MANIFESTO T-SHIRT

Everyone today has at least one in their wardrobe. Besides being an iconic garment, the T-shirt is a powerful expressive tool, capable of conveying political, social and environmental messages. This communicative potential is now more evident than ever, from high fashion to e-commerce, which, thanks to digital technologies and innovative materials, also respects the environment and people. We talked about it with Camac Arti Grafiche, Toro & Moro, Creative Promotion and Chiaralascura.

by Caterina Pucci

Telling your story through the clothes you wear is a need that has always belonged to humanity. The T-shirt is the most emblematic example of this age-old habit. Similar garments already existed in Renaissance times, but only with the advent of the industrial revolution did T-shirts enter common use. In 1904, the Cooper Underwear Company marketed the first crew-neck T-shirt, designed on the basis of experiments to create a practical, stretchy, breathable garment that was ideal for wearing to work.

In the 1950s, celebrities such as James Dean and Marlon Brando began wearing T-shirts and contributed to making them iconic garments. Since the 1980s, T-shirts have become a tool for raising awareness of political and social issues. Designer Katharine Hamnett is known for exploiting their media power: in 1984, she met Margaret Thatcher wearing a maxi t-shirt on which was written, in large letters, '58% don't want Pershing', a gesture of protest against the proliferation of nuclear missiles on British soil. In recent years, we have witnessed a return of slogans on t-shirts in the collections of various brands, which have been able to grasp their expressive potential: just think of the 'We should all be feminists' t-shirt for Dior. The gradual establishment of e-commerce has also been a factor, with many now trying to make their way in streetwear. How do you set up a project 'that works'? We talked about it with several professionals who have turned a good idea into a job: Gabriele Mancini, director of Camac Arti Grafiche; Eugenio Gastaldo, founder of Toro & Moro; Mario and Francesco Colonnese, founders of Creative Promotion; and Chiara Meloni, illustrator and activist known as Chiaralascura and co-founder of Belle di Faccia.

Technologies change...
Whether simple or elaborate, t-shirts are part of our everyday life. Some companies have perfected their field expertise to develop entire lines and collections for prestigious national and international fashion houses. 'In the 1980s, we were a small screen printing company that dealt with decoration on paper, adhesive PVC and other rigid materials,' says Gabriele Mancini, director of Camac Arti Grafiche. 'Over time, we specialised in printing on fabric. In addition to using different types of inks (glossy, matt, fluorescent, three-dimensional, reflective, heat-sensitive), we offer the possibility of combining decorative elements such as foils, studs, rhinestones, patches, embroidery.' In collaboration with the design office, Camac takes care of all production steps, right up to the packaging of the finished garment. From a technological point of view, today, there are several alternatives to traditional screen printing, which, however, remains one of the most reliable and appreciated decoration techniques, thanks to which it is possible to produce tactile and three-dimensional effects (so-called high thicknesses). Digital printing is well suited to the needs of online printers because it allows for highly customised short runs and high-quality results on a variety of fibres, natural, mixed and synthetic. Sublimation printing guarantees excellent colour rendition, resistance to washing, and good feel. The sine qua non for using this technology is that the material being printed on must be synthetic or made up of mixed fibres; it is mainly used in sportswear, where high resolution but very fast turnaround is required. 'We choose the printing technology with the needs of each customer in mind. In recent years, we are witnessing a progressive affirmation of embroidered applications and thermo-transferable patches, which are suitable for quickly customising small production batches.'


...and so do business models

After a long experience in screen printing, Mario and Francesco Colonnese also decided to focus on online trade and digital printing. In 2010, they set up the e-commerce business Creative Promotion, purchasing their first DTG printer and creating the personalizzati.net website, where users can choose the pattern and decorative motifs to customise their garments with. 'When we started, direct-to-fabric printing was almost unknown. In the world of promotional printing, which was booming at the time, there was a tendency to produce large quantities at very competitive prices, often sacrificing aesthetics. You may remember the T-shirts with the company name accompanied by address, email and other useless information. They looked more like business cards than T-shirts,' the two brothers tell us. Today, companies are much more careful about conveying an appealing image of themselves. This is also because the graphic culture has grown so much in Italy, and digital printing has evolved to very high standards in terms of quality and reliability. 'Anyone with a good idea can potentially create a winning business. Our task is to help designers, creatives and small entrepreneurs to find their position on the market, advising them on the technologies, media, and strategies best suited to bring their project to life.'

