denim fish-

ing vest ($464) hanging in the window, only

to discover hot dogs sizzling on a $250

camping grill. But the store serves serious

“gearheads,” too. Every object from beach

grills to the bucket bags to the titanium cof-

fee mugs has been designed to collapse or

stack with origami-like precision. On a Fri-

day evening, a manager demonstrated the

way to assemble a tent, while a model

named Hunter and several of his friends

looked on and chatted with customers. The

scene is cool, but, perhaps because of the

earnest appreciation of nature and travel,

not intimidating. “That same model, after

she bought clothes here, came back and

bought a titanium spork,” said County. “She

didn’t want to use plastic at home.” ■

➸ Derrick Cheung,

DJ; Bre Andy, artist;

Esteban Scott,

rapper; Mika

Zhané, musician;

Elliot Cheng, shop

staff and musician;

Amanda Alborano,

photographer.

➸

Cam Hicks,

photographer.

➸ Scott.

➸

Cheng.

R

TRANSMITTED

REVISED

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1619INT_Cut_lay [Print]_35436878.indd 18 8/1/19 11:44 AM

Photographs by Jacob Consenstein

Among the regulars: Elena Lorenzi, artist; Giselle Hernandez, event producer; ➸

Roxy Julian, marketing; Levin Berlin, photographer; Taylor Cred, retail owner.

➸ Ajani Russell, model and

actress in Skate Kitchen.

Akil County, assistant ➸

manager and musician.

➸ Aijani Payne,

photographer;

Don Green,

model.

➸

Woodson Legrand,

artist; Sarah Tekele,

photographer; Melvin

Guzman, artist.

Y ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EIC

TRANSMITTED

REVISED

________ COPY ___ DD ___ AD ___ PD ___ EIC

1619INT_Cut_lay [Print]_35436878.indd 19 8/1/19 11:44 AM

PhotographsbyJacobConsenstein

➸ Among the regulars: Elena Lorenzi, artist; Giselle Hernandez, event producer;
Roxy Julian, marketing; Levin Berlin, photographer; Taylor Cred, retail owner.
➸ Ajani Russell, model and
actress in Skate Kitchen.

➸ Akil County, assistant

manager and musician.

➸ Aijani Payne,

photographer;

Don Green,

model.

➸

Woodson Legrand,

artist; Sarah Tekele,

photographer; Melvin

Guzman, artist.