Das Monk T-shirts. Das ist sehr gut!

Das Monk was born of the union of t-shirt love by two t-shirt fanatics Marc Hendrick and Anna Lunoe almost a year ago. They are currently in the midst of selling out their second collection of tees right now. They plan to showcase a new and limited edition collection of t-shirts every 3 months and offer a unique homespun style informed as much by the Arts and Crafts movement as by the modern life and modern street culture of Europe and beyond.

The two members of Das Monk came up with their label’s name one starry night, as Marc and Anna ran through all the possibilities they found themselves favouring the word ‘Monk’ because it’s short and succinct and represents a figure of deep contemplation using simple means to communicate something more. The German word ‘Das’ (meaning ‘the’) was added by Marc who is of German descent.

There is a very amusing story at iLovetshirts.com (you can view last seasons’ collection there too), that these two tricksters like to tell the public, a mind game they continue throughout their work, rejecting the usual blatancy of most t-shirt based humour, and instead embracing a less obvious and more thoughtful approach to their designs.

Here two of my favourites at Das Monk’s current collection of limited edition designer tees.

The AOK T-Shirt at Das Monk is an instant classic, I’ve seen this design doing the rounds on quite a few t-shirt blogs out there so I know this the general consensus. What I particularly like about it is the 1970’s Easy Rider feel of the design, the patchwork effect idea is a stroke of genius, complementing the design’s attention to hippie provenance.

Jaws T-Shirt at Das Monk. I’m not usually a fan of either geometric abstract design tees or the dreaded print ‘box’ that appears on many t-shirts these days, but for once my two pet hates have combined to provide a tour de force of image. This iconic piece of minimalist t-shirt design conjures up visions of the late Beatnik movement of the early 1960s, almost like a Mary Quant on Acid! I could imagine Twiggy or one of her contemporaries wearing an over-sized version of Jaws with a belt, and very little else.

Here’s one I liked from their last collection. I have a similar t-shirt featuring the faces of dead rock stars, essentially I find ‘walls of faces’ fascinating, perhaps it’s something to do with early recollections of the crowded cities, the tiny windows of a city pied-à-terre, the miniscule space that urban life confines one’s life to, and the struggle to be noticed and get heard in a crowd.

If you looking for something off the beaten track, less in-your-face than the usual crop from sites like Busted Tees, visit Das Monk.com to see their latest collection of artistic organic t-shirts. They only print on the softest highest quality tees and offer limited edition ranges every season. Das Monk. Das ist sehr gut!

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