Celebrity T-Shirts – The Heroes, The Wannabes and The Crooks

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Celebrity T-Shirts?

We all know about the power of celebrity and fame, we see it all around us everyday, movies, music, gossip columns, advertising campaigns, you name it a celebrity will more than likely be involved somewhere in the process. The power of the t-shirt is a different kind of animal; messages and ideas, styles and statements are proliferated virally from “the ground up”. In recent years the two have combined to create a media-munching cash cow known as the “Celebrity T-Shirt”. This is a rather generic term, and some of our loyal readers have recently emailed Buy Tees, about the credibility of certain sites claiming to have sold their own products, directly to celebrities. I’ll tell you the disturbing truth soon, but for now I think for the understanding of all we should break down the term “Celebrity T Shirt” into its various sub-genres, so you know exactly what you’re buying from who.

Here’s a quick list :-

1. Used Celebrity T-Shirts “As Worn By Celebrities” T-Shirt Market
2. T-Shirts Designed by Celebrities
3. Charity Tees Designed, Worn, or Endorsed by Celebrities (Or all 3!
4. Fan T-Shirts (Signed by Celebrities – Normally Run-of-the-Mill Licensed with Signature).
5. “As Bought by Celebrities” T-Shirt Market
6. T-Shirts Using Celebrity Images (Licensed Celebrity Likeness Artwork/Photography)

Used Celebrity T-Shirts… Hmmm

The major problem with most celebrity t-shirts (of any description) is the near impossibility of proving the true source of the t-shirt in question. For instance with used celebrity t-shirts, any discerning Ebayer will pass on the old adage, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Think for a moment, how on earth can someone prove if a t-shirt, not a generic t-shirt design, but an actual item of clothing was cherished in a celebrity’s wardrobe some years back. You can’t, well not usually, not unless you have a forensics team handy, there’s very little that can prove who wore what and when.

As a matter of fact a verifiable receipt from the store in question conclusively proves zilch, many celebrities order anonymously, through buyers, or online and with a via a business’s private expense account. Even then they won’t necessarily buy it, many use “buyers’ who are supposed to be initmate with the client’s exact taste and style and picks heaps of clothes each week for them to choose from, the rejects may end up on Ebay but don’t expect the celebrity to have even passed a glance at it. Ironic when you think of the amount of fans who want to “feel closer” to their idols, paying over the odds for t-shirts the stars wouldn’t touch, that doesn’t cut it for me.

Many fashion icons wouldn’t be caught dead in same item twice, (with that kind of role model how can fashion ever be ecologically friendly?). The chances are that many items sold as “Used Celebrity T-Shirts” have been worn by their underlings, assistants, P.A’s or cleaner, families, and not even made it through the doors of a star’s fabulous beach villa or palatial penthouse complex. No, as the freebies pour into the star’s management offices, the tees sit unwrapped on the desk of the most junior employee, who one day has a great idea on how to make a lot of extra cash on the side. Hence the Ebay Celebrity T-Shirt was born. I’m sure there are some genuine items out there. For example; stolen by enterprising kids in the Bel Air Neighbourhood from famous trash cans the night before garbage day. Sure. But how can you prove it? Like I say forensics, if you’re a private forensics lab looking for a new income avenue, try testing samples from the many “As Worn By” items on the net! I’m sure you’ll be in great demand…

The only way you can guarantee a t-shirt has even been touched by a celebrity, we are really stepping into fan(atic) territory here, but if you really need that true “used clothing” buzz, you’ll have to fork out at a star-studded celebrity/charity event. You’ll probably get an autograph too if you’re lucky, but this sort of event attracts the wealthy looking for some positive PR, so be prepared to dig deep. That’s it, unless you’re related to Madonna, or work for Naomi (ouch), or live next-door to Angelina, you’ve kinda lucked out. If you are don’t care if a celebrity every wore the tee shirt, buy it anywhere, but don’t pay celebrity t-shirt prices, if you do, expect to get less than you bargained for.

T-Shirts Designed by Celebrities… Uh Oh

I’m not saying celebrities can’t draw, celebrities who are fashion designers can, the rest I’d place in the “Celebrity/Charity” designers camp, truth being that most wouldn’t touch their designs with a bargepole if they weren’t famous. We’ve all seen examples of movie stars and musicians who’ve suddenly decided they can paint, and it is never a pretty sight. Sly Stallone for example, (who doesn’t seem to be selling his work anymore).

