August 26, 2008

Avril Lavigne Launches Abbey Dawn Clothing Line: 'It's Absolutely My Wardrobe'

By Jocelyn Vena (MTV.com)

Punk-rock princess Avril Lavigne has just added clothing designer to her résumé. She's teamed up with Kohl's to launch her mall-punk-inspired line called Abbey Dawn.

"Every eight weeks I have new pieces coming into the store," she told MTV News. "So we're designing like crazy - like, tons of stuff - and it's so much fun."

The line of skinny jeans, skirts, hoodies and T-shirts features a lot of skulls, stars, checkers and zebra print, according to Lavigne, who was almost banned from playing an upcoming show in Malaysia after the government deemed her "too sexy." She eventually plans to add bags and sunglasses to the line, which is available in stores now.

Finding the inspiration to start the line wasn't very difficult: She saw so many of her fans emulating her style that becoming a clothing designer was the logical next step.

"It was a great opportunity for me to do this, and now that I'm older and more into fashion and stuff, I've put together a cute little line. It's totally my style and everything I would wear. It's absolutely my wardrobe."

But it's the origin of the line's moniker that really holds a special place in the singer's heart.

"My dad gave me the nickname Abbey Dawn when I was a little girl," she said. "It was a street he saw. And all my friends in high school called me Abbey. I always really liked the name. I didn't know if maybe I would name my girl Abbey if I had a girl one day, or a song name. So I had a clothing line first, so I named it Abbey Dawn."

Being a designer does have one perk that she's especially excited about: "Free clothes," Lavigne said. "I never have to shop again!"

The 23-year-old is stoked to finally see her threads on fans and doesn't even mind when they show up to her concerts in the same thing she's wearing.

"I've seen some of the fans at my shows wearing my shirts, and sometimes I've been onstage wearing [one of the shirts]," she said, "and they have the same one on, and I'm like, 'Hey, nice shirt,' and I get really excited.

"[I'm looking forward to] seeing people walk around with it," she added. "It will be really cool."