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Success or excess?

May 10, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

It’s 2012 already and the months and weeks are counting down quickly until the November general election which will decide whether presidential incumbent Barack Obama will serve a second term or whether an opposing candidate will take office next January. Tensions are running high, and the field of competitors is getting whittled down by the week. As it is, the most likely Republican nominee is former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

The Romney camp has been continually accused of being out of touch with the average American public. With as much wealth as they have, it’s certainly understandable that this factor would come into play this campaign season, where the 99% is going after the 1% with unprecedented fury. The candidate’s wife, Ann Romney, didn’t help matters recently when she was spotted in public wearing a t-shirt with a retail value of $990. The shirt, made of silk and designed by Reed Krakoff, features a colorful and ornate bird design. Krakoff representatives denied claims that the shirt may have been a gift to Mrs. Romney and instead suggested that she probably purchased the shirt at her local Saks, where it retails.

The Romney campaign has had little to say on the subject except that that they believe that scrutiny of Mrs. Romney and her wardrobe choices should be off-limits in the campaign. This is probably a fair request, but as the campaign moves along, you can be sure that neither side will leave any stone unturned.

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Positive spin on a new tee

May 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I don’t need to tell you that basketball, like all professional sports, is highly competitive and a source of extreme stress for all who are talented and lucky enough to play at that level. It should come as no surprise, then, that players eventually crack under the pressure and have their meltdowns. Such was the case recently when New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire suffered a loss with his team during the Eastern Conference Semifinals in South Beach, and took out his stress via an unproved attack on a glass fire extinguisher box, requiring stitches to his hand. There’s no word on the extent of the injuries to the fire extinguisher box.

New York sports team fan-wear manufacturer Crosstown New York has decided to capitalize on the moment by immortalizing it in t-shirt form. They have released a blue t-shirt, complete with New York Knick-orange text spelling out “AMAR’E.” Well, almost… The “R” in the text is replaced by a fire extinguisher logo. The shirt retails for $20 and is available on Crosstown New York’s website.

This shirt just goes to prove that fans are, as always, as fascinated by the off-court action as they are by the game itself. Let’s wish a speedy recovery to Amar’e so that he can continue to entertain his fans. But, let’s hope he keeps future off-court injuries to a minimum.

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Metal Gear celebrates 25 years

May 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been twenty-five years since Japanese game manufacturer Konami first rolled out the first installment of the Metal Gear gaming franchise on an unsuspecting public. Debuting first in Japan before being released internationally, Metal Gear has spawned numerous sequels across practically all gaming platforms since 1987.

Never one to disappoint the gaming public, Konami is now rolling the Metal Gear Solid: HD Collection to celebrate 25 years of the series. In addition, they’ve partnered with Japanese clothing design company Uniqlo to release a series of Metal Gear t-shirts to coincide with the game’s release.  The shirts became available in Japan in April and are due for release in 11 other international markets in May of this year.

There are ten designs in total, all inspired by the game and its characters. One design of note includes a gray shirt with black graphics that replicates the armor worn by characters in the game. Others feature the characters themselves, drawn in a highly detailed graphic novel style. The shirts are available in red, gray, blue, black, white and tan, so there’s something available to fit in with any gamers’ wardrobe. The collection will be available online and in stores on May 12. Until then, you can see previews of some of the designs on Uniqlo’s website.

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Recycling for a cause

May 4, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

This past Sunday, Earth Day, Whole Foods sponsored an event where it collected old t-shirts to be recycled. While it should come as no surprise that Whole Food would be involved in an event like that, this event goes further than mere recycling. In this case, Whole Foods has partnered with The African InKNITiative, a business that employs Ugandan refugee women. The t-shirts will be sent to Uganda, where the InKNITiative will reuse the material by knitting it into scarves.

The African InKNITiative empowers their employees, most of whom are widowed and have lost everything, by teaching them a marketable skill. The InKNITiative provides them with training, the tools, the materials, and then, in the end, with marketing and distribution for the scarves that they’ve produced.

The long-term goal is to provide the women involved not just with a means of day-to-day survival, but with a means to provide themselves, their families, and their communities with continued, sustainable support. This work is one of few alternatives these women have. For the most part, their only work opportunity is breaking rocks at the local quarry for substantially lower pay. The company is non-profit, with all proceeds being reinvested in the knitters’ community. And, because no two scarves turn out the same, each one can be considered a work of art in its own right.

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Chinese t-shirt censorship

May 3, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Chinese fashion designer Vancl has recently been forced by state authorities to pull a new line of t-shirts that he’d been selling via his website. The t-shirts in question featured some of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao’s signature quotes and catch phrases. The t-shirts weren’t necessarily unflattering, but current Chinese law effectively bans such imagery and merchandise featuring current leadership figures, as such depictions could be potentially embarrassing.

Perhaps if Vancl had waited a while longer, the t-shirts might have been tolerated. Wen Jiabao has been in power since 2003 and is due to step down next year in favor of a new premier. Images of past leaders, on the other hand, can be found everywhere. Communist founder Mao Zedong is a common sight in imagery all over China. But, due to Jiabao’s status as a current leader, the government has announced that it will be taking as-of-yet unspecified action against Vancl.

Things might be even worse for Vancl. Word is that Vancl’s website had been featuring pictures of Wen Jiabao waving to journalists, taken at a recent press conference. Those pictures were taken down within hours of being posted. But due to the prohibition on imagery of current leaders, chances are this, too, will factor into the actions that the government will be taking against Vancl.