The few exceptions can be found at TeeTonic.com – who have contributed 6 celebrity t-shirt designs to the Six Cities Design Festival in Scotland, UK. The famous designers include Wayne Hemingway and Zandra Rhodes, both of whom are really fashion designers who “happen to be famous”. This shows in the quality of their work, and reaffirms my theory that no one can assume that celebrity automatically endows anyone and everyone, with talents and powers beyond the ken of normal men and women. They are people, for the most part, who had a little bit of talent and a lot of luck, many maybe beautiful, even charming, but most are only good at what they do and nothing else. I love David Bowie’s collaborative work with Brian Eno in the Late Seventies, but I am the first to admit the guy could never act, however the media, sufficiently submersed in a wave of public fervor, will elevate a famous personality beyond their true capabilities.

Charity Tees (and the benefit of free worldwide positive PR).

Some celebrities can leave their panties at home, step out of a limo, and remain a permanent scar on the cultural memory for decades to come. As some rather dubious PR agencies may tell you, “all publicity is good publicity”, I’d beg to differ. I’d offer the alternative credo “A lot of positive PR is better than some”. The bigger the charity, the greater the public exposure, the higher the profile, all the more money in the bank. If celebrities really want to help their favourite charity, sell up that property portfolio, those stocks and shares, keep a couple of million to survive (obviously – can’t let them starve!), and save those whales, or the Third World, or even The Earth. Imagine if every celebrity did that? Chuck in a majority of the corporate bigwigs and we might even be able to afford a new planet, we could just leave this one to recover whilst we make a mess of the next.

I’m digressing (what’s new?), my point is that the celebrity ego bypasses the economics of reality and heads straight for the heartstrings, but for the most part it doesn’t work. Why should a fabulously wealthy person who owns everything they could possibly desire, ask someone who hasn’t to give up more for the common good. Say you paid ten percent of your wage to charity, there are stars and their private bankers who’d freak if we started campaigning that they did the same. Some of those donations would amount to tens of millions and collectively billions, perhaps enough to save everyone and everything that ever was. Off the soapbox… celebs do bring attention to worthy causes, for whatever their personal reasons, it does have an effect, however small that may be.

Here’s some awful t-shirts created to support a UK charity The Woodland Trust modelled by a bunch of D-List homegrown TV celebrities. Yes it is for a good cause but can minor celebrity really override quality in design?

The awful truth is that more people would be inclined to donate money than buy one of these. I do have a heart, I respect the aims of a vast majority of charities, I just think that if any public body needs a makeover, it’s voluntary groups and charitable organizations. Unfortunately in these hard and fast times of the C21st few media giants and corporate entities find sensitivity “sexy”, be it ecological or otherwise, it is difficult to make “lack” or “inequality” fashionable. I think the effect is far more dramatic, and yes controversial, when those who have suffered directly express themselves through fashion, for example Heather Corrina’s “I Was Raped” T-Shirt.

It’s a difficult argument I know, a painful one even, but a necessary evil if charities are ever going to truly connect with future generations. Charities like politicians try to use the power of celebrity to re-energize the public, there maybe some short-term effect, but I ask you, how many charity t-shirts become design classics? Very little if any I am sure. A-List Celebrities won’t risk their carefully honed brand image for the sake of a few worthy causes, not unless they are over-the-hill or out of the limelight for more than a year, then it’s all about “reinvention” which essentially involves a whole heap of trial and error. Celebrities are not designers, except if they’re famous for creating fashion, they’re just like you and me only far richer, with a great PR team, tons of Botox and an army of Photoshop experts to airbrush their magazine shoots. They in general have no more artistic talent than you and me, you may as well donate a little to your favourite charity each month and continue to buy t-shirts you actually like.

Last year Kate Moss designed a worthy yet uninspired and rather scribbled t-shirt for The Climate Project – yes it is a great cause – we want to save the earth – but Kate is a model, a supermodel if you like, a super person I am sure, but a cruddy designer. You’d think all those years on the catwalk would’ve rubbed off on her, but no, it didn’t.

Why should she be a great designer? It’s all a matter of hype over content, will of the media over the commonsense of the consumer, charities should be supporting new designers, take a bet on the fashion world if you like, perhaps the music world, but buy a minority share in the company and keep your fingers crossed your intuition was correct.

