Looking through your wardrobe, T-shirts are probably the most photographed item of clothing.
Parent-child T-shirts, couple T-shirts, company T-shirts, marathon T-shirts, event-specific T-shirts, co-branded T-shirts… You can wear them inside when it’s cold, or wear them alone when it’s hot. Choose carefully. The T-shirts show personality, while the T-shirts issued by corporate organizations are disguised advertising spaces.
T-shirt is a kind of clothing that can “talk”. It borrows printed pictures, words, symbols, etc. to boldly express the wearer’s thoughts and wishes. Almost any content and emotion can inhabit it. When T-shirt experts walk on the street and see a special T-shirt pattern, it’s like unlocking a code word and giving them an I-know-you smile.
More importantly, T-shirts are also a carrier of culture. T-shirts will be found in major events such as the Olympic Games and anniversaries, as well as class reunions and family trips.
T-shirts with personalized patterns reflect the spirit of individualism. They display a concept and taste and communicate with the people wearing them. You can also observe the personality of the person wearing the T-shirt. .
T-shirts with the same pattern reflect team cohesion and emphasize a kind of unity and unity. On major occasions, wearing the same T-shirt is a like-minded partner.
T-shirts are popular and full of civilian atmosphere. Think of the “Beijing bikini” where you pick up a cattail fan and roll up your T-shirt to enjoy the cool breeze. T-shirts are the most fashionable. All the big fashion brands have set their sights on T-shirts. The co-branded T-shirts on the models in the window are still dazzling. As generations of young people grow up, people’s enthusiasm for T-shirts has never faded. The upgrading of T-shirt materials and printing technology has made T-shirts always full of vitality.
It can be said that although the T-shirt is small, the T-shirt culture is inclusive of all rivers. There are infinite possibilities within a square inch.
It is autumn, and before the T-shirts that have been flaunted on the streets all summer are about to be put into the closet, let us talk about them through “River Island”.
A T-shirt that tells a story is a cultural shirt
What is a T-shirt?
Go back 100 years, and American dock workers would give them a mysterious smile. At that time, T-shirts were not Underwear that is easily exposed.
For the clothing industry, T-shirts are a business. A T-shirt integrated with culture can save an international clothing brand.
For someone who switched from the media to making T-shirts, he would mention the word “creativity”. The T-shirts with eye-catching brand logos that are common on the street would make him shake his head.
Zhengzhou designer Fuji Fei wants to use T-shirts to tell stories. He feels that T-shirts are more like walking self-media. Why not use them to say something interesting?
Of course, more consumers who don’t like to beat around the bush will first think of clothes. After all, isn’t T-shirt just for wearing? Comfort is the first priority.
Come on, let’s explore the world of T-shirts through these people and things.
1
In the past, underwear became the carrier of popular culture
T-shirt is English The transliteration of “T-Shirt” is called T-Shirt because it is spread out in a T shape. And because it can express many things, it is also called a cultural shirt.
T-shirts are naturally suitable for expression, with simple styles and fixed shapes. It is precisely this restriction that gives freedom to square-inch fabrics. It’s like a canvas worn on the body, with unlimited possibilities for painting and drawing.
In the hot summer, when colorful and personalized T-shirts float by like clouds on the street, who would have thought that these were originally underwear worn by workers who did heavy physical work, and were not easily exposed. In the early 20th century, T-shirts were marketed solely as underwear in clothing company catalogs.
Among the many theories about the origin of “T-shirts”, one is related to Chinese tea. Around the time before American independence in the mid-18th century, dockworkers at the Port of Annapolis, Maryland, carried tea shipped from China. In order to identify workers carrying other goods, these workers carrying tea wore clothes with the word “TEA” printed on them. The short sleeves are called “T-shirts”.
In 1930, although the image of underwear has not changed much, People have begun to try to wear T-shirts outside, which is often called “sailor shirts”. Wearing T-shirts to go sailing, under the blue ocean and clear sky, T-shirts began to have a free and informal connotation.
After that, T-shirts were no longer exclusive to men. Brigitte Bardot, the famous French film actress, used a T-shirt to show off her graceful body curves in the movie “Baby”. T-shirts and jeans have become a fashionable way for women to match.
In 1951, Marlon Brando wore a tight-fitting white T-shirt in the movie “A Streetcar Named Desire”, liberating men from the rigid, monotonous and conventional traditional upper-class dress, and quickly became a An object for young people to imitate. It is said that Malone’s T-shirt image was not carefully planned in advance, but was purely accidentally worn for rehearsal.
T-shirt culture was truly developed in the 1960s when rock music flourished. When people shake their favoriteIn addition, you can also express your attitude towards life through T-shirts. When the smog was serious a few years ago, Fuji’s friends designed a T-shirt with a “dinosaur wearing a mask.” “We all know that dinosaurs became extinct because of climate change, so we used dinosaurs to satirize the smog, even though Even if the dinosaurs are resurrected, they may not be able to escape the smog”, expressingconcerns about environmental protection.
