V WANT IT: WILHELMINA'S "UNSIGNED" T-SHIRT

Wilhelmina's t-shirt collaboration with Hiro Clark is witty enough to wear ironically, and simple enough for the serious - in short, I need it.

Modeling agency Wilhelmina debuted a new capsule collection, created with LA-based brand Hiro Clark.  The collaboration of three t-shirts including one that reads only "UNSIGNED," and I simply must have it.

I can’t decide if wearing this shirt would make me look like a raging narcissist trying to let the world know that, despite my incredible looks, I’ve never been scouted. Or perhaps the more cynical citizens of the world will recognize it as a critique of Instagram culture making everyone with more than five followers a “model,” better yet, “aspiring model.” Either way, I’m into it, and I’d like to think that Wilhelmina would be happy with either interpretation.

There’s certainly a tongue-in-cheek vibe to the capsule; the other two shirts read “LOOKS CAN KILL” and “Model Casting, Please Knock.” Plus, they’re limited edition because after all this is New York City—a land of exclusives.

NEXT LEVEL T-SHIRTS: THE 10 BEST SMALL-BATCH TEES OUR EDITORS SWEAR BY

Has there ever been a better time to sport a T-shirt? We don't think so.

For one thing, menswear is enjoying a shift to more relaxed styles and for another, it seems like there's a wealth of well-made T-shirts on the market these days. Sure, you'll have to pay a bit more than your standard three-pack styles, but these small-batch shirts are worth the investment. Crafted from quality materials, today's best tees are cut into subtle, but thoughtful designs with body-conscious fits. 

 

ONLINE: HIRO CLARK

Launched by fashion veteran and New York transplant Andy Salzer, the Hiro Clark men's label oozes the spirit of Los Angeles.  The name alone perfectly reflects its cosmopolitan vibe, but it's obviously the range of designs that caught our eye, reflecting the iconic lifestyle and adventure that's so often associated with this sprawling megalopolis.

Salzer, obviously a keen observer, captured all that plus what he found below the shiny surface, in an edgy range of limited edition men's tees.  Hiro Clark crewneck t-shirts are made from high-quality cotton jersey, emblazoned with carefully selected screen prints and texts, the designs epitomize the understated, if not laid-back, cool that everyone perceives as typically SoCal.  

Presented in Hiro Clark's first release are differently themed designs, including collabs with photographer John Arsenault, who also shot the brand's beautiful launch campaign, and another talented lensman, Michael Bevilacqua.

LE LABO RELEASES SCENTED SHIRTS WITH HIRO CLARK

Hiro Clark and fragrance maker Le Labo will change the lives of the incurably lazy and perpetually casually dressed, forever. The partnering brands are set to release a special line of scented cotton t-shirts featuring Le Labo’s iconic Santal 33 fragrance. And despite the jesting opening sentence, we do think this effort is something frequent t-shirt wearers will genuinely enjoy.

Le Labo’s co-founder Fabrice Penot shed some light on what sparked the idea saying, “T-shirts are something that lovers steal from each other; that, and their perfume. Fragrance is such a personal choice — so special, so unique. And since Hiro Clark does such limited batches of tees, it made sense to partner with them on this one-of-a-kind project.”

The shirts will come in a white or gray colorway and be available in two graphic prints. First is the “Woodcut” print which is inspired by the base notes of the Santal 33 fragrance. Second is the “Miracles” graphic which takes inspiration from the “elements of magic” inherent in the brand. Both prints are expected to survive up to a dozen washings in the machine, so the dark, smoky Santal scent will stick around for awhile.

HIRO CLARK EXPLORES THE DARK SIDE

LA is quintessentially known for its sunny disposition thanks to picturesque stretches of sandy beaches, palm tree-lined streets, and endless sunshine. But, the City of Angels has an unexplored dark side, too. When menswear designer Andy Salzer ditched New York and moved to LA, it was that very dark side that inspired Hiro Clark, his recently launched line of t-shirts for laid-back dudes.

In a city where casual attire is the norm and t-shirts are pretty much an all-day, everyday uniform, Salzer set out to make the menswear staple truly special. In addition to Hiro Clark's core black and white crew neck mainstays ($78), the label will also regularly roll out limited edition printed t-shirts ($128) emblazoned with dreamy visuals that tap into LA's shadowy side. And when we say limited, we mean really limited. Once it sells out, it's on to the next one.

