Limited Run!
- Individually Sponge Painted By Hand -- Each has it's very own unique look!
- These tees have the look of the 1980's, but the "retro-lutionary" glow in the dark caliber of today!
- The Green Glow In The Dark Sponge Paint gives the tee a cool, almost camo, look in the light -- and glows like green fire in the dark!
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Features a new re-issue of 1988's "Lava Rock" design!
- Glow in the dark, retro, 1980's pink, white, and green 2X Puffed Ink!
- Authentic 80's look and feel
Originally starting with the surfer trend of the 1980s, sponge-painted t-shirts became a super popular fashion trend between '87 and '91 -- and usually featured mega bright colors to create an "acid wash" look & feel that couldn't be created by the same "normal" acid wash process. The normal process of acid wash used bleach -- and bleach was dangerous, and gave the garment maker less control over the color they wished to use.
Sponge painting requires real people to make it -- it can't be printed -- and uses a sponge to apply multiple layers of paint, creating a textured and personalized look on the fabric. As the fashion trends became brigher and brighter towards the late 80's sponge painted apparel surged in popularity -- both in department stores, as well as inspiriing a surge of DIY enthusiasts -- creating their their own sponge-painted masterpieces.
Looking back, the "sponge paint" trends reflects the growing emphasis on individuality and self-expression in fashion -- and made a significant impact in pop culture, music videos, and iconic fashion statements.
As years have passed, technology has developed new ways to create the "sponge look" through printers -- but there is NOTHING like an original, hand painted tee in terms of authenticity. Most brands don't make it, because it is extremely expensive -- both because of the amount of paint used and the manual labor it takes to create them, so they pretty much only exist in high end brands for hundreds, and even thousands of dollars.
Gecko worked with our original sponge artist from the 80's to make this -- who continues to create sponge painted apparel for Supreme and other major sought after brands.
We are not sure if we will remake this particular tee again, because the cost of it is massive -- especially with the glow in the dark ink. We created this specifically for Designercon, but are putting a few on the website for Gecko Fam and fans that can't get to Anaheim for the show.
Own a piece of nostalgic fashion history -- that symbolizes the innovative and expressive spirit of 1980s fashion!