Soccer players Kovi Konowiecki and Sean Wilkinson, the masterminds behind the popular “The Forest Folk” blog, are pushing the boundaries of Wake Forest fashion. Read on, and you could be their next muse!
Although Kovi (’14) and Sean (’15) both originated on the West Coast and play on the soccer team, they didn’t become friends until they discovered their mutual love of music, art, and individuality.
HC sat down with the boys to discuss their blog, sense of style, girls, and what’s next.
HerCampus: How did you guys meet?
Sean Wilkinson: We met at summer school orientation during the summer of 2011.
Kovi Konowiecki: We didn’t hit it off at first. I didn’t get to know Sean until we were at Best Buy after a team dinner at Ishi. A teammate was picking up a copy of Madden, and neither of us really like video games.
SW: We moved to the CD section and started jamming. That’s where we first dipped our toes into each other’s artistic waters.
HC: Can you tell me a little about the blog?
SW: It’s called “The Forest Folk.” Our goal is so create a portrait of the Wake Forest student and campus life through fashion and the artistic tastes of students.
KK: We wanted to do something that’s different. We started last year recording music together, and now we’ve started this blog.
HC: Where did you get your inspiration from?
KK: One of the biggest inspirations was The Sartorialist, a renowned fashion photography website. Sean and I thought, “Why can’t we emulate this on a college campus?”
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HC: Tell me a little more about the vintage photos. Do you only take new photos or try to use old Wake pictures?
KK: We just started a new thing called “Vintage Folk” which involves older photos.
SW: We locked ourselves in the library for a few hours and got a collection of vintage Wake photos. We’ve been using them to compliment the photos that we take daily and to compare fashion trends.
HC: How do you meet these people and take their photographs?
KK: We walk up to them randomly or we chase them. We’ve actually been sprinting a lot to catch people (laughs).
SW: Yeah, soccer actually compliments this a lot. We can run for up to 3 miles to get people (laughs).
HC: Have you ever been rejected?
KK: Once we encountered a woman that didn’t speak English, and she just shut us down. But for the most part people are interested and take it as a compliment.
HC: What are your individual styles?
KK: I’ve lived in Germany and Israel, so I have a lot of international influences. I try not to wear anything mainstream though, for sure.
SW: I think my fashion sense comes from the fact that I’m pretty tall and slender, so the clothes I wear seem to fit me better than dressing with short, preppy shorts and clothes like that.
HC: Do you ever feel uncomfortable at a school like Wake, where the majority of people dress very preppy and in bright colors?
SW: Sometimes I’ll walk through campus and feel self-conscious about how tight my pants are…
KK: Last year, I didn’t wear certain things because people on the soccer team would call me a hipster. It made me question if it was okay to wear combat boots on a summer day. But this year, I’m just like f*** it, I’m gonna’ wear whatever I want.
HC: Where do you guys shop?
SW: Urban Outfitters, Goodwill, Antique places, and neighbors’ closets.
KK: Brooklyn flea market, RRL, Opening Ceremony.
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HC: What kind of style do you like on girls?
KK: The most important thing is the face. I like a girl that looks unique. Someone that’s different, trendy, and very comfortable with what she’s wearing. She is what’s she’s wearing.
SW: I like sophistication in a girl, but I wouldn’t say that what she’s wearing matters too much if she’s beautiful and has a great personality.
HC: Are there any styles that you don’t like seeing at Wake?
KK: Wake has a very homogenous look that sucks and we hate it. We want to change it, not because we think we’re above it, but because we just don’t like it. But like Sean was saying, we also want to show the decked out Wake kid with his bow-tie and black and gold pants. Even though we may not like the preppy look, it’s important to show it. However, we won’t be taking pictures of the person that’s in-between and wears the same dull look every day. We want the risk takers.
To see the blog, visit http://theforestfolk.tumblr.com/, and keep an eye out for these fashion-savvy athletes. If you’re an individual – be it trendy or preppy –you may land yourself on the blog. Just remember one thing: don’t be the in-between.