Liam Payne‘s Hugo Boss collection may be covered in chevrons, but the musician once considered the ink that inspired the motif a major mistake.
“The funniest thing about this situation is that when I got the tattoo when I was maybe 19, I woke up in the morning — I was heavily drunk when I got it — and my arm was really hurting, and I looked down and was like, ‘What the hell have I done?'” the “Stack It Up” singer, 26, told Page Six Style at a party celebrating his collaboration at the Bloomingdale’s 59th Street flagship on Thursday.
“I was literally still in bed Googling ‘tattoo removal.’ I really regretted it for a while — but I don’t know, with tattoos over time, I find that they just become part of you. And then when I got to the [Hugo Boss] meeting and they were showing me designs and drawings, I only saw one thing, and was like, that’s it.”
The result? A capsule of T-shirts, trousers, sweatshirts and sneakers splashed with the graphic, which stands in for Payne’s own signature. “I didn’t want to be one of those people who plasters their name on everything,” he explained. “I wanted to make clothes that were so good that people who didn’t know me would buy them anyway.”
Payne has come a long way since his One Direction days, with both a solo career and a son (2-year-old Bear, whom he shares with ex Cheryl Cole). He’s also got a decidedly grown-up underwear campaign for Hugo on the way; fans were treated to a steamy preview earlier this week, courtesy of photographers Mert & Marcus.
Before stripping down to his skivvies for the “quite raunchy” shots, Payne consulted with underwear-model icon Mark Wahlberg, whose 1992 Calvin Klein campaign (and intense workout regimen) is the stuff of legend. “I even went in and trained with him,” the singer said. “The training part was a proper drag — can’t eat this, can’t eat that. But it was nice putting myself through that challenge, going into the gym with a motive.”
And while he may have plenty of connections in the style industry — including British Vogue EIC Edward Enninful and Dior menswear designer Kim Jones, not to mention his new model girlfriend Maya Henry — Payne said that his lack of design expertise has actually worked in his favor when it comes to creating his collection.
“When I ask questions [in Hugo meetings], I’m not asking them from a fashion-school kind of place; I’m not thinking about seams on jeans or things like that. But it works! Being ‘fashion stupid’ is working really well for me,” he said with a laugh.