DEBORAH HARRY PORTRAIT T-SHIRT

sacai releases a unisex T-shirt printed with a portrait of Deborah Harry on 23 October. The photograph is by Robert Mapplethorpe and dates from 1978.

Harry sang with Blondie and was one of the defining figures of the New York punk and new wave scene. Mapplethorpe photographed her several times, and this black and white portrait, taken in 1978, is one of the best-known images among those works.

sacai is the Tokyo label founded by Chitose Abe, known for hybrid garments that combine different pieces in one. Here the approach is far simpler: the portrait is transferred onto a T-shirt, with no additional graphics. The shirt is offered in two colours, black and white.

The image is credited to the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, with the licence handled through Artestar in New York, which indicates that the shirt is an officially licensed product rather than a loose homage.

The T-shirt costs 25,300 yen, tax included. It is sold at DOVER STREET MARKET GINZA and on the sacai online store from 23 October.