What’s Urdu script doing on Zayn Malik’s new fashion line?
As it turns out, the 23-piece collection – featuring streetwear like T-shirts and bomber jackets, all decked out with the former One Direction member’s likeness and name – is a tribute to his Pakistani heritage.
His father, Yaser Malik, is British Pakistani and his mother, Trisha Malik, is English-Irish. “My family is from Pakistan, so having artwork in Urdu has huge significance to me,” Malik said in an interview with Vogue.
Most of the pieces are black & white, and are bold with graphics. One long-sleeved shirt offered on the site reads “Mind” in the front and “Zayn” on the sleeves, in Urdu. The pullovers and bomber jacket feature the same Urdu script.
The singer also enlisted the help of Mark Wilkinson, an artist famous for his work with English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. Wilkinson designed the apocalypse-themed Zday shirt, which depicts the artist escaping from a burning city. “I wanted to approach this as an opportunity to extend my ideas as an artist, and to give fans another facet of who I am,” Malik said.
“Mind of Mine,” his debut solo album that dropped back in March, also featured an Urdu-language song called “Flower.”
Malik has kept himself busy – A snippet of his new song, “wHo,” for the soundtrack of the “Ghostbusters” reboot film, was released earlier this week, and he’s also launched an artsy new Tumblr.
