M.I.A. MERCH: The British singer-songwriter Mathangi Arulpragasam — better known by her stage name M.I.A. — has teamed with the Danish designer Astrid Andersen on a capsule clothing range that launches this week.
The collaboration came about after Arulpragasam requested some spring 2017 garments from Andersen, and the musician asked if they could work together in some way. She lauded Andersen’s merging of “function, sport, simplicity and futurism.”
“M.I.A’s message is strong and pure and her personality is strong-willed and determined. That’s rare to find and that’s what made her so incredible to work with,” said Andersen. “For this particular project, it all happened super fast. We have the same references, so it was natural to create pieces from my spring 2017 collection and use her colors and artwork.”
The designer, who was inspired by artwork from the musician’s latest album, “AIM,” used silhouettes from her spring 2017 show. She revamped them using light technical materials in black, coral and beige.
The collection made its debut at the Astrid Andersen flagship in Denmark to celebrate Copenhagen Fashion Week. The range consists of anoraks, T-shirts and track pants. Prices range from 50 pounds for a T-shirt to 120 pounds for an anorak. It will be sold at her flagship store on Jagtvej in Copenhagen and on M.I.A.’s web site.
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This is the first time the designer has collaborated with Arulpragasam. She has teamed with A$AP Ferg — a member of the hip hop collective A$AP Mob — in the past on a custom soundtrack for her spring 2016 runway show as well as a short film titled “Water.”
The designer will stage her women’s show in Copenhagen on Thursday. “This is the second time I have shown a women’s collection. It’s an extension of the men’s,” said Andersen. “So I’m super excited about this.”