Laufey & PinkPantheress On Coachella & Making Merch You’ll Actually Want To Wear — Exclusive

For Laufey and PinkPantheress, Coachella 2026 is sure to be one for the books. On Laufey’s end, the classical jazz singer got to celebrate the release of the new deluxe edition of her 2025 album A Matter Of Time with a debut performance of her new single, “Madwoman.” For PinkPantheress, however, the memory might be a bit more distressing.

The 24-year-old Brit and I are scheduled to chat the Wednesday before Weekend 1, but when I join the call I’ve been informed that the “Illegal” singer has just had emergency wisdom tooth surgery and is currently on vocal rest. Being the persistent pop star that she is, she soldiers on with our interview, feverishly typing her answers in the Google Meet chat like a champ. Normally an emergency surgery of any kind would be grounds to reschedule, but when you’ve got a show in Mexico City and a weekend in the desert ahead of you, there’s no better time than the present. At the end of our call, PinkPantheress shoots me one final message: “Sorry about the mouth.”

As for the reason for our meeting, both Pink and Laufey have teamed up with Etsy to bring their new limited-edition merch collections to life just in time for Coachella Weekend 2. Co-designed with independent Etsy makers, the artists will be releasing three thoughtfully curated pieces of merch that not only speak to their personal style, but will also appeal to their extremely online and highly engaged fandoms as well. For Laufey, the collection features a blue wool head scarf, a bag charm decked out with a kitschy assortment of beads including an 18 karat gold-filled clock charm, and a journal with a hand-painted portrait of her favorite Forget-Me-Not flowers. As for Pink, she channeled her signature tartan pattern into a plaid, oversized scrunchie with charm bracelet embellishments, a custom set of tartan press-on nails, and a blue, white, and red acrylic bangle.

Here, Laufey and PinkPantheress break down their respective design processes, the kinds of merch they make room for in their closets, and the artists they’d like to see collab with Etsy in the future.

Tell me a little bit about your merch designing experience. How did you approach the design process? What was it like collaborating with these independent makers?

PinkPantheress: I’ve been receiving fan illustrations for years now, and I thought it might be nice to reach out to some of the artists to see if we could preserve some of their hard work.

Laufey: It was so much fun. I must give a lot of credit to my twin sister — we work together on everything. She's my creative director, including my own merch. The very first merch I ever put out, when we were both in college, it was still just the two of us doing it together. When I heard about this Etsy thing, I was like, "Okay. I need to make sure my sister's involved in this too," because she's kind of the visual architect for my world.

For [my sister and I], merch is really important, because it brings the music to this very tangible thing. It's like you can own a piece of the world. We always want to make sure it's really thoughtful. I don't want it to be the type of merch that you buy in the heat of the moment at a concert, but never use or wear it. [I] want to bring things to the fans that are something I would wear and want, and something they can own for a long time [to] remind them of the music. I have a very distinctive style, and I like to continue that into my merch. If I wouldn't wear it, it's not going out into the world.

Was this your first time being part of the merch design process? If not, how was this different from past experiences?

PinkPantheress: [I’m] definitely very involved in my merch. My creative director Sian [Rowe] and my manager will send me things they see online and I’ll send them things I see, and then we go from there. I want my merch to feel unique and also like something people will wear in their daily life, not just something that becomes a pyjama shirt. I think I approached this in the same way, thinking how I can translate my world into wearable items that are actually things people want to have.

Were there any aspects of either your fandom or your artistry that you really wanted to focus in on for these designs?

PinkPantheress: Lots of my fans focus on this kitschy type of illustration style and I thought the more animated, the better.

Laufey: The fans are so crafty. They're so thoughtful. I can especially see it at concerts. I have a best dressed guest every single night, and they put so much of their heart and soul into being an audience member, coming to the concerts, crafting, and translating what [the music] means to them. I felt the same way about these designs. It was created by brains that understood the music, because it's being delivered to brains that also love and enjoy the music. I was thinking a lot about the fans, how they dress, and what they want.

As a fan, what do you look for in merch?

