Converse has joined forces with local musicians to create their own range of merch

Merch with meaning.

Last month, Converse celebrated some of the best in the business for Aus Music Month, tapping into its global All Stars collective to select 10 emerging creatives to collaborate on the merch of their dreams.

Available now on music retailer 24Hundred, the limited edition collection features merchandise from up-and-coming local musicians Pania, Boy Soda, DJ Talisha and DJ Tinika, made in collaboration with designers Bianca Casarotto, Tori Talaina and DocG and shot by photographers Fern Arisara, Monica Monteleone and Justin Wiriadi.

For more fashion news, shoots, articles and features, head to our Fashion section.

Converse created a hands-on experience for the All Stars, engaging Australian artists Beci Orpin and Gaetano ‘Tino’ La Luca to share their knowledge to help diversify the musicians’ skill sets, as well as their income streams. In fact, the sales of the collection go straight back to the artists involved to reinvest in their creative careers.

The collection includes four original designs printed on 100 per cent cotton tees, a number of which have already sold out in some sizes. Boy Soda’s tee comes in two colourways and features doodled flowers and shrooms accompanied by bubble lettering in bright green or purple.

DJ Talisha’s white baby tee design has a bubblegum and baby pink airbrushed heart finished with black sparkles. Pania’s tee comes in both a cropped and full-length option, featuring a retro-futurist set of chilli-red lips and some of the cutest tooth jewellery I’ve ever seen.

DJ Tinika opted for a crisply warped serif font in lime green on a black drop-shoulder tee for a boxy oversized fit.

Converse has a long history of supporting underrepresented creative industries, and this latest project was an empowering and educational contribution to a struggling industry. 

Live music hasn’t exactly been thriving lately, with a number of well-loved venues closing across the country. With fewer opportunities to share their music live, and even fewer events to generate press and sell merchandise, our musicians need us now more than ever.

The chain of reactions that can be generated from a single shirt can’t be underestimated.  Exposure can snowball from the smallest of features and connections, so sharing your support by wearing artists’ merch is a tiny action that can result in big changes for them. 

Purchasing from the collection directly financially supports our local music scene and creative industries, and allows you to invest your money in locally-made merchandise and design. It’s a win-win before you even factor in how appealing the T-shirts are.

You can shop the collection here.