Avant-garde Desinger Showcases History on T-shirts

Propaganda with a graphic twist adaptations of poster art depicting late Chairman Mao Zedong and the 'cultural revolution' created by a young Chinese designer have made his T-shirts hot fashion items for today's youth, writes Zhao Feifei.

When Ji Ji first decided to design graphics for T-shirts, he didn't expect any great financial return. It was just an outlet to allow him to exorcise some childhood memories. But within six months, the sales of his Shirtflag label had shot sky high and his design concepts have attracted the attention of the media as well as international fashion buyers.

''The T-shirt has emerged as one of the hottest trends to hit the streets, although it's been around for what seems like forever. Simple enough, right?'' says the 33-year-old design maven. ''I think it's more of a statement of your personality, of who you are.'' Ji's T-shirts are not special for their cut or fabric but for the poster or the graphic design he has emblazoned on the front.

Whether it is late Chairman Mao Zedong's head or posters from the ''Cultural Revolution'' (1966-76), Ji's graphics take a retrospective look at Chinese propaganda art from a past era but also adds a twist to each design. ''In most people's minds, the decade (of the ''Cultural Revolution'') was a devastating period,'' says Ji. ''But there was also a romantic, utopian ideal in the Mao era. It was a turbulent time but it was also glorious. We, as children, often gathered together and played our own games, unlike today's kids who only have computers and television.''

To the delight of the jaded fashion crowd, Ji's Shirtflag T-shirt has new meaning for the generation of children born after 1980. ''I'm surprised to find that young people are very 'into' Shirtflag. They look on the bygone era as being somewhat mysterious and I have added some modern and streetwise elements, such as skateboarding and video games, into the vintage pictures of that time. So, even if you're from another generation, my T-shirts will definitely strike a chord.''

Shirtflag T-shirts have become a type of billboard. Whether they contain a statement or a single word or a religious phrase, the wearers are getting graphic. The name ''Shirtflag'' can be pronounced with an overtone of violence or vulgarity. ''It sounds like cursing,'' Ji says. ''In fact, many designers in London and New York's SoHo like to use rude and nasty words on their brands. Through it all, I'm struggling to sustain an anti-mass media image.''

Ji's studio is located in the sprawling former factory complex on Morganton Road alongside art galleries and design studios. The area has been compared with SoHo because of its metamorphosis from a neglected industrial block into a trendy center for contemporary art. In Ji's studio, Shirtflag is just a side business. His main work is in graphic design and interior design for big-name clients, such as L'Oreal and Kodak.

Along with event organizers from Australia and the United States, Ji and a colleague from Guangzhou will hold a large-scale expo of cutting-edge designs in April. It will feature works by 20 foreign designers and up to 40 of their Chinese counterparts. The creators include illustrators, graffiti artists and toy makers. Ji says all the products and designs will be close to the lives of today's young people and will reflect modern lifestyles. The expo will go on tour from Shanghai to Beijing and Shenzhen.

Ji had a rootless childhood, moving from place to place with his air force officer father. He studied oil painting when young and later enrolled in the Design Department of Shanghai Jiaotong University. ''I was totally rudderless. Why should I quit painting and start learning design? Why should I stay in Shanghai?'' Ji asks.

''I really hated Shanghai then because people looked down on you if you were not Shanghainese. I didn't like the way local people handled things, either. They always seemed to take a middle course and didn't have the guts to shoulder responsibility. But later I found myself in love with the city because of its rich history and cultural legacy, because of its buildings and streets and, more importantly, because it had and has the capacity to tolerate different forms of art.''

Ji's personal idol is Jun Takahashi, Japan's most ''hip'' fashion designer whose label is ''Under Cover.'' ''Takahashi has won almost every fashion award Japan can offer. Last year he won the prestigious Mainichi Prize normally reserved for established people like fashion designer Issey Miyake and writer Junya Watanabe. His fans faithfully line up outside his boutiques, eager to buy a US$2,500 dress or a US$30 pair of socks,'' says Ji admiringly. If overseas consumers take to him, Ji's reputation as one of China's young design geniuses will be cemented.

''Shirtflag will branch out into upscale overseas markets. We've already had some European retailers ready to market our products,'' he says. For his design studio, Ji has ambitions that one day it will evolve like Singapore's Phunk Studio which was founded by four graduate ''guerrilla'' designers back in 1994 and is now one of the most sought-after creative outfits in the international design arena.

Phunk Studio's projects include special commissions for clients as diverse as Diesel, MTV Asia Networks, Daimler Chrysler, Nike and 2K T-shirts. ''I was commissioned by Nike to design a limited number of T-shirts and the result has been very happy for me,'' Ji says.

''The company has asked me to do a book with the working title In Search of Chinese Style and it will highlight the work of about 40 designers of Chinese origin in every design field.'' As the world's most influential designers -- such as John Galliano and Miuccia Prada -- have gone crazy for Orientalism, Ji says the only way for Asian designers to stand out is to stick to their roots and delve into their own culture.

''More and more Chinese designers are aware of this but few can do it well. Most of them just patch together some superficial Chinese elements into their designs,'' Ji says. ''But some designers, such as Wang Yiyang and Zhang Da, seem to have achieved an epiphany. Their work is much deeper and well-nuanced with our country's native characteristics.

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