On the campaign trail By Davina Catt

The new charity T-shirts combine conscience and cool
Graphic tees in general are still hot in the market and a must for all target groups and distribution tiers. Especially slogan tees, be it either political, social, environment or arts inspired, they stiill hold a central place in stores, wardrobes and creative designers' activitiy. Interesting read from FT.com, July 22nd 2011 edition by Davina Catt. Enjoy!

Slogan tees and summer festivals go together like mud and Glastonbury, but increasingly the former are not just for rock followers – nor protesters, for that matter. Rather, today’s slogan tees have gone beyond words of wit or whimsy to deliver a serious message that works as well as a fashion statement in town as it does on a protest march or at a gig.

“Celebrity involvement, exclusivity and limited edition sales all play a part in this newfound appeal,” says Amy Howgarth, marketing manager at high street retailer Uniqlo. The Japanese chain is selling 10 different tees by top celebrities and designers in support of the Save Japan! website, set up by publishers Condé Nast Japan to aid parts of the country affected by the earthquake. Uniqlo is donating Y100m (about £780,000) from sales of the tees to the Japanese Red Cross and the spotlight is on messages of love and hope. Karl Lagerfeld has created a tee with “Love, Hope and Change” across it and Alber Elbaz, Lady Gaga and Nicole Kidman have also taken part. Not only is it a good cause but, for £12.99, you get a sprinkle of celebrity stardust.

T-shirts have always conveyed certain messages – albeit covertly, rather than spelled out in bold letters. In The T-shirt Book, author Charlotte Brunel writes: “The T-shirt went through several mid-century phases, as a symbol of heroism worn by second world war fighters, the rebel uniform of movie icons like Marlon Brando, the socially conscious garb of the 1960s peace movement, and the in-your-face costume of the punk rock scene.” After that tees were used to make an overt statement; both as a form of political activism – such as the one created by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, which featured the words “No Future” repeatedly – and for charity campaigning. By the 1990s, however, advertisers had taken over, regularly putting simple T-shirts through doors as a promotional tool, and tees lost their fashionable appeal.

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