Fashion: The Need For Tees

It’s called theneedfortees.com and you can think of it as the outlet to buy a wearable record, not that the shirts are made of vinyl, I mean in the sense that there’s only 100 available of each print. inthemix spoke to Robyn Way who thought and developed the concept into the functional site we see today.

Way collaborated with art director Sally Keast to bring the project to life. Both are driven by similar desires: a love for music and a passion for fashion. “I have always loved tshirts since I was a kid and collected them most of my life. In my younger days I ran with the rock crowd where tees were a huge part of each gig and getting the band’s name out there. It was at an Elite Force gig at Chinese Laundry in Sydney that I had the idea (for the site). Here was a room full of people so excited to see him play but there was no merchandise available to remember the night by. This was something that I could do that would combine my love of tees and music!” said Way.

Way started off in music retail and marketing before moving into the world of internet marketing and management. Her knowledge and background combined with the talented Keast, who has a background in graphic design in fashion based magazines and advertising, leads me to believe that these women are a force to be reckoned with. They are out to conquer the globe and let’s face, they have little competition so what could possibly get in their way? The answer is not much…

“We will be adding new shirts and artists each month. We really want to represent artists from all styles of dance music. Our next venture will be tour shirts. Most of the world’s best DJs tour Australia regularly and it’s sad you don’t get a memento from the night. We also plan to get our global groove on and attend events such as Winter Music Conference in Miami and spread the word, not only for our tees, but also for Aussie DJs and producers.”

Only 100 prints are released of each tshirt and yes the artists are consulted and in some cases develop the designs themselves. “*Dopamine* was very hands on with his design. Sveta chose her own designer and worked with Techa Noble to get hers done. We designed a bunch of ideas for tyDi and he chose his favourite (and) Diverted Traffic had an awesome designer on staff. The tee was taken from the video clip for the track Adrenaline Ltd which was animated stick figures.”

So what do the shirts look like I hear you ask? “Our shirts are slim cut 190gsm cotton for men and a short cut 190gsm cotton for the ladies. The ladies ones are really well fitted.” Designs obviously vary from shirt to shirt depending on what designer the artist has worked with.

The dynamic duo are doubtful they will ever set up a shop so for now the only way to get your hands on these limited edition designs is to jump online. Check out theneedfortees.com now and add a unique tshirt to your wardrobe.