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Insensitive Urban Outfitters

May 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Urban Outfitters, no stranger to controversy, has done it again. Who can forget, when in 2003, they were selling a t-shirt that read “Everyone loves a Jewish girl”, with the text surrounded by dollar signs. In 2005, they were featuring a design that read “New Mexico, cleaner than regular Mexico.” Such missteps aren’t confined to the past, either. Just last month Urban Outfitters took criticism for a St. Patrick’s Day shirt that read “Irish I was drunk.”

You’d think that after such a history of offending people, Urban Outfitters would learn to be a bit more careful in choosing their designs. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, as evidenced by what might be their absolute worst misstep yet. They’ve recently issued a t-shirt that features a design eerily reminiscent of Nazi imagery. The t-shirt in question is yellow and features a six pointed star design over the left breast pocket. The star itself was designed by Danish firm Wood Wood. Upon hearing of the controversy, Wood Wood denied that there was any relation between their design and any historical imagery. But, due to the nature of the complaint, they have decided to stop manufacturing the star design.

One would hope that Urban Outfitters takes a lesson from this. But, if history is any guide, Urban Outfitters is almost sure to repeat this mistake.

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Interactive clothes by Zappar

May 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

UK’s fashion newcomer Zappar has only been around for just shy of a year, but is already breaking new ground in the world of interactive clothing. The technology is based on two pieces – the t-shirts themselves as well as a smartphone. When a smartphone equipped with the Zapparel app takes a picture of a Zapparel t-shirt, the image comes to life in various, unexpected ways. A picture of Minnie Mouse transforms into a puzzle. A picture of race car character Lightning McQueen roars away to the track. A picture of a boombox plays a selection of music.

With such innovative technology at work, it should come as no surprise that Zappar was co-founded by computer game industry veteran Kirk Ewing. These shirts are the latest in the broader technological trend of augmented reality. Most augmented reality, at least in the consumer market, is based around smartphones, which are a natural fit to the idea, given their integrated cameras and natural mobility. The key to making it work is having the smartphone identify the specific image in question, which in turn, via the app, triggers the appropriate response content to show the user.

Zapparel products have been on sale in the US since last fall, and they’re currently in the process of rolling out the product line in Europe, South America and South Africa.

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A Blind Designer

May 1, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Cameroon-born Mason Ewing has big dreams. At the age of 30, he’s already hosted his own fashion show, and is now trying to put together a teen TV drama in Hollywood. These are noteworthy accomplishments for anyone of that age, but even more so when you consider that Mason Ewing is blind.

Ewing had an incredibly abusive youth. After the murder of his mother at age six, he was sent to live with an abusive aunt and uncle in Paris, who subjected him to repeated, vicious beatings. At age 15, one beating was so bad that it left him in the hospital with a seizure, culminating in the loss of his sight. After that, he ended up in a series of foster homes, and then went on to college, where he studied physical therapy.

In 2001, he realized that he wanted to pursue fashion design, leading to his first show in 2006. Ewing’s signature product is a series of t-shirts featuring a multi-ethnic character known as Baby Madison. His shirts feature a raised-braille tag that allows him to know the color of the shirt and which design is on it. He credits part of his success to a heightened sense of touch, which allows him greater sensitivity in selecting different fabrics. Given how much he’s accomplished so far, there’s no telling what the future has in store for him.

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Threadless + Sesame Street

April 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

The good folks at Threadless have done it again. This time, they’re paired up with Sesame Workshop – the nonprofit organization behind the legendary Sesame Street for their latest contest, to design a t-shirt featuring Sesame Street characters. The winning design will be sold through Threadless. The grand prize is $2000 cash. Second prize is a $250 Threadless gift certificate. Third through fifth prizes are autographed Sesame Street-themed books by series creators and participants.

The contest runs through May 3, and there are already a multitude of wonderful designs up for display on Threadless’ site. Some of them include a rather pensive-looking Oscar the Grouch, one featuring Bert and Ernie as the Men in Black, and one with a certain blue monster riding a bicycle with gigantic cookies for wheels. Given the show’s long history and the diversity of fans, there’s little to no repetition in the designs currently submitted. The variety of other cultural references included in these shirts is impressive. One shirt, called Abbey Street, takes some of the furry characters and places them on the Beatles’ iconic Abbey Road album cover.

Yet another mash up takes the Sesame Street logo and combines it with the classic video game Street Fighter to create Sesame Street Fighter. Another Cookie Monster-themed shirt shows him as Pac Man. If there’s any theme to the designs already submitted it’s that there is no theme, and that there are seemingly no limits to what designers can do with these characters. If you’re feeling creative, you have until May 3 to submit a design.

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SEC misprint

April 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

The SEC had a problem this past week, and we’re not talking about the Securities and Exchange Commission. A t-shirt honoring the collegiate Southeastern Conference was released with a somewhat embarrassing misprint. T-shirt maker Aggieland Outfitters offered a t-shirt for sale intended for Texas A&M fans. The shirt featured a geographic design. While the design purposefully omitted Texas rival Missouri, it curiously included North Carolina. The problem is that North Carolina is not part of that conference (though, historically, it was originally in talks to join).

There’s no mention of how many were sold, though only a few dozen of the shirts were reported to have been printed. The controversy stems from the fact that some people used the shirt as a way to imply that the Texans don’t know their geography. Aggieland Outfitters has since released an apology, stating that they alone were responsible for the design mistake and that they are not affiliated with the university. As Aggieland Outfitters is based in Texas and their primary trade is in A&M items, we can safely assume that this was an honest mistake.

The shirt has since been pulled from their website and store shelves. Given the uproar over a few dozen shirts, we can safely assume that Aggieland Outfitters will be a bit more careful with future designs.

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