Courtesy of DAISY WORLD

Fashion

Meet DAISY WORLD, The Singer Whose Hand-Painted Clothing Turned Into A Fashion Line

The Los Angeles singer spoke with NYLON about her latest clothing launch, personal style, and more.

You might recognize Daisy Hamel-Buffa, better known as DAISY WORLD, for her latest single titled “picnic,” a chill melody that talks about vulnerability, self-acceptance, and feelings of isolation in the comfort of her artsy bedroom. She’s also the frontwoman of the Los Angeles-based R&B-meets-punk band, Daisy, and has previously collaborated with the musical group The Internet and award-winning artist Tyler, the Creator on his album Call Me If You Get Lost.

But the 26-year-old is currently making a name for herself not only in music, but fashion, too, with the release of her new Fall 2021 collection, full of vibrant and playful motifs emblazoned across comfy silhouettes, like floral-painted outerwear, strawberry jeans, and tote bags covered in doodles. In the past, her custom hand-painted pieces have found their way into the wardrobes of social media star Addison Rae and producer Benny Blanco, and she’s only just getting started.

“[This collection] just keeps growing and it happened as an accident because I was just trying new designs on my old clothes and basically making them mostly for myself,” the singer told NYLON. “I wanted to do something more than just making random hats, for example, like I wanted to make a whole collection and this is the first time that I have a larger representation of all the things that I’m doing.”

Ahead, DAISY WORLD spoke with NYLON about the latest launch of her custom-made clothing line, personal style, 2022 trend predictions, and more.

Your new collection is super fun and has the cutest motifs. How would you define your collection in three words?

Joyful, whimsical, and uplifting. I feel like it’s all based around the fact that I’m just painting sh*t that I think is so cute. I’m painting stuff that when I wear it, I feel happy and when I look down, I see all the little fruits on my pants and I’m just like, “Oh, this is so cute. I’m so happy I’m wearing this.”

How did your fashion line first come about?

Actually, my mom used to paint on jeans in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, and she even made jeans for Madonna and was selling them at Fred Segal, like that was her big thing. So, I always grew up having these pants that were painted on and I always knew this was a thing that someone could do [as a career], and plus, I always loved painting. I’m not incredibly good at it but I like drawing little cartoony things.

One day, Levi’s sent me some jeans to paint on and I had made myself cherry jeans and that was the first thing that I ever did. My manager posted them on his Instagram and that’s when Benny Blanco saw them and DM’ed me immediately and was like, “I want to commission a pair of jeans from you.” And I was like, “OK, I guess I can do that,” and he low-key started my whole brand because that wasn’t a thing I was planning on doing. I was just like, “Oh, I'm just gonna paint on some jeans and you know, whatever, have a good time.” But then he commissioned my first pair of jeans and since then, I’ve just been doing commissions.

It’s also amazing to be your own boss because I was fired during the pandemic and now I’ve started a brand accidentally and I just get to paint all day. It makes me so happy and I’m like, “How the f*ck is this my job?”

What were the creative process and the inspiration behind your latest collection?

[This collection] just keeps growing and it happened as an accident because I was trying new designs on my old clothes and making them mostly for myself. Then, I made tote bags and T-shirts for no reason and I was like, “F*ck, I want to do something big.” Also, what's been really cool about this collection is that low-key I’m just painting on random articles of clothing that I’ve bought at vintage stores or items that people send me, so it’s all just kind of like coming out of nowhere, in a way. It’s all a little bit like a happy accident.

Courtesy of DAISY WORLD

How would you define your personal style in your own words, and in what ways does your new clothing line reflect it?

[My clothing line] is literally the clothes that I made for myself, so it completely reflects my style because I’m just making stuff I want to wear. But I would say I dress like an incredibly flamboyant five-year-old boy and incredibly extroverted. I only wear menswear and it took me a long time to figure that out for myself because I always thought I needed to dress feminine, but I became more comfortable with myself and understood myself better, and that’s what makes me feel the most feminine and the most like myself. Figuring that out for myself has been one of the most liberating things ever because like every day, I’m excited to get dressed because all these pieces of my closet finally reflect who I am not this person who I think I’m supposed to be.

What makes a “good” outfit, in your opinion?

Well, what’s funny is I actually like love layering but that’s just not a thing we can do [in Los Angeles] because it’s way too hot. When I was in New York, that’s when I felt like this is exactly how I want to dress because I was wearing my long-sleeve shirt under my short-sleeve shirt, and then I had my sweater, my bomber jacket, my hat, and my pants, and I was able just to wear 30 pieces all at once on my body and I love that.

I think a lot about silhouettes, particularly about the cuts of my clothes, so I end up cutting a lot of my clothes to fit the boxiness that I want which, personally for me, that’s what I like because I have a pretty curvy body. I think it's always really important for people to find what is right for their body because everyone is so different and you can’t think about it like, “My body is wrong, so nothing looks good on me.” You say, “My body is exactly right and I just got to find the special pieces that look perfect on me.” Like you should walk down the street being like, “I look f*cking hot and I feel amazing and everybody’s looking at me thinking that I look awesome and cool.” It’s important to represent yourself with what you’re wearing and rocking that sh*t.

Can you share some advice on how to style some of your own pieces?

There’s not a way that I think people should wear them because honestly, I’ve made a lot of pieces for people that, while I would have styled them differently, they’re styling it the way that makes them feel good and caters to them. I just want people to wear it whatever way they want. But I think it’d be really cool if people customize my clothes, the way that I customize my clothes. If it doesn’t fit, I want them to just cut it up and tailor it to their body.

Also, I want people to not be scared because I think that there’s a lot of people who will see what I’m wearing and they’ll be like, “Oh, I could never pull that off.” And it’s like, “Yes, you can, you can literally do anything.” There’s no such thing as not being able to pull something off.

What are some of your favorite trends that you've been loving this past year?

I’m loving the gender-bending [trend] that’s happening right now. I feel like it’s becoming less common that people are defining their fashion sense by their gender and that’s why our generation is sick as f*ck because we’re doing whatever we want and I love that. It makes me feel so excited that I’m seeing so many kids expressing themselves incredibly well and they’re so creative and confident.

Are there any fashion predictions you have for 2022?

My prediction is that people are going to continue to learn how to become more and more creative by themselves. Even on TikTok, I’m seeing a lot of people customizing their own clothes. People are teaching and inspiring one another and that is so cool to me. People are committed to individuality right now and in a genuine way. I think that people are going to be dressing weirder and weirder and being more innovative. And oh my god, it makes me really excited.

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Courtesy of DAISY WORLD

What’s next for Daisy? Any exciting projects or releases we should watch out for?

First, you can be expecting so much more clothing from me because I set up my website and I’m having a pop-up event in L.A. It’s the first time ever that people that haven’t bought commissions from me can come see the clothes and see what it looks like. I have T-shirts, tote bags, hats, socks, and keychains at more accessible price points. I’m really excited for people to be able to come and see the stuff and get inspired and think about what they would want on their own commission pieces. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I really feel like I could do anything. I just keep having more and more ideas. I’ve been making so much more stuff even since the collection has been finished and I’m going to just be turning out more clothes, which is super exciting.

Music-wise, I’m working with so many people right now and I have a lot of things that I’m really excited about. The band also making so much. I don’t have anything specific that I can share at the moment but I can say that this release right now just means a lot to me and I think that people are gonna really like it a lot.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.