Nikki Lund talks about how designing White Trash Beautiful with Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora came to be

Classic WTB blazer. Photo Courtesy N. Lund

Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi have been making music for nearly three decades. It is an artistic partnership born of chance, and driven by the burning inner need to create rock n roll songs and share them with the world.

Recently, Bon Jovi’s trusted consigliere of the power chord has embarked on a fashion collaboration: this time with Nikki Lund, songstress of her band Secret Mind and the design muse for their new clothing line, White Trash Beautiful.

 Indeed JoviNation, think Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen from Mars, sprung from the glitter and pixie dust of ethereal souls sharing a vision. Their fashion fusion proves artistry knows no generational divide; that two distinct geniuses from different creative backgrounds can capture lightening in a bottle and pardon the phrase, make beautiful music together.

Fear not, loyal and passionate ladies of the Bon Jovi Nation! Sheath those nail files and fang sharpeners and give the lady her due. As she pointed out in my Exclusive Examiner.com interview, Nikki Lund is no stranger to the L.A. fun-way scene; and though the tantalizing tigress clearly doesn’t need it, she comes with the Bon Jovi Seal of Approval.

Photo Courtesy: Nikki Lund

An unlikely duo at first, Lund revealed that Sambora had become a fan of her successful clothing line, Eccentric Symphony. Drawn to the look and feel of the comfy-chic clothes, he soon fell in love with the line known for its bright colors that boast L.A. hip in heavily embroidered thermals.

Designed and painstakingly made in L.A., Lund uniquely adorns her clothing with a music CD from her band Secret Mind. In addition to the line's success, the CD distribution has made her one of the largest independently distributed music labels in the world.

Lund learned the basics of her craft from her mother and grandmother, and began making her own stage wear; soon, admiring friends became her first customers.
 

Photo courtesy Nikki Lund

“My brother dated an actress in L.A; she saw my clothes and fell in love,” she said, “and before long her friends were asking me to do clothes for them.”

Thus was born Eccentric Symphony, and soon Lund’s stylizations were adorning such stars as Miley Cyrus, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Eva Longoria-Parker, and Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler.

Sambora soon commissioned Lund to make clothes exclusively for him. Before long, he and Bon Jovi were big fans with both wearing her creations on tour.

So how did the Guitar God of one of the World’s Most Successful Rock N Roll bands become a fashion guru?

According to Lund---who is extremely intelligent, articulate and warm in our interview---Richie and Bon Jovi had written a song called ‘White Trash Beautiful.’ “They decided that it was too misogynistic,” she said, “and Richie said, ‘Hey, that sounds like the name of a clothing line,’" and the rest is history presently being written.

Sambora and Bon Jovi are partners in the line, she said, and “Richie has been interested in fashion his whole life, and it’s been a life-long dream of his to be a designer.”

“It made a lot of sense because he’s been a pioneer, a trailblazer, a visionary, not only in music, but in his own sense of style and fashion. Richie’s always done his own thing, so it was natural for him to evolve into WTB.”

Make no mistake, JoviNation, Richie Sambora and Nikki Lund are front-and-center in this endeavor, with Jon playing a supporting role for a change!

This past March at L.A. Fashion Week, White Trash Beautiful debuted to great response. The line is flirtatious and tempestuous, boasting high end dresses, lots of leather, a peacock ensemble and lots of Red Carpet-worthy designs, all made in America.

Richie’s daughter Ava, 12, even made her runway fashion debut with Mom Heather Locklear beaming in the front row as Lund’s song of the same name set the pace of the runway.

“We got an amazing response from the public at L.A. Fashion Week,” Lund said, “and WTB was chosen #1 for the week!”

“Everything Richie wears is White Trash Beautiful,” Lund beams, and the two have formed their own band of the same name. “Richie and I are writing our own music,” and she describes the style as “being in the tradition of the Eurythmics.”

Talk about co-branding! Could there be a White Trash Beautiful CD adorning pieces of the new line? We’ll have to wait and see.

There is even a big surprise awaiting Bon Jovi fans in London for the upcoming 02 Arena shows:

“Jon gets some of the T-shirts, and I designed a special blazer for him to wear at the 02 Arena in London that is the classic piece we debuted at Fashion Week, but in the colors of the British flag.”

Undoubtedly, the Union Jack will never look so good!

When asked what it means to be and wear White Trash Beautiful, Lund humbly responded:

“It is a line for every type of woman. It offers a variety of styles for different body types; different tiers, and different prices,” she said.

“It’s a collaboration that is created from passion, love, and believing in yourself enough to be expressive,” she added, “but most of all, it’s about believing in yourself; feeling free to express your inner self and go wherever it takes you.”

Nikki Lund paused for a moment, and added:

“Most of all it expresses that anything in life is possible---anything---if you work hard for it."

Keep up with all things Bon Jovi with Bon Jovi Examiner here.

White Trash Beautiful website here.

Eccentric Symphony website here.