We All Have Worn t-Shirts At Some Point Of Our Lives. Basic And Form Fitting, t-Shirts Can Be Tucked Into Jeans, Worn With a Blazer, Or With a Neckline That Suits The Wearer’s Personal Taste. t-Shirts Have Versatility In Them, Their Size Accommodates Every Person, And They Suit Every Budget – From Economical To Exclusive Range. The Hottest t-Shirt Trend These Days Is One That Sports Slogans.
Slogans capture the feelings or sentiments in a few words. Wearing one’s attitude across the chest offers an irresistible charm. By wearing slogans on a t-shirt, one is able to display, or communicate one’s attitude or personal thoughts to the world. T-shirts express the taste worn by runway models in Catwalk.
History & Journey
The first slogan t-shirts were sold by Mr Freedom, a shop in London during the ’60s; while images with Disney characters and phrases were a big hit. Later, in the ’70s, punch rock t-shirts became a hot trend. The culture reached a saturation point during the ’80s, when a few slogans on t-shirts earned public opposition. Yet, Betty Jackson’s colourful collection of slogan tops ruled the fashion segment. Slogans got their re-incarnation in 2006; when they were worn by runway models in Catwalk.To get a better understanding of the culture, Ranjiv Ramchandani, owner, Tantra Universe, the online sales channel for Tantra, asserted that slogan t-shirts represent a cultural change. “It is a change in the sense that the youth can express their individuality and sense of taste and wisdom. A slogan tee (good or bad) allows the customer to ‘position’ themselves in society. It is bad, if it is misused by the maker or the wearer,” he says.
Indian Market
Research analysts predict a drastic growth in the Indian apparel market by 2017, with an increasing trend owards casualwear. There is a growing preference towards semiformalwear. IT professionals and even fresh graduates from college prefer to dress up stylishly and more colourfully rather than wearing stiff and formal clothing. Apartfrom the younger generation, people in the age group of 30-40 years are also trying to dress up in a semi-formal way. Ramchandani says, “Generally, the age group of 15-29 years is the ideal group. This is not to suggest that people beyond the 30s do not have a sense of humour!” He points out that the ratio of slogan t-shirt sales (in both men and women) compared to non-slogan merchandise is 60:40.
The Martians are getting equally fashion conscious like their female counterparts! Yes, the men of course! Though women’s segment has wide acceptability in India, the market for men’s t-shirts is way stronger. Considering the overall t-shirt market in India, men’s tees have a higher sales percentage.
He says,“Generally, in India, more men seem to be open to the idea of slogans, than women. But a smart tee which de?nes a woman, also works wonders!” Customarily associated with young people, today t-shirts have grown to be a hot trend among people of all age groups. Slogans need to be short and precise to attract attention, and must also be accompanied with an attractive design so that the t-shirt is eye-catching. Some online retailers even motivate customers to post their own designs, and ask others to rank them. Yet others offer customised slogan t-shirts. These websites provide clipart graphics, fonts and colour choices for customers to create their own unique designs.
Current Trends
Various emotions are expressed on t-shirts- humour, community concerns, political views, eco concern, relations, and other random themes. One will get perplexed with the number of choices available. Environmental issues focus on water pollution, recycling, or forest conservation. Ramchandani says,“Depending on the content of the software (slogan), you can wear what you stand for. It could be against war, racism, corruption, just about anything. Just say it, through your tee! Recently, we did a series on the importance of voting, during the general
elections. Sometime back, we did another against corruption.”
He further defines the key elements of strategy in marketing their t-shirts. They are -humour, topicality, longevity and quality (of the idea). And last but not the least, the design.Slogans are printed on excellent quality and heavy-weight t-shirts using high quality screen printing techniques, to create an impressive visual display. Brand Sibling uses slogans on heavy layers emphasising on embroidery skills. Want to add a fashion forward edge to your tees? Go for tops imprinted with slogans, and graphic images at the background.
Slogans For Business
Businesses use slogans on t-shirts to promote their business as well as products. This is a quick and easy way to promote business or products. It informs people what the organisation is all about, and what they do. They are mostly worn during trade fairs, or business events. Companies can also use t-shirts for branding purposes by adding their logo. T-shirts are also used by businesses to announce the launch of a product, an upcoming event or for publicising a service. Menswear designer Astrid Andersen’s collection inspired by power dressing uses their own brand as slogan, thus creating a powerful impact.
Ramchandani positively stresses that the t-shirt culture would remain evergreen. “As one of the pioneers in this segment in India, we believe that slogan tees are here to stay; and the market will only grow. Non-metros are also catching up fast. All human beings have an ego, good or bad. We are just here to give that ego a voice,” he asserts. Do slogan t-shirts make a part of value proposition of brands? To this he replies with a confident smile, “What value slogans can bring to a brand depend on what quality and content is. At Tantra, in-house design team maintains creative continuity and ensures that there is no drop in brand value, season after season.” The fame of slogan t-shirts transcends time, lending them an iconic status.
