According to Culted, Slogan Tees are making a comeback. From Charlie XCX (whom we can’t seem to stop talking about) to Frank Ocean, who sent a distinctly political message at the Panorama Festival back in 2017, the online magazine makes it clear how easy it is for brands to churn out low-cost clap-back T-shirts, turning the consumer into a walking manifesto. Chantal Fernandez also wrote a piece on The Cut about a particular Slogan Tee—Namilia’s “I heart Ozempic”—highlighting the role of the anti-diabetic drug that has barged into pop culture over the last two years thanks to its extraordinary weight-loss effects. But we can’t—and don’t want to—stop here. Throughout this article, we will continue to present specific references to the success of this phenomenon that keeps intriguing us and making waves on social media (and beyond). We’ve also picked out some of our favorites.
In the history of cinema, there have been many Slogan Tees, and just a few weeks ago, we talked about around thirty of them here. Coming back to the present, the T-shirt that has made the biggest impact in pop culture recently is definitely the one worn by Zendaya in Challengers (but also in her everyday life), later distributed by Loewe. An excellent marketing strategy for the brand. Almost a year ago, we also wrote about the New Balance shirt worn by Coco Gauff after she won the US Open, another successful marketing move as the shirt sold out quickly on the website following the American tennis player’s victory.
Our Favorites Slogan Tee
While Dazed offers a list of online stores where you can find absurd (and very funny) Slogan Tees—the best of which we found in this Etsy shop—we’ve taken the time to select our favorites. Starting with a T-shirt from Palmes featuring a particular slogan that perfectly resonates with our post-Wimbledon melancholy. In short, the slogan “If Assholes Could Serve This Place Would Be Wimbledon” strikes us as truly ingenious.
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If you’re tired of seeing the now famous T-shirt that reads “L’Erotica Noia Borghese” around, Edoardo Gallorini offers some really fun alternatives, such as this one that quotes from Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed—“La Sventurata Rispose”—describing the moment when the Nun of Monza finally succumbs to sin and temptation.
Something for the girlhood as well
Unforgettable is also the case of the Victoria Beckham T-Shirt that went viral after the release of Beckham (which we obviously talked about here). “My Dad Had A Rolls-Royce” immediately makes us think of a brat quiet luxury summer—a combination (invented by us) as amusing as it is avant-garde in the ecosystem of girlhood as we know it. After all, the ultimate WAG has always had a keen eye for this type of T-Shirt.
For those who still believe in the dream of the eternal return of a now-tired Y2K aesthetic, there’s also Monella Vagabonda, the iconic Italian brand that has made a comeback in our Instagram feeds with Slogan Tees that we can definitely call hilarious.
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Nude Project’s Slogan Tees
In our Slogan Tee edition wish list, there’s also Nude Project, the Spanish prêt-à-porter brand we see everywhere now. With a fiercely loyal community, the project—conceived and executed by Álex Benlloch and Bruno Casanovas—has even produced a beer (Desnuda) and a podcast. Returning to the reason we’re here, our favorite Slogan Tees from Nude Project are definitely this one and this one—always linked to the world of tennis, which, as you might have guessed by now, remains very dear to us.
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There’s no doubt that Slogan Tees are an easy way to make money, but at this point, we also wonder if it’s possible to go beyond this statement. Wearing a message—especially if written in bold letters—makes us part of something. A political movement, a shared passion, or a way of thinking and seeing the world (even ironically, if we want). The idea that Slogan Tees are just an easy way to make money seems overly cynical to us and makes us reflect on the focus of this conversation: a style choice that can sometimes be casual or premeditated.
