Tell me about this collaboration. Why did it make sense to work with André on it?

It’s all very personal and one-of-a-kind. All of the pieces from my clothing line that were chosen for this project are vintage items that I sourced from all over the world. I then reconstructed and put my stamp on them. And that’s what André’s work is about too. For this project, he hand-spray-painted each piece. I think that’s the connection, everything we do is personal and by hand.

What else are you working on right now?

My life is non-stop work at all times, but with things that I love and that I’m excited about. I have a new collection I’m working on. A lot of exciting collaborations I can’t wait to share. Collections with Calvin Klein and Coach and different brands. I’m traveling all of the time; I was just in New York, Paris, Amsterdam. I’m going to Hawaii tomorrow.

On all of these trips you’re buying for your collection?

Yeah they definitely all turn into buying trips. I travel so much for other business reasons that I don’t necessarily have to coordinate a sole buying trip. It’s nice to be able to kill several birds with one stone.

How’d you choose the pieces in the collection?

I wanted it to be a collaborative thing between André and me. He came over to my studio in the Arts District of Los Angeles, where I have hundreds of one-of-one pieces hanging. I wanted him to choose things that he liked as well. So we went through them all together. I liked the idea of doing jackets so he could paint on a larger surface. So there are a lot of vintage leather and denim vests and jackets. They also had to be the right fabrics to work for his medium. It was important that everything was unisex so everyone could wear them.

What’s your process for collaborating generally?

I collaborate in so many ways. I have my vintage line, Sami Miro Vintage and then I have my personal line, Sami Miro. And that’s where I do a lot of work in front of the camera, like with Calvin Klein and Coach, where it’s like a campaign or something for social media. Then I also work with other brands like Yeezy, on design and stuff like that. There have been a range of things. I created a capsule collection for festival season with Nike last year. The collaboration with Andre is a little different because the pieces were already in my collection. It was more simplistic and personal.

What was your first impression of André?

That he was super charming and personable. He came with his daughter, Henrie. It was super endearing. She’s so cute and intelligent. We went on the rooftop of my building just after the sun went down. It was funny. She’s a seasoned veteran in helping him with his work. We took turns putting the clothes on and Henrie would assist in keeping the bottom straight so André could spray paint it. They had their whole process down. It was adorable. I had this one mini moto jacket in there so she put that on and André painted it. It was a very cute family moment. We had a really great time actually.

Find the exclusive collection here on Basic Space.