Who are you, brand? Tell it to the customer

Having a recognisable identity is fundamental to building a community of users who mirror the values that the company decides to promote. Consumers like to be informed about the supply chain, the selection of materials, and the packaging.
Toro&Moro is a company that manages to do this well. Founded in 2016 in the Monferrato countryside in Piemonte, it immediately put itself forward as an element of rupture compared to the renowned streetwear brands, claiming the handmade quality of its product and offering a unique in-store customisation service. 'We opened the e-commerce business focusing on four elements: customisation, sustainability, quality and uniqueness of the product,' says Eugenio Gastaldo, founder of Toro & Moro. 'In 2018, we launched our first concept shop, followed by other outlets in Genoa, Turin and Milan. The Toro & Moro Experience was created to combine the virtual and physical shopping experience.'
To strengthen its presence also on social channels, Toro & Moro has collaborated with numerous illustrators, such as Badi, Charlotte Le Bleu, and Cecilia Battaini, as well as companies with an equally strong brand identity. 'Recently, we have created capsule collections for the Turin-based lifestyle network Le Strade and for My Secret Case, an online sex toys shop that is also a community committed to popularising the topic of female pleasure.'

Toro & Moro manufactures most of its products with 100% organic cotton, GOTS and OCS certified, favouring sustainable processes through the use of water-based, non-toxic and phthalate-free inks. As proof of its desire to certify itself as a sustainable brand, this year, for Earth Day, it launched the #TreeShirt initiative in collaboration with Treedom, an online e-commerce business that allows people to plant trees all over the world: for every T-shirt sold, a tree will be planted, offsetting the amount of CO2 that was produced to make it.

Activism and shared knowledge

Chiara Meloni is an illustrator and activist known on the web as @chiaralascura, whose designs are inspired by fat liberation, intersectional feminism and animal liberation. 'In 2010, I found myself with a dead-end job that was putting a strain on my mental health, so I started drawing. And I discovered, when I was already in my thirties, that I liked doing it. I started selling my vegan-themed t-shirts on print-on-demand platforms, and after a few months, seeing that there was interest, I tried to turn it into a job. Initially, I was mainly doing fairs and markets, and the online shop was of marginal importance. At the same time, I was working as a freelance graphic and video editor.'

In 2011, Meloni launched a crowdfunding campaign on Eppela and managed to get her first collection financed. That same year, she started attending trade fairs in the UK and selling in a few shops. 'A couple of years later, I tried to open my own screen-printing workshop, but this coincided with a bit of a setback for my creativity, as I became overwhelmed with commission work for other clients and could no longer find the time to take care of my own designs and catalogue.' In 2018, she decided to devote herself exclusively to her own illustrations and founded, together with Mara Mibelli, the Belle di Faccia project, starting to incorporate the themes closest to her heart into her products: feminism and fat acceptance.

From the very first mini-collections that she sold in street markets, Meloni immediately addressed the issue of the origin of raw materials and their sustainability, selecting among the suppliers of neutral t-shirts those that were certified not only in terms of their fabrics, their environmental impact and the availability of sizes, but above all the working conditions of the workforce. 'It is complicated to find a balance between sustainability and inclusivity: most suppliers of organic and fairtrade ready-to-print wholesale t-shirts do not produce plus sizes or only make them in two colours: black and white. Others produce all sizes, in any colour, but are not as sustainable,' adds Meloni. 'When I started, there was not so much awareness on the part of customers, and I often had to justify the higher cost by explaining why. Now, fortunately, there is a lot of attention, and people appreciate that a small brand is trying to reduce its impact by making sustainable choices on the materials and packaging front.'

There are now several tools that make it more accessible for anyone to launch a small business, which would typically be a privilege, such as dropshipping, which allows you to launch your own shop without having to envisage an excessively high initial investment by delegating the logistics, warehousing and shipping operations. 'One piece of advice I would give is not to be intimidated by what we see on social media: on Instagram, in particular, it is easy for those we follow to show us only the positive aspects of their work and to hide their failures and weaknesses: we're going forward on our own way without being obsessed with likes, followers and numbers because every creative has their own voice and their own way of representing reality and therefore there is room for everyone. And of course, if those who are reading this need any tips - even though I don't consider myself an expert, I can boast more experience in the field - don't hesitate to contact me: I believe in shared knowledge and not in gatekeeping, and I'm always ready to explain how to do something if I can.'