With such a unique approach to menswear and cool perspective of LA, we wanted to know more about Hiro Clark. We caught up with Salzer to find out what prompted his big move to the West Coast, why he finds LA's dark side so enchanting, and more.

What inspired you to decamp to LA?
Why does anyone come to Los Angeles? We're all searching for something. Los Angeles is a great place to get clarity and think through your next steps. The beach, the weather, the super laid-back day to day—there's something inherently healing about this place. A friend always likens Los Angeles to a warm bath: It's warm and soothing and you just want to stay in that tub. That can be pretty enchanting.



You mentioned that you saw a darker side of LA when you arrived. Can you describe where you were and what that experience was like?
On the surface, Los Angeles is all glory and sunshine. That's what pulls you in. But once I got here, I started to scratch away at that glossy, shiny shell. Once you start exploring the shadows and move away from the spotlight, there's so much more to see: cruising the side streets, peering behind overgrown hedges, wandering empty beaches. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. You can't have one without the other.



You went from designing a full menswear line to basics. What inspired the switch?
I looked closely at my own closet. And I spent a lot of time just listening to what guys were looking for—something special, something you could wear every day but not see everywhere. Nobody wants more of the same. I opted to focus my energy on doing one item incredibly well and that's what brought me to the t-shirt. It's a menswear staple that's so often overlooked. In a city like Los Angeles, we live in t-shirts. After years of refitting, washing, sampling, and resampling, here we are.

Where are a few of your favorite spots in LA to find inspiration?
Oh, man. There are so many. More than anything, Hiro Clark is about seeing Los Angeles differently. There's a kind of impossibility about this city. It shouldn't really exist, but it does. We keep referring to it as 'Lost Angeles'.

IGNORE BASIC HYGIENE AND STILL SMELL GOOD THANKS TO THIS PERFUMED T-SHIRT

“I smell this all over New York and don’t know what it is!” a Reddit user once lamented on the site’s Fragrance thread. The “woody, smokey, leathery” smell that user crlbslx was trying to pinpoint was Le Labo’s Santal 33 perfume. At this point, it’s weird if you live in New York and don’t smell like the cult, small-batch fragrance, as GQ designer Griffin Funk once tweeted.

I’ve smelled it co-mingled with the scent of weed next to the Slurpee machine at an Alexander Wang Fashion Week party, in the Equinox locker room, on the wrists of many celebrity makeup artists, and once amidst the scent of broiling kalbi at a Korean-barbecue restaurant. But if the ubiquity of this sandalwood perfume and its ancillary laundry detergent isn’t enough, there’s another way to douse yourself: pre-scented Santal 33 slub cotton T-shirts.

Part of the “No Shower” collection, the scented T-shirts are a joint collaboration between Los Angeles T-shirt maker Hiro Clark and Le Labo that embraces the mysterious appeal of the unwashed T-shirt. Although the reality is that most unwashed T-shirts smell like something mildewy left too long in a Soul Cycle plastic bag, “No Shower” is inspired by the fantasy of a lover’s familiar and close (and presumably, non-funky) personal odor.

As Le Labo co-founder Fabrice Penot describes it, “Napoleon wrote to Josephine from the battlefield: ‘Don’t wash, I return in 3 days’ — [a] kind of 19th-century sexting. Imagine how sexy she would have been by opening the door only wearing a dirty Santal 33 Hiro Clark Tee?” Microcapsules woven into the fabric give the shirt Santal 33’s distinctive cedarwood blend, scenting it for up to six washes.

I received my “I Woke Up Smelling Like This” T-shirt in the mail and the scent was so strong I could smell it through the box and the plastic bag it was wrapped in. Although I felt a bit like a better-smelling version of Charlie Brown’s Pig-Pen when I wore the shirt consecutive days without washing it, no one seemed to notice. Friends leaned in for more lingering hugs than usual, while telling me that I smelled “fantastic.” I received appreciative looks from neighbors on the subway.

Once, I even wore it reluctantly to work out and my sweat has never smelled better (magically, the T-shirt was totally funk-free post-workout). When I finally threw it in the wash, it even had the happy effect of giving a subtle fragrance to everything else that was in the same laundry load, so that my sheets smelled perfumed, too. The fashion industry may love the niche and undiscovered — but when you smell this good, the omnipresent is hard to pass up.