Lincoln's YAK is a goldmine for streetwear enthusiasts

Many of you from Lincolnshire would have heard of YAK Clothing but, for those who haven’t it’s well worth a visit.

Lincoln's vintage and streetwear shop, YAK, is a joy to behold.

Opened in 1995, YAK was born out of the minds of two brothers. Paul and David Hencke. After achieving immediate success running Ego, across the road from Yak, the pair decided to acquire the premises to kick-start their new venture.

But YAK, which is situated at the base of Lincoln’s steep hill, started from luck more than anything.

“I got lucky, I opened a place with my brother at the right time and it worked out. The recession guided our course in life as it affected our university courses of construction and electronics,” said co-owner David, 52.

A lot has changed in the last 20 years and not least the fashion industry. The 90’s, grunge, vintage and streetwear are all trends that YAK has lived through but, the latter is currently truly at the peak of fashion.

David said, “I like it (streetwear). It’s an interesting decade and the clothes are fairly easy to sell to people, it’s not like the 70’s where it’s all a bit out there and crazy.”

It may seem difficult to keep an independent clothing shop going while the high-street stores such as River Island, Topman and Zara continue to find success but, for David it’s all about timing.

“After the recession we were buying our clothes and thinking six-months ahead at the same time but, then the high-street shops would pick up on that trend.

“From us being ahead we were then behind. We then started to introduce a bit more of vintage after 2008, starting off with just a singular rail of stock. But, now we’re 80/09% vintage,” said David.

YAK co-owner David Hencke

In contrast to the high-street retailers, YAK and many other vintage/streetwear shops, make the most of what is out there now and what has been circulating the market for years.

YAK source their clothes from oversees as well as buying products from clothing banks where people have decided to switch up their wardrobe and throw some items away. This is a goldmine for YAK.

David smiled, “it’s just recycling, which is pretty cool.”

Vintage clothes often have a distinct smell to them a smell that David describes as ‘homely’. However, he understands that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

“Vintage clothes have a flavour to an extent. You can get an oily and greasy smell with vintage, it’s hard to describe but not everyone likes it, so we tend to wash and condition everything if we can,” said David.

He added, “We joked in the past calling places ‘stinky vintage’ to describe old-school stores, that’s not what we’re about though.

We try and make it a pleasant experience, sometimes people come in and don’t notice it’s a vintage shop.”

This selflessness has allowed David and his brother to establish one of Lincoln’s most treasured shops but, with the introduction of digital and online shopping it would seem to be impossible to replicate the Hencke brother’s success.

“People are quite savvy now and you have apps such as Depop. Online has changed everything, you need to be on the right side of greedy because you can’t please everyone unfortunately,” said David.

If you are wanting to imitate the accomplishments of the YAK family, it might be too late.

David said, “I probably wouldn’t start up your own fashion shop, I’d do it online. But, you need to do your research and look at the way society works.”

It’s difficult to imagine how much independent shop owners earn especially with the meteoric rise of online and chain retailers nevertheless, for David there’s ‘worse ways’ to make a living.