After witnessing major political unrest when visiting Sri Lanka, M.I.A.'s mother locked her in a room for a week. Literally. She said, "the only things in the room were a shelf with every Hindu god you could think of -- all 184 of them -- a locked cabinet and a sewing machine. By day three, I started taking down the curtains and making outfits. There was nothing else to do!" And that is how a style star is born.