PinkPantheress: Anything that’s super unique and unorthodox. I love finding drawings online and then reaching out to people to then create my actual merch. I saw someone suggest a pencil case and I was like, “I need to save that and do it.” Anything super niche and cool that’s actually fun and that my fans can use throughout their life.

How do these designs reflect your personal style?

PinkPantheress: They definitely reflect my personal style in how unique they are. I love vintage shopping and [thrifting] and even [shopping] in my mom’s closet, so having pieces that are one of a kind or unique from other things people have feels very me.

Laufey: The scarf has become one of my signatures, like a bonnet. I wear so many bonnets, because I think they're a really versatile piece of clothing. It can be worn as a bandana. You can wear it anywhere in your body, but also you can wear it as a little scarf or over your head. I have curly hair, so when it starts to rain, I better have that sh*t covered. For the bag charms, I love embellishing things. It was really fun to have the little clock from my album cover, and the beads reflect the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights from back home. I would put that on my bag, look down at it, and admire this very unique thing that not many people own, but reminds me of my music and my roots.

I'm the biggest journaler in the world. My albums are literally just my journals, [The Etsy journal] has Forget-Me-Nots on the cover, and I love Forget-Me-Nots. When you work with merch companies, it's a little more standard, whereas this, we got to get super granular and creative and work with true artists.

How would you describe your personal style, outside of merch?

Laufey: Classic, but with a little bit of humor. Romantic, too. I love a bit of romance. I love wearing things that my younger self would be proud of — if it's something that I would've been excited to see that I was wearing as a child, you know what I mean? For me, it's all about the perfect shoe.

What's your perfect shoe?

Laufey: A Mary Jane with a little heel. It's truly withstood the test of time. I have this one pair of Carel three-strap patent Mary Jane that I have worn for, I think, five years straight. that I bought it on Depop. That is the pair of shoes that I have worn [the most]. I have such an awareness of which shoes and clothes I wear the most, because I pack everything up every month to go on tour or on trips, and so I notice what I pack and I always pack that pair.

Coachella and the kickoff to festival season are right around the corner. How are you feeling? How have you been preparing?

PinkPantheress: I’m so excited!! I’m nervous but I love my set. I’m just trying to stay sane with all the rehearsals and touring in between, and make sure I’m getting some good quality time with friends. My birthday is actually the second weekend so a bunch of my friends from the UK are coming. Once I have my teeth recovered, I think I’ll feel so much better.

Laufey: I'm so excited. I've been touring for months now, but there's just something different about Coachella. I feel like I'm going on vacation, I'm not going to lie. You know the way that people feel excited about going to Coachella to watch? I have that, combined with the fact that I get to play it, so I am buzzing. I get to debut a new song, and I'm so excited to collect clothes to wear in the desert. I have really fun outfits planned for the two weekends, but even when I'm not wearing full glam, I'm so excited to be in my full 2010s Coachella look. Sourcing a flower crown, currently.

Pink, we have to talk about the “Stateside” remix for a moment. How has the reception been? Did you expect it to be such a big hit?

PinkPantheress: The reception is insane. I knew it had something unique but I think the Zara [Larsson] verse and getting to create a world with her took it to a whole new level. I love that our worlds have been able to collide like this.

What was it like working with Zara?

PinkPantheress: She’s so cute! Her team is awesome. She really is so dedicated and talented. I loved watching her dance because I’m learning to dance now and doing so much more dancing in my sets.

Laufey, you have a deluxe album on the way. Is there anything you can tease about that?

Laufey: I'm like, "How much do I say?" I have a music video that I'm really excited about, attached to it. I'll say that. It's actually the music video of my dreams, and I think people are going to be shocked. They're going to be gagged.

Who is someone that you were a fan of, that you would love to see do something similar with these Etsy makers in the future?

PinkPantheress: Ooo wait I need to think. Maybe horsegiirL. That could be really fun actually. Horse things hahaha.

Laufey: Billie Eilish could do something really cool. She cares so much about sustainability and she's so creative, but is a whole lot edgier than me, and so I'd be curious what she would put together. María [Zardoya] from The Marías would be able to do something beautiful, because I love her mind. She's such a cool girl, but even when you hear her speak, it's like everything she says is gospel, so I'd be curious to see what she'd do.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.