T-shirts

The Margiela AIDS tee



Margiela AIDS tee

“[Sontag’s 1989 book] ‘AIDS and Its Metaphors’ was such an important work. It shoved us along in our grudging recognition and understanding of H.I.V. and the isolation it brings. It is numbing how that virus has tricked, mutated and infiltrated. We always feared it would become a pandemic, yet who in 1987 could have predicted the desolation and devastation it would reap in Africa?” Martin Margiela, T Magazine, 2005

It’s 25 years since Martin Margiela designed his cult AIDS T-shirt, a crudely stencilled screen printed tee with an important message. “There is more action to be done to fight AIDS than wear this T-shirt but it’s a good start”, is a classic example of the power of fashion in social commentary. (more…)



Positive fashion: For Days zero-waste tees



For Days sustainable closed loop t-shirts

I like the sound of this ‘closed loop’ T-shirt company that works on a subscription model – with a difference. You sign up to get one, two or three tees a month and when your tee is looking worse for wear, you can return it in exchange for another one. The old tee gets broken down into pulp and upcycled into new stock. (more…)



Barnzley Armitage and the bootleg Chanel tees



Some time last year, I was asked to contribute my thoughts on slogan T-shirts to a book that was being published by Bloomsbury. I met up with writer Stephanie Talbot and we discussed the non verbal communication of T-shirt culture, the communication of blogging and the genius of Maison Martin Margiela’s AIDS T-shirts. (more…)