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We spoke to the R&B singer following the launch of her debut collection for PrettyLittleThing
Q: HOW did the collaboration with PrettyLittleThing come about?
Ashanti: I got the call from Umar Kamani [co-founder of Pretty Little Thing] and we had a cool dinner meeting. I love that PLT is all about women and embracing every woman's shape, size and colour. It’s all about women empowerment!
Q: The 74-piece collection consists of a lot of bold colours, prints and is definitely for those who want to stand out this summer. What inspired the looks?
Ashanti: I travel around the world to so many tropical places, I wanted pieces that felt exotic and global. The Amazon meets the Caribbean. I wanted pieces that would empower women.
Q: What are your favourite pieces from the collection?
Ashanti: The brown leopard zebra snake skin print, the lime green zebra snake skin print, I also love the peacock print. Can’t forget the red & blue leopard with the lime green trim! These all stand out because there so different and exotic and they come in a variety of cuts for each body shape.
Q: Were there any challenges you faced while developing this collection?
Ashanti: Some of the challenges were time constraints. We put this collection together extremely fast. I’m actually very indecisive so I would love one thing one day and hate it the next and want to swap things out at the last minute to try and make it as perfect as possible.
Not to mention the 6 hr time difference between the US and the UK! With me travelling sometimes there would be a 9 hr time difference and that would make it hard.
Q: What was it like to collaborate with your sister on this particular project?
Ashanti: It was a dream to work on this with my sister. She actually did most of the work! It was very easy, she would just come into my room with her laptop and we’d be going over stuff in my bed!
Q: In the past, it would have been rare to see a brand which is so inclusive of women of different races, sizes and shapes. How do you feel you would have benefitted from seeing more brands taking this approach growing up?
Ashanti: That’s one of the things I love about PrettyLittleThing. The fact that they embrace so many different races of women, every shape, size and colour. It would have been awesome to have brands like this when I was growing up just so every girl could feel pretty and confident.
Q: PrettyLittleThing has done collaborations with other women in popular culture which adds to their brand promoting inclusivity and diversity. What does it mean to you to be a part of that roster and a brand which is pushing this message?
Ashanti: I think I’m the first to incorporate music, visuals and an entire swimsuit line that captures a whole vibe where everything cohesively fits together! So organic! This was very important to me that we both brought something special to each other and continue to spread the message of women empowerment and loving yourself, feeling confident, pretty & being a boss!
Q: What more can we expect from you in 2019?
Ashanti: I’m releasing an EP that I am so excited about. Metro Boomin and I are executive producing it and we have finally decided what the vibe is.. we went live on IG from the studio in LA and the people wanted that Ashanti R&B 2019 with a few surprises!
Check out Ashanti’s collection for PrettyLittleThing at https://www.prettylittlething.com/
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