The man of the summer? He’s in pink, he’s hot and he’s ready to work, he’ll smoke up the Earth! i-D caught up with Astrid to get the low-down…
Why get A$AP Ferg to model the collection?
I love his music, his style and attitude, and have tremendous respect for him as an artist. I used his music in my last show as well. To me he looks very real. He is not afraid to look both very tough and sexy at the same time, which essentially is what I look for when I dress men.
We’re loving the pink, what made you go for these bright colours?
I love pink too! I haven’t used it in so long so I really wanted to infuse it in this collab. I knew I wanted to use a very tight colour palette to separate this from my main line, but the pink feels very special and turns out it’s Ferg’s favourite colour as well.
Were you inspired by new references?
At the time I was designing this I was looking into all these super old Punjabi basketball teams and looking at India, which is essentially where the pink comes from as well.
What, to you, is contemporary masculinity?
To not hold back and to not be restricted by previous assumptions of what is a masculine/feminine, gay/straight or formal/informal way of dressing. It’s about the individual’s attitude and turning that into a way of dressing to empower oneself.
What makes menswear sexy?
Men. Honestly. How comfortable they are at the moment, when they get that they are the centre of attention. That makes them braver, more confident.
How has menswear changed in the last few years?
The guy on the street has changed fashion. There’s a new generation of boys that don’t see fashion in the same boxes as before. There is no such thing as unisex because it’s an irrelevant term really. A boy can wear a skirt and it’s not a feminine reference, it’s just a piece of clothing and a girl can wear basketball shorts without it challenging a masculine perception.
This is your first collaboration? What do you enjoy about working collaboratively?
For me this collaboration in particular is about creating pieces for a broader audience who support my brand, and really believe in and belong to the tribe of Astrid Andersen, but can’t necessarily afford to buy into my things. This is a perfect way for me to offer a bit of my brand to these kids who I owe a lot actually because they keep telling the story of my brand and they respect it and make it cool.
What are your favourite materials to work with? Why?
Velour is a constant favourite of mine and I have worked with it since my first collection because it holds all the references of nostalgic 90s hip hop, a comfortable feel and a broad feminine perception. Alongside that, I always love the technical fabrics and performance references.
There’s also quite a lot of sheerness in the collection, do you think men are more comfortable with exposing their bodies nowadays?
I think they are, but equally I think that men are such amazing stylists of themselves these days that they know exactly how to rock it!
And finally, if you had to pick a rap song to describe this collection, what would it be?
Work REMIX from Ferg’s Trap Lord album.
Credits
Text Bojana Konzarevic
Photography Kenneth Cappello