Minimalism is definitely O-V-E-R in 2017. The way you can tell? The number of T-shirts with logos, slogans and anything else you can think of finding their way on to the backs of the fashion crowd on the front row – a bellwether of trends that actually will go from the catwalk to IRL. T-shirt prints always speak volumes about the person wearing them, from the Che Guevara of a young radical to the Jack Daniel’s of an aspiring rock star. Now is no different. Think of them as a way to tell everyone you encounter which style tribe you belong to. Here are the T-shirts to know – and wear – now. Pick yours with care.
Gosha Rubchinskiy
If it sounds daft to say that a script can be fashionable, rest assured – it can. Cyrillic is favoured by fashion right now, especially when it comes courtesy of Russian designer Rubchinskiy, as this T – which reads “Russian Renaissance” – does.
Christopher Shannon
Shannon’s play on the high street sports store is a favourite with the east London crowd, who love a bit of irony. Especially when it comes with a side of 90s rave optimism.
Vetements
Their classic T-shirt is the DHL one, which went viral last year. Arguably, Securite is a kind of sequel – it’s equally the kind of thing you see every day elevated to a designer item. A comment on the faceless corporate world we live in or a bit of a joke? You decide.
Gucci
This £320 T-shirt is the entry level item into Alessandro Michele’s #newgucci. It’s also meta in the fact that it is an actual Gucci T-shirt that looks like a fake. No wonder it plays out well on Instagram.
Idea
What a lol! A T-shirt that only the alpha can wear – to show exactly how powerful they are, so much so that confusion with an actual intern is impossible. Wear with a smirk and carry only a phone. That way people know you have a driver outside.
Givenchy
What a way to pay tribute to Riccardo Tisci’s final year at Givenchy. This T-shirt, with its relatively discreetly placed “I feel love” just below the collar, is set to be a classic. One for the dancefloor as much as the street.
This article appears in the spring/summer 2017 edition of The Fashion, the Guardian and the Observer’s biannual fashion supplement
