The kingpin of music is erupting in the spotlight with a fresh new set of notes, ones that are equally smart and dashing with style. Liam Payne, English-born singer and songwriter who soared through the charts as a member of the band One Direction, is writing a new chorus in unison with HUGO. Recently launching a capsule collection at Aventura Mall in synthesis with the opening of the brand’s first ever pop-up shop, Payne is powering up for a partnership that will take starry eyed fans and wildly cool fashion aficionados “from the plane to the festival in style.”
Haute Living sat down with Payne to hear more on his role as the brand’s new global ambassador, his evolving taste for fashion and his master tips on creating a signature style.
Photo Credit: HUGO BOSS
HAUTE LIVING: Tell us about partnering with HUGO as their new global ambassador and collaborating on a capsule collection.
LIAM PAYNE: It’s been super exciting. Obviously getting to do things like this for me are quite unusual and kind of breaks away from the music a little bit, which is fun actually! It’s been a really fun experience—getting to sit and design clothes—and then finally now, a year in the making, seeing people wear the clothes, meeting all the fans and seeing them enjoy it. It’s amazing. My mom and dad went down to one of the shops in the UK and sent me pictures of all the windows. It’s quite exciting to see a whole new thing start.
HL: Growing up in England, has British-inspired fashion influenced your taste, design-wise?
LP: I think so. This is a heavily German fashion house, as well, and I think both worlds married up quite well towards where my fashion sits. The stuff that we make is very chill. There’s nothing over the top about it. It doesn’t have my name plastered all over it. I was very adamant that I didn’t want that because I want people to be able to buy it if they like the clothes, not just if they like me as well. If you’re a fan, you can enjoy it. If you’re not a fan, it’s still something you can buy and wear and you would never know the difference. I think that’s what is quite fun about the whole thing. But there’s definitely a touch of British fashion there and a lot of German fashion as well.
HL: Your collection reflects the signature chevron artwork. Why use the chevron?
LP: I was sitting down in a design meeting and they presented me with a bunch of different logos that they had been working on and there was one that just stood out to me very clearly. And as I sat downstairs, it was really amazing. I got to speak with Kim Jones, who is obviously one of the biggest fashion designers who’s ever lived, and I asked, ‘I’m designing at the moment for Hugo, is there anything you can tell me?’ He said it’s a bit like music. Once you have a hit, you’ll understand the whole process. And as soon as I saw that, I said ‘that’s the hit.’ I knew it worked.
Photo Credit: HUGO BOSS
HL: It’s common to make fashion mistakes. Since your time with One Direction, what was your biggest fashion mistake?
LP: Mine were in front of everyone! You can’t get rid of those pictures. I think my biggest fashion mistake, even though I really enjoyed it at the time, was my rapper gold chains phase, which was quite fun. I enjoyed it for what it was. But it wasn’t for me! I think the most important part of it is dressing for what suits you. Push your boundaries, but I overdid it. I went a little bit too far with it.
HL: How has your personal style evolved?
LP: I actually think my style has gone full circle to when I first started to learn about clothes, right as the band started. And then I went on a little journey and tried out a bunch of stuff, which I think is really important and people should definitely do and go experience, but just don’t take loads of pictures like I did because that’s just really awkward. But I think my fashion sense has gone full circle.
HL: Sporting classy, clever and unforgettably catchy looks throughout your career, which one was your favorite? Do you still have it in your closet?
LP: There’s a few suits that I’ve worn in the past few months actually that have been good. When we were in the band, we didn’t really get to wear many suits and it was quite funny that there was a paradox of one part of the job where I hated wearing suits, but then for me I always wanted to wear a suit somewhere. And the more suits we got to wear was quite fun. There was one outfit in particular that I wore when One Direction first went to Japan, promoting our film. I had a coat on and I was feeling myself that night. I still have it somewhere.
HL: Rapidly growing as a musician and designer, where do you see your career progressing in the future and do you predict both worlds will collide together?
LP: I have more music on the way, so that’s going to be quite fun and I think the more I learn about fashion, the more I’m falling in love with the design process. As soon as we shot the pictures for this first capsule I went home and starting designing stuff right away and they’ve let me change all different logos and all sorts of things for the next one, which is really cool. So I got a lot of freedom on that. Where it’s going to go in the next few years, I don’t really know. I would like to carry on working alongside Hugo. The marriage of the two brands together is just perfect at the moment. Hopefully they’re enjoying it as much as I am. I hope it’s something I can continue doing.
HL: Did you always picture yourself becoming a fashion designer?
LP: Never! When I was on my way to the first meeting with the designer, I was thinking about what was I going to tell people about designing clothes. I haven’t got a clue! But like I said, once you get in there and you actually think it through and you see things, you realize you know more about what you like than you thought.
Photo Credit: HUGO BOSS
HL: Which brands can we see you collaborating with next?
LP: For this, I have another collection coming out next year. I have an underwear shoot that’s coming out very soon. And a couple other things I’m doing with Hugo. As far as other brands, I would like to do something more sporty, whether that’s with Hugo or not with Hugo I don’t really know. Probably accessories would be something else I would want to get into at some time point I think. Lots of great ideas!
HL: What’s your pro tip on creating personal style and not being scared of fashion?
LP: I think sometimes, it’s hard to differentiate between when something to you seems boring because it works so well to when you put something else on to try something new. It seems exciting, but then you might be going a bit too far with it. Usually, what’s boring and easy is actually the right thing to go for. For me, I always steered away from what was obvious. I think that’s the first way to go. And then just take inspiration from a bunch of people and things you like and then dress it yourself with your own individual take on it.
HL: What’s your individual take on your new capsule collection with HUGO?
LP: It’s quite smart actually! I didn’t realize I dressed as smart as I did.
HL: You initially mentioned your parents went to one of the shops in the UK to browse the windows. How did your parents feel about your new collection?
LP: They were very happy! My dad actually tried to phone me, but I was away somewhere, to talk to the people behind the desk. It was very cute. I think they’re really proud of it actually. It’s something that we all didn’t expect. It’s the best thing ever!