I will reiterate my support for the ideals of those who create and support charitable organizations, their work is unparalleled across the board, donate, donate, donate, but don’t encourage them to design your wardrobe. I sometimes wonder how many of these designs end up for sale in their secondhand charity shops a few months down the line.

Autographed Celebrity T-Shirts

This again is open to interpretation, there is an abundance of fake autographs on Ebay, something almost impossible to crack down on, real or fake it’s very difficult to verify their authenticity, although handwriting analysis software is improving all the time, so there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. Of course you can guarantee your signed celebrity t-shirt by queuing up at that bookstore, or outside the TV studio, or at their latest launch for something or other, and get that authentic signature live and in person. Take a photo of the event as proof and you’re authenticated! That will help you sell it later on if times are hard :p At least you have the chance of buying a decent t-shirt first, something you’d want to wear, signed or not!

“As Bought By” T-Shirt – Suspect Sales Techniques

I don’t want to end up in court over this so I won’t list the sites in question, but look up any very famous or let’s say high-ranking licensed t-shirt store online and you’ll come across something of a conflict of interests, in fact a downright battle of lies. Intonation is a grey area of law, to lead someone to believe something without expressly stating it as fact is an age old sales technique, a technique of confusion, a half-truth, a lie.

IF you see a photo of a celebrity wearing a t-shirt and you know who designed it, if they are the only designer/retailer for that product, then you can certainly buy and don the same as your favourite star. That is the exception to the rule, there are literally millions of old t-shirt designs available to license and print. There are thousands of outlets for each of these designs, they could be band t-shirts, tees from old movies, cartoon characters you name it. For instance Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse have both been spotted in iconic “Little Miss Sunshine” t-shirts, it is a licensed image from the Little Miss animated children’s programme, circa 1970′s UK. They were ten a penny, literally a boot fair or thrift shop find, or something cheap to buy for the kids at the beach from any local store until at least the early 1980′s. Fakes would flood the market and before long the design reaches saturation point and the stock lies dusty in a warehouse somewhere for 20 years.

T-Shirt licensing for neglected designs has become a very profitable market in recent years, following the rise of retro street wear, and in particular a penchant for old heavy metal tees this year, many of whom promote bands that split ages ago. The craze for long forgotten design, this nostalgia in fashion has pulled in the celebrities too, that is for certain. What is not so definite is exactly where and when a celebrity bought their t-shirt. They may have had it for years, they might have bought it from a local retailer, their PA would’ve probably ordered for them anyway, short of displaying a copy of a credit card receipt with a famous name and their private address, their is little to prove if an online retailer is lying or not. This shouldn’t matter to most customers, they simply want the same t-shirts as their most cherished stars, they don’t care where they bought it. The problem is that t-shirt designers do. Imagine if you turned on the radio tomorrow (does anyone still do that?) and all you heard in the top ten playlist were rereleases of old songs by the original bands, over and over again. That is what the latest surge in licensed t-shirt production is doing to the t-shirt market.

There are literaly thousands of great t-shirt designers out there right now, pushing the boundaries of art, fashion, good taste, humour, they are the future of t-shirt design, and their existence has been put under threat by the constant regurgitation of old designs licensed for pennies at a time from large corporations running “pseudo-independent” t-shirt stores online. We’re not talking Busted, SpreadShirt, Threadless, or other similar sites, they make their designers agree to legally binding contracts that ensure no violation of copyright. We’re talking about cash heavy print operations in faceless industrial units pumping out the same old junk year in and year out.

They have the economic clout to spam Google, calling upon the expertise of the world’s best Search Engine Optimization experts to ensure that every possible top ten keyword associated with t-shirts has one of a multitude of cloned template stores ranked for action. If you really want to give something back, give it to the future of fashion and not the past, give it to the creatives who scratch their heads and stare at their Macs every day and every night, working on the next classic t-shirt designs for this and future generations to come. Donate to fashion, invest in what you like, help those designers you appreciate to at the very least make an income for their hard work. If not then at least think twice the next time you see a site with 10,000 t-shirts of the same old A-Team, Knight Rider, Tweety Pie, Little Miss, Roadrunner, Incredible Hulk, Starsky and Hutch and other tees of the same ilk. In truth you’ll find many sites on the net making the same claims, Britney bought it here, honest guv!

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