Finale Designs, Finn cultured+cured and Lloyd Hoffman

Who wears white t-shirts anymore? It’s all about the message you send to the world and if you’re gonna say it out loud you might as well scream it from your chest. So many to choose from; so many designs to wear. How can you possibly choose from amongst them all? You can never have enough, and luckily brands such as Finale Designs, FINN cultured+cured and Lloyd Hoffman have helped to expand our closets that much further. After all, what’s another t-shirt?

Vancouver based Finale Designs was established by two Vancouverites in their very own basement. Designers Vincent Chan and Matthew Miyagawa were both involved in the local street scene and wanted to add something to the fashion industry. The result was a collection of graphic tees that are humourous, tongue-in-cheek, rugged and sexual, set against an array of distinct colours and shapes.

Some of the designs include references to hip hop culture, throwbacks to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and even a shirt with 30 R&B female artists noting “Dreams of Fucking an R&B Bitch.” Brilliant. Co-founder Matt states, “Our inspiration comes from everything that surrounds us. Pop culture, girls, comics, cartoons, music, film and our friends around us.” Ironically Matt’s favourite t-shirt is a plain white v-neck. Go figure.

Meanwhile, FINN cultured+cured is keeping us in the Eighties with their Spring/Summer 09 collection of slim fitting tees and eclectic combinations of neon blue, pinks and yellows. This Montreal-based company prides itself as a lifestyle brand for today’s media- and design-obsessed youth. Designer Vicky Kelechian and Tony Iannone note “We like to create pieces that blur subcultures yet still remain true to the original inspiration. We’re giving you an idea; it’s up to the wearer to take it and make it their own and create their own unique look…and why not even another subculture? Inspiration is infectious. We feed off each other.”

Each piece in FINN’s men’s collection is unique in its design and each graphic is organically splattered on the front and back. Each is a statement on its own. The women’s collection finds sophistication yet playfulness in the new and original shapes it explores including references to old school shoulder pads and original graphic tees. The epitome of street wear. Hell, the epitome of Montreal and straight up coolness.

And then we’ve got Lloyd Hoffman: “a vibrant and graphic collection of shirts featuring images of all the people and places that shaped his life.” Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Janice Joplin, Roy Orbison, Lou Reed and Miles Davis are just some of the faces you’ll find on the shirts of the designer.

As a child raised in New York, he worked alongside his father, and quickly became immersed in the world od music, art and fashion. Now Lloyd has created a vast collection of all the places and people he has seen and encountered. Designs are vintage-inspired throwbacks to the late artists that inspired him. Lloyd Hoffman has hundreds of tees to choose from and he has not made it easy to pick just one.

www.finaledesign.com
www.finnbrand.com
www.lloydhoffman.net

Words: Sharon Ko
Photography: David Ellingsen @ Theyrep.com
Styling: Toyo Tsuchiya