Old UT T-shirts are like museum pieces memorializing yesterday’s pop culture. Even today, each shirt serves as a statement: that art should be democratized.
UT started as an idea inspired by how Andy Warhol democratized art with his silkscreen prints: what if the T-shirt could serve as a canvas for art? Some of the earliest shirts were collaborations with filmmakers Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders, the Beastie Boys, and manga artists Takehiko Inoue and Taiyo Matsumoto. Artist Barbara Kruger was one of UT’s top choices, and the fact that her work made it onto their T-shirts was something close to a miracle. If you own any of these early shirts, chances are they are still tucked away in your drawer, waiting to be rediscovered. Lay them out, and you might notice that the prints were bigger then than they are today, and more dispersed. You will also find yourself looking back at pop culture’s past.
The following represents just a few of the more notable examples of the many UT T-shirts that have been produced since 2007. UNIQLO has always had strong T-shirt lineups—early shirts featured the works of Keith Haring and Andy Warhol. Typically, the shirts featured the UT and UNIQLO names, but when the artist was particularly special—Barbara Kruger or Roy Lichtenstein, for example—only the artist’s name was displayed.
Art
The art series allowed young people to own a piece of contemporary art for the price of a T-shirt. Barbara Kruger’s collages of satirical messages—presented with white typography on a red background—and black-and white photography made their way onto a number of T-shirts. True story: While visiting the countryside, Kruger found a local woman wearing one of her UT T-shirts, unaware of its origin, and for the first time understood the concept of “democratizing art.”
Barbara Kruger 2004
Barbara Kruger 2005
Barbara Kruger 2005
Roy Lichtenstein 2004
Barry MaGee 2018
Barry MaGee 2018
Tomoo Gokita 2009
Sarah Morris 2014
Photography & Movie
Major filmmakers and photographers have also collaborated with UT. A series of shirts immortalized classic scenes from Jim Jarmusch’s first three films: Permanent Vacation, Stranger Than Paradise, and Down by Law. T-shirts featuring the work of Japanese photographers Daido Moriyama and Nobuyoshi Araki were hits at the New York flagship store. UT has also worked with Martin Parr, who was once president of the international photographic cooperative Magnum Photos.
Jim Jarmusch 2011
Jim Jarmusch 2011
Daido Moriyama 2006
Daido Moriyama 2012
Nobuyoshi Araki 2012
Martin Parr 2008
Masayuki Shiota 2009
Music
UT has collaborated with music artists such as the Beastie Boys, as well as with record labels such as independent U.K. outfits Rough Trade and Domino Recording. In many cases, we purchase new music because we trust the label. The Rough Trade shirt features the label’s logo, while the Domino shirt features the jacket graphic for No Wow, the second album by Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, a.k.a. The Kills.
Rough Trade 2009
Domino 2010
Beastie Boys 2014
Manga & Anime
Manga and anime—Japan’s most popular cultural exports—feature prominently in UT shirts. Manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto’s Ping Pong, Tekkonkinkreet, Takemitsuzamurai, and Sunny have made it onto T-shirts. So have the illustrations of Yoshitaka Amano, best known globally for his character designs for the Final Fantasy video game series, as well as for the anime Gatchaman, better known overseas as Battle of the Planets.
Taiyo Matsumoto 2007
Yoshitaka Amano 2007
