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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Rita Ora's Fall Adidas Collections Were Inspired by her Tattoo

Rita Ora's Fall Adidas Collections Were Inspired by her Tattoo:

Adidas Originals by Rita Ora, in stores Nov. 1. Photo: Adidas
Adidas Originals by Rita Ora, in stores Nov. 1. Photo: Adidas
Since Rita Ora began her ongoing collaboration with Adidas Originals last year, the singer's capsule collections for the sportswear giant have been just as bold as her personal style — jam-packed with florals and pop art references. The fall 2015 collection is no exception, with Ora and the Adidas Originals team looking to outer space to inspire a more masculine and utilitarian collections aesthetic.

The two latest installments, alliteratively named Planetary Power Pack and Cosmic Confession Pack, feature vintage-inspired tracksuits and sportswear with futuristic twists such as custom patches, quilted fabric and moonboot-like sneakers. The pieces are strictly black and white, with the occasional yellow stripe or red, white and blue badge. But it wouldn't be a Rita Ora collection without at least one figure-hugging dress: the long sleeve scoop neck maxi dress above. Ranging in price from $35 to $150 for clothes and $80 to $130 for shoes, the capsules hit stores on Nov. 1.

To celebrate the launch, Ora spoke with me last week about working with the Adidas Originals team, dressing for videos like "Body on Me," and her Halloween plans.

Where did the vintage space uniform concept for these capsule collections come from?

I was just seeing a lot of things that were inspiring me and I was doing a lot of research on geometry and the stars and things like that. I just got a new tattoo on my back, as well. It's based on old prehistoric geometry, like a little map that revolves around space and the stars and is meant to keep you grounded. It's got all different elements and it's really detailed. That was our favorite one that we wanted to go with — and it's the one that I was personally most attached to. And then from that we evolved. We had different fabrics and things that we used to make you feel like you're not wearing sportswear, to make you feel like you can wear it on an everyday sort of vibe.

Adidas Originals by Rita Ora, in stores Nov. 1. Photo: Adidas
Adidas Originals by Rita Ora, in stores Nov. 1. Photo: Adidas
These collections are your 10th and 11th with Adidas Originals. What's the most important thing you've learned about design since you started?

I think it's about building a strong communication with your team. I think it's important to make sure that you have people that you're working with on your team that you have the same taste with, and I did. Now I know the scene. Music is one of my main things that I do and it's a much shorter lead time. Whereas in fashion you design everything a year in advance. So learning about the lead time and how far in advance you have to be prepared and also constantly collecting inspiration from pictures, exhibitions, museums, all different things.

You're known for being a fashion chameleon, but are you focusing on a certain kind of look to promote the upcoming album or "Body on Me"? Or are you constantly experimenting?

I don't mind experimenting all the time. I got to work with one of my best friends, his name is Damon Baker, he's a photographer and we get each other. We've gone through three magazine covers in a day, for example, so I know he's going to make me look good. He shot the single artwork for "Body on Me." And we just did my album packaging shoot together and came up with concepts. So we have our key looks and concepts that we're going for and we'll aim towards that, to achieve it, but we make a lot of changes. I get bored easily. I don't like doing things that have been done before.

Adidas Originals by Rita Ora, in stores Nov. 1. Photo: Adidas
Adidas Originals by Rita Ora, in stores Nov. 1. Photo: Adidas
How would you describe your look in the new album images?

It's got a lot of of visual references to strong powerful symbols that mean things to me, like I've used symbols of eagles and things like that — because I'm originally from Albania and the Albanian flag has an eagle on it. I'm still going to have my blonde hair and red lipstick. In the beginning, my first stuff was just what I used to wear, which is great and I was happy to do that. But as you get older your style evolves and I think the concepts and feelings and visuals really reflect that for me.

Do you have plans for a Halloween costume yet?

Oh, my god that's a good point, I need to actually think about that. Last Halloween I was Barbie, I think the Halloween before that I was a pink credit card. So I'm not usually a scary thing for Halloween, I'm more of an annoying thing that I always wanted to be as a child. I'm performing for UNICEF on Halloween and I think they have a theme and I may have to stick to it. I think it's going to be gremlins and goblins or something like that. [Last year] I wanted to be Barbie and my friend was Ken. And then we had a party and Kate Moss was there as well and she dressed up as Cara Delevingne. I thought that was funny.

See Ora's latest Adidas Originals collections below.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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