While chatting, someone mentioned the “@二七·Zhengzhou 2015 Fabric Design Invitational Exhibition”. Fan Xiang served as one of the co-curators in the preparations. At that time, more than 70 designers were invited. With the theme of Seven Memorial Towers, more than 100 design works are completely presented on the canvas bag. Some viewers who have never forgotten this creative exhibition asked whether it would be different if the carrier was turned into a T-shirt. Visitors can choose their favorite T-shirt and wear it while walking around the city. It must be a moving scenery.
DownloadThe original picture is in the Dingo store of Ruiguang Creative Factory, “Little K is infinite “The exhibition of illustrations of “Missing Person Notice” is in progress. Every character in the painting is a real person that the artist met in life, even if it is just a one-sided relationship, they are all drawn in black and white. To accompany the exhibition, there are T-shirts with paintings printed on them. Audiences who like paintings can buy them and integrate them into their daily lives.
In Fan Xiang’s studio, you can see fabrics made from rubbings of precious cultural relics such as the Feitian of Gongyi Grotto Temple and the Wonderful Sound Bird of the First Ancestor Temple of Shaolin Temple. Why not design these elements into T-shirts?
“T-shirt graphics must combine tradition and trend. Many cultural relic elements are not suitable for simple reproduction. A T-shirt is a piece of clothing and must be able to be worn on the body. Some cultural relic symbols are too heavy and difficult to wear.” Fan Xiang said to a rubbing of three fish carvings that if making a T-shirt, it is best to rearrange the colors. , there are some trade-offs in elements.
5
The trouble with disposable T-shirts
That “Greek” Kirk and the Angry Birds” T-shirt, suggested that Dahe News·DaheClient reporter touch and feel the material, The printed areas have the same feel as the solid-color fabric.
“This is discharge printing technology. It removes the dyed color and turns it into the color of cotton yarn. On this basis, the color of the pattern is printed. After printing, the pigment is like water. After it dries, The pattern cannot be touched. This kind of printing process requires that the textile fabric must be 100% pure cotton. Even if you have a chemical fiber, it will not work.” His professional explanation brought the T-shirt back from cultural attributes to clothing. The true.
Since it is clothes, it involves materials and craftsmanship. The materials of T-shirts include pure cotton, chemical fiber, anti-fouling fabrics, etc. The quick-drying clothes worn by athletes are mostly chemical fiber, which are thin and do not stick to water, but those who pursue comfort will choose pure cotton. The printing process includes screen printing, offset printing, heat transfer printing, discharge printing, etc. Common ordinary T-shirts use offset printing. There is a layer of film on the printed part, which is not breathable when worn on the body.
In the lively T-shirt culture, there is another topic that cannot be avoided, that is, team T-shirts with event logos printed on them cannot escape the fate of disposable T-shirts. I participated in an event and took home the T-shirt I was given. “The material was very poor, and it made a squeaking sound when I tore it off. This kind of T-shirt is disposable. For the event organizer, there is no need to invest in this cost.” Yes, but it does produce waste, just like useless.”
Is it possible to reduce the waste caused by disposable T-shirts with good ideas? In this regard, Fujifei is not optimistic. He has received some orders for T-shirts. “When the other party placed the order, they knew they would not wear it a second time, so they considered the cost and could not invest in creativity. And when good ideas encounter poor clothing materials, it is also very difficult.” It’s hard to wear it for a long time.”
In addition to the lack of quality, the main reason why those event T-shirts are inconvenient to continue to be worn is the prominent event logo. Once this kind of information is separated from the event environment, it will always be incompatible with daily life. Someone suggested that the logo can be made smaller?
Fan Xiang’s experience is that this is unrealistic for customers. “Every time I receive an order, I take the initiative to communicate whether the logo can be smaller, but the other party always says I don’t understand, but I hope to stand out as much as possible. In fact, from a dialectical point of view, being small is also a kind of standing out, but it is not easy for the other party to accept it.”
Of course, there are also team T-shirts that perfectly integrate clothing and culture. Fan Xiang was once invited to design event T-shirts for lecture guests in a bookstore. When the guest saw the staff wearing T-shirts with his own quotes printed on them, the strong sense of ritual made the guests feel at home, and the same T-shirts were also deeply loved. Readers are following it.
A simple T-shirt also requires the art of dressing. Here’s some advice for girls: “Girls’ hairstyles, matching styles, and patterns on T-shirts actually complement each other. Some can bring out their temperament, while others can have the opposite effect, such as those with large color blocks, or Round or square patterns will make girls look bad. And some T-shirts with strong lines, or irregular shapes, whether girls have long or short hair, or black and white skin, will look relatively out of place when wearing this kind of T-shirt. They are all relatively versatile.”
With short hair and black and white skin, this T-shirt is relatively versatile. ”
