Shikisai: Alternative Interactive T-shirts

When is a T-shirt more than just a T-shirt?

When husband and wife designers, Noto Hirotsugu and Noto Miyo, add ribbons, chains, plastic, tags, buttons and more to screen printed line art to turn the clothes on your back into interactive art.


Above: talented husband and wife team, Noto-fusai ( * "Noto" is their last name. "Fu" means husband. "Sai" means wife. All together, Noto-Fusai stands for "Mr. and Mrs. Noto".)

And they call it "Shikisai"

What is shikisai?
In their words:

Incorporating the interactivity,the mundanity, and the sense of fun, SHIKISAI is trying to explore the alternative possibilities of t-shirt design, through the use of black print on white surface.

The Products

The Reversi Shirt ( In Japan, Reversi is a very popular family game for children first to learn the hierarchical relationship.):




The Blinds Shirt:




The Shoelace Shirt:




The Faucet Shirt:



The Bathtub Plug Shirt:



The Tricycle Shirt:



The Shoulderbag Shirt:




The Umbrella Shirt:



The T-shirt Shirt:



The Book Shirt:



Power line Shirt:



and they also makes shirts for children and even dogs, too!


for Kids:



And, at Design Tide in Tokyo 2006, they newly introduced a series of "shikisai dog T-shirts", which is a collaborated work with the San Francisco-based modern pet furniture company Everyday Studio.

For Dogs:




Purchase the shikisai doggy shirts here.

The Designers:

Noto-Fusai: husband (Noto Hirotsugu)

after his sudden resignation from teaching history at high school, he learned design from the designers like Susan Kralovec (everyday studio), Aaron Lown (built new york), Ted Noten and Gijs Bakker(Droog Design). Now in japan, on his native land, he is looking firmly at what he want/can/should do. shikisai is his first project.

Noto-Fusai: wife (Noto Miyo)

graduated the same design school as her husband, KIDI parsons, she chose the career school to learn technical aspect of fashion, like pattern and sewing. at the same time she started her career as an assistant of the costume designer Anan Asuka, under whom she takes parts of accessory design, hair and makeup arrangement for models. the original pictures of shikisai t-shirts are all hand-drawn by her.

Where can you buy these fabulously creative shirts?
Right here.

Co-Branding From The Waist Down. adidas & Diesel

On February 1, 2008 adidas Originals and Diesel will enter a four-year product collaboration by introducing the first adidas Originals Denim by Diesel collection. Two male and female jeans models will be available exclusively at adidas Originals stores worldwide.

adidas Originals Spring/Summer 2008 - Introducing Originals Denim by Diesel

The Goods
Boys:



Girls:



the 3 -stripe details:




The Pockets:

The front pockets maintain the Diesel brand angled snipe-like label and now have added adidas trefoil rivets.


The rear pockets have a subtle addition of the adidas three stripes.

And how will they be advertising this new co-branded product?

A quote from adidas:

The general concept behind the different campaign executions is the expression of “83 original ways to successfully waste your time” by presenting playful, inspiring ways to encourage open, uninhibited self-expression and celebrate originality. 83 inspirations is just a start to invite everybody to share ideas in adidas Originals stores, online and through events. Because staying open to others is what being unconstrained is all about.

The 10 Ads (click on each to enlarge):







adidas press release:
On February 1, 2008 two iconic lifestyle brands, adidas Originals and Diesel will launch a landmark product collaboration – adidas Originals Denim by Diesel. The first denim collection to result from this four year relationship is a collectible line of extremely detailed, premium denim for true jeans lovers, designed in conjunction with the adidas Originals and the Diesel Creative Team, latter headed by Creative Director Wilbert Das. Two male and two female models presented in four different washes will be available exclusively at adidas Originals stores all around the world starting spring/summer 2008. Prices range from 160 Euro for the female adi-rohnary model up to 210 Euro for the male adi-viker model. Representing the long-term partnership of the two brands, the range is recognizable by the adidas Originals Trefoil and the Diesel co-branding.

adidas Originals and Diesel – two global brands that stand for authenticity, self-expression and creativity for the fashion forward - have come together in the spirit of unconstrained exploration and collaboration.

“I am an adidas fan myself and I am very excited about this project! It is the first time that Diesel creates a denim line with another lifestyle brand and we wanted to do it with adidas that shares with us the same fresh attitude and care for high quality and creativity” said Renzo Rosso, President of Diesel.

“This is the first time that we have entered into a collaboration of this kind with adidas Originals, and we would only do this with the right partner who brings our consumer something truly unique,” explained Hermann Deininger, CMO adidas Sport Style Division. Now when a consumer walks into one of our stores, we can offer them a complete look - from a track top to jeans to a pair of sneakers.”

The unconditional approach to individuality and expression shared by both brands is presented in the first Originals Denim by Diesel collection and the below the line campaign to celebrate both authenticity and originality.