Articles

Tees with Thoughts

by . October 29th, 2012

Fashion has always played a huge role in expressing one’s thoughts and insights about current social and political trends and issues. And in today’s fashion scene, a very good example of how people’s outfits can help express their ideas and opinions is the t-shirt. Although it was first used in the 19th century merely as an undergarment, the evolution of cultures and the introduction of less conservative schools of thought have paved the way for this humble piece of clothing to become one of the most comfortable and convenient standalone garment enjoyed by the world today.

 

 

However, some people find that t-shirt designs nowadays have become too commercialized and overly mass produced that shirt designs today take quite a long time to reach production due to factors such as derivative design, mass consumption and irresponsible production. As a response a group of t-shirt designers and graphic artists all around the world have decided to create a line of shirt that showcases designs that reflect current trends on a daily basis and at the same time promote a consciousness of the environment we live in.

Made In The Now (MITN) is an online design studio that produces an exclusive t-shirt design every week. MITN creates a design inspired by the most important news story of the week and lets fans on Facebook vote for which design they deem to be the most important.  Once an issue or topic is selected, MITN gives their designers creative freedom over the design of the shirt but doesn’t necessarily reflect the views of the group.

We created Made In The Now as an antidote to today’s fast, disposable fashion – the trend of buying cheap clothes by the dozen, it’s the low-wage workers who make them that actually pay the price. Playing on the phrase  fast fashion, we created limited edition garments that also promote a consciousness of the world around us. Our t-shirts are quality products – they are printed locally, we don’t waste material and we don’t use cheap labour.” Jess Huddart, Josephmark Creative Director

The finished shirt will be available for only seven days. Shirts are produced locally and use efficient and reusable packaging with free shipping worldwide. Here are a few of their past designs.

 

HIGGS-LIKE PARTICLE ‘DISCOVERED’ (BBC News, 05.07.12)
JAMIE OLIVER’S FOOD REVOLUTION DAY (NY Daily News, 19.05.12)
IRAN SHIPS OFF RADAR AS TEHRAN CONCEALS OIL SALES (Reuters, 14.04.12)
MALE EXTINCTION THEORY CHALLENGED (BBC News, 23.02.12)
‘EXTINCT’ GALAPAGOS TORTOISE MAY STILL EXIST (BBC News, 10.01.12)
TUNISIANS FLOCK TO VOTING STATIONS FOR FIRST TASTE OF DEMOCRACY IN 50 YEARS (The Guardian, 24.10.11)
UN DECLARES SOMALIA FAMINE (BBC, 21.07.11)
FLYING CAR GETS CLOSER TO REALITY WITH TEST FLIGHT (The Washington Post, 03.04.12)
NEW YORK MAYOR PROPOSES BAN ON LARGE SODAS AND OTHER DRINKS TO TACKLE OBESITY (The Guardian, 01.06.12)
APRIL FOOLS’ DAY: THE HISTORY OF FOOLISHNESS (Examiner, 01.04.12)
GIANT SQUID’S BASKETBALL-SIZE EYES HAVE SPERM WHALE VISION (National Geographic, 16.03.12)

Last July 2012, MITN celebrated their first 365 days, and in line with this milestone, the design studio announced that they will be releasing a poster book featuring 30 of their previous designs in one awesome A3-sized book which costs AUS$60 or around US$62.18.

 

They are also making available the first 365 designs they have released in the past for AUS$40 (US$41.45) each, which you can buy from their online store.

 

So what are your thoughts on wearing a shirt that literally shows off a “fashion statement”? Tell us by leaving a comment below. You can also drop us a message on Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. You may also want to subscribe to our blog for other design related news, features and updates.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: