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I’ve mentioned Independent T-Shirt tour de force Dirrrrtee to yous lot before. Remember? Well, when they told us about their latest AW09 drop with the promise of an inside scoop and an exclusive discount for the readers, we were like ‘Hell yeah! We love supporting like-minded independents (especially when they are baring gifts)’. So, we decided to celebrate in a Millytant fashion and give James aka Dirrrtee MD, a good old fashioned AirsnGraces grilling.
Who is Dirrrtee?
Dirrrtee is a London based streetwear brand that I started off back in late 2007, when I spray painted on a couple of my friends t-shirts and thought: ‘hey, I like this’.
Where did the name come from?
I wish I could sit here and say I thought of it myself but the truth is, I reached a point where I decided I needed to give a name to all these T-shirts I was spray painting and I was stumped! I sat down with a friend and within a few minutes he said what about ‘Dirrrtee’. I loved the concept behind the name, it was a play on words about what I was doing: taking fresh off the rail t-shirts and defacing them, they were no longer ‘clean’, I had put my mark on them, they were now ‘dirty’.
What’s the philosophy behind the brand?
Being that the brand started off creating customised clothing, the foundations have always been solidly set on making things that have a sense of exclusivity to them. I remember seeing everyone walking around in the exact same t-shirts from the exact same sports retailers which were bought in the exact same two for £20 deal. I started making the customised clothes, each individual item was a one off. I loved the personal feel each item had to it. Even though I’ve recently decided to stop customising clothing, I know it has created a strong foundation I want to build on. The Dirrrtee vibe will always be producing items in a limited quantity.
Your designs are inspired by…….
Inspiration comes in many forms but I like to just sit down throw on some music and chill with my sketchbook then start drawing. If I dig something I’ve drawn then I work a little bit more on that design and gradually build it up. Recently I’ve used an illustrator to help out with a couple of designs and was really impressed with the way he worked. He is definitely someone I will use in more future releases.
What kinda kids rock your tees?
Well I say Dirrrtee is a ‘streetwear’ brand but I appreciate anyone who rocks my stuff. For me it’s more important that they feel the same sort of vibe as I do about the t-shirts. As long as people like what we do and what we stand for then I’m happy.
What makes you different from other independents tee retailers out there?
It’s definitely a market that is far from empty. I see so many of these new ‘brands’ and get really angry at what they are doing. They seem to be in it for a quick buck, just printing a brightly coloured slogan onto a tee, no thought, no design, just some rubbish like ‘MY SWAGGERS HARD’ and the sad thing is, it sells. I worry that people like this make it hard for people like me and others in the same situation as me to get given a break. It’s almost as though the words ‘new brand’ are tarnished with an ideology we aren’t all coming with. I, for one, am doing it because it’s a passion, I love it when I see someone wearing something I have made it gives me a great sense of pride and my aim is to be in it for the long haul.
What’s this new collection about?
The new collection is something to show people the progression we are making as a brand. My focus is on the Spring/Summer 2010 line but I felt I needed to put something out there to show people the direction in which we are headed. The ‘Seek Thy Truth’ tee is inspired by a love for wanting to know more about the world, but more importantly knowing more about yourself. It’s in a family crest style because it reflects the way we as a brand think and operate. ‘Gotta get Dirrrtee to get Fresh’ is a design to show the more playful side to the brand, the phrase works brilliantly and the illustrations are killer. It may not be an official AW09 drop but over the winter months I will release several more items just to keep people interested, then when spring comes next year, BOOOM!
What’s the future for Dirrrtee?
The near future is to develop and progress even more, branch out into other items of clothing, look into offering items for our female fans and get more people knowing the name!
Where can you get the tees?
The tees will be available via our online store www.dirrrtee.com from Friday 16th October. The site has a blog which is updated regularly by several writers and is always worth checking out!
So, you heard it here first, Dirrrtee’s new tees Drop today, Friday 16th and to celebrate their latest release, the lovely Dirrrtee is offering you readers and EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT OF 10% on the new tees up until 22nd October. Just enter the code AIRSNGRACES on checkout. Hurry though, these tees are likely to fly off the shelves. I for one am gonna get my grubby mitts on ‘Gotta Get Dirrrtee to get Fresh’
Tags: Dirrrtee, Milly Cundall