Before I begin I know Christian Audiger‘s iconic tattoo t-shirts aren’t the most expensive t-shirts in the world, but they’re damn close. In fact as far as I know the most expensive tee used to roll in at an original whopping $1540K price tag, now it’s still slightly more expensive than Audiger’s from Fendi at just $199 (lol) but I still think there’s a point to be made here…
I know that Giorgio Armani used to offer their black Cashmere Tee at $1000+, but it’s a big name brand and it’s made from cashmere, it’s still not worth the price tag but there are some partial reasons for the excess. Then there are retro tees, I mean original vintage ones, sure if Jimi Hendrix used to wear it or The Sex Pistols auctioned off a limited original selection, or indeed for any famous association I can again (to a degree) understand the inflated price tag. But why are the likes of Christian Audiger and Fendi charging such astronomical prices? Well the short answer is they can get away with it.
Feathered Crest Tee at Christian Audiger |
The fact is you will always expect to pay a premium for an established world wide designer brand, be it a catwalk designer or a sports clothing company, but what about when a brand is still establishing itself on a global stage? Sure you may have heard of it but has everyone? I know who Christian Audiger is but I know my t-shirt designers, if I stepped outside and asked the next ten people who Audiger was I’m pretty sure none of them would know what he does for a living. Sure the case may be different in other countries but still is he a household name? The same can be asked of Fendi, does their brand honestly offer enough cachet to price t-shirts up to $1540? I’m guessing not seeing as they’ve slashed the price (relatively speaking) down to $199. Still I’m surprised it isn’t selling at a quarter of that reduced price.
Fendi Embroidered Paillette Tee |
Here’s the lowdown on Fendi’s most expensive offering in their t-shirt department…
* 100% cotton
* Intricately embroidered paillettes throughout
* Banded crewneck
* Short sleeves
* Straight hem
* Made in Italy
Hmm… okay so it’s embroidered, I’m sure that if they’d sold them all at their original price they could have bought the factory that made them! I can’t understand why they thought this could fetch such an extortionate price, even at $199 there’s no fathoming their logic on this product. I’d expect it to be embroidered in real gold thread at the very least.
So what’s different about Audiger’s premium rate line of t-shirts? Well to be honest there are some superb designs amongst the collection, not that I believe I could ever pay full price for one at the current prices, even if I could afford it I just couldn’t live with that kind of financial decision. Still. rich people need t-shirts too, I’m sure the celebs get their freebies and do a great job of touting them around La La Land, and well for the rest of us we can just stand and slobber with our tongues hanging out at their virtual shop window wondering exactly how much a copy from Thailand would set us back.
Panther and Winged Serpent Tee
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This amazing all over print tee is available for a staggering $187 which to me is beyond understanding but then again I have a few reasons, firstly I’m not rich, far from it, but neither are many these days seeing as the world is deep in a global economic recession. Secondly I’m no fashion freak, I love t-shirts as an art form, a medium of creativity by the people for the people, a powerful and traditionally cheap way to express one’s individuality and introduce the man on the street to new ideas, imagery and concepts. But I’m not a slave to high-end brand fashions, I don’t care who made it, I care how well they made it and if it has the originality and design value for the price. Thirdly I’m not a fan of elitism, it reminds me of being at school when branded sports clothing just started taking off in the UK, if you were poor you were laughed at, worst still even beaten up for wearing unfashionable clothes. Still, it’s a beautiful design, I’d love to see a breakdown of Audiger’s sales, just how many people have bought their tees at these prices?
Divine Ruler Polo Neck Tee
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Yet again I’m loving it but not enough to pay $165 for this tee. To be honest Shiroi Neko produce a pretty similar line and their tees start at only $36 these days. Although I have to admit that Audiger’s tees seem to offer a higher quality print judging by the product photos – no I don’t have a sample to back up that statement but I guess at these prices they’d have to be top-notch quality – I mean if they weren’t they’d be flooded with complaints – rich customers or not!
See Money Polo Tee at Christian Audiger
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Another amazing design, the choice of subject seems a little ironic though, essentially this polo neck tee is all about the money, show me the money, or more appropriately show me the money on a t-shirt. So here it is, an inglorious celebration of just how rich you’ll need to be if you want a wardrobe full of Christian Audiger tees, yet again this one is priced at $165, which makes a total of $517 just for three tees, if I added on UK shipping I’m sure that’d bring it up to $600, or I could track them down in the UK and most likely pay the same figure in £ sterling, either way I don’t know anyone right now with this kind of budget for t-shirts. If you do you’re probably rich or famous or both, if you are you could probably blag a freebie via your PR consultancy or your agent, I can’t, most people can’t. So like I say we’d better just look in from the outside and watch high fashion hijack the earthiest artss medium in fashion. Your humble t-shirt.
If you want to do a little more window shopping and see how the other half live check out the rest of Christian Audiger‘s t-shirts, remember to pick up your jaw on the way out :/