Tove Lo Is Auctioning Off Handmade Merch For COVID-19 Relief

Back in May, Tove Lo was looking at the piles of concert merch sitting around her home, wondering what to do with them. Locked down in Los Angeles with her boyfriend, friends, and a new crew of foster puppies, the Swedish pop star had an idea: to use her sewing skills and upcycle some select pieces to raise money for her fellow artists and musicians through MusiCares.

"We're not going to be touring that much obviously and being in the industry that I care about...it's wanting to help [...] anyone that all of a sudden was just out of a job," she explained over the phone at the time. "The merch is just sitting there and to remake it...and me kind of putting my own personal touch on some of them. We're gonna hopefully make a hardcore fan really happy and also [...] helping everyone whose life is dependent on touring."

Now, Tove Lo's customized and upcycled limited-edition merch collection is finally live. The 17-piece range includes a mix of shirts and hoodies from past tours, each featuring customized drawing, embroidery, stitching, beading, or ironed-on patches courtesy of the singer herself. The idea stemmed from her own childhood hobby of customizing her shirts and jeans: "When I was 10, 11 I remember we had this shitty sewing machine, and I would always make my own clothes and make jeans into skirts," she said. "And always drawing. I've always loved arts and crafting. [Each piece] took me a long time but it's soothing and kept my mind busy when everything was up in the air."

Although all of the pieces in the collection include special, homemade touches from the singer, one paricularly special lavender hoodie which features her name spelled entirely in blue and purple beads remains as one of her favorite pieces. "That took so long and I think it looks really good," she said.

The collection, which is now up for auction, will be available on her website for a week. All proceeds will go towards MusiCares, a charity that provides assistance to those in the music industry impacted by the pandemic.

Earlier this year, Tove Lo raised $10K for MusiCares selling merch bundles through her website. She's now hoping she can do it again, joking: "I hope whoever gets it, remember that it's for a good cause. And it might look a bit yanky, but I really poured my heart and soul into everything."

Tove Lo most recently collaborated with ALOK and Ilkay Sencan for their new song "Don't Say Goodbye." She is also set to appear in the forthcoming Swedish film Utvandrarna, or The Emigrants. See select items from the custom collection below, and get your own upcycled piece at her website.