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Word on the Street: How to Style the New Wave of Slogan Clothing

These days, clothes are doing all the talking. Before the slogan clothing trend crystalized on the Spring 2017 catwalks—cue Maria Grazia Chiuri’s political statement tees at Christian Dior—it was visible outside the shows on the backs of street style stars. Variations of themes ranged from cheeky slogans on jackets and bold typography on shirts, to custom designed one-line outwear pieces that fueled personalized style.

In parallel, vintage band t-shirts were seen on trendsetters during Fashion Month. Vogue Arabia’s street style photographer, Valentina Frugiuele, remarked, “T-shirts—especially rock band tees like AC/DC, Nirvana, and Metallica—stood out.” Frugiuele added that the trend was most prominent in New York. Indeed, the surge of this year’s ‘90s aesthetic saw the resurrection of throwback band tees. Notably, women on the street style circuit put their own spin on the trend by mixing nostalgic pieces with polished separates such as tailored pants and midi skirts.

The rise in popularity of slogan clothing and novelty t-shirts comes on the heels of tour merchandise going mainstream. Kanye West revolutionized the concept by creating a collection for his 2013 Yeezus Tour. This year, West launched 21 temporary merch pop-up shops around the world. On display was a collection inspired by his latest album, The Life of Pablo that riffed on gothic script typography across hoodies, jackets, and long-sleeved shirts. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Zayn Malik all followed suit and capitalized on the movement by marketing their tours with fashion forward designs that featured song lyrics, monikers, and album titles.

See who got personal and represented their tribe during fashion month with Vogue’s edit of the best slogan clothing spotted in the four fashion capitals in the gallery above.

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