Design a T-shirt and have it too!

Ever met a person walking around with a T-shirt that says ‘I love NY’ and when you ask them how New York was, they say they picked it up at a sale in Commercial Street?

Or someone who bought clothing because there was artwork on the front and it looked ‘pretty’? This impersonal feel and disconnect one has with their clothing is what ‘Concept Nation’, a new clothing brand, is trying to bridge. 

The online clothing brand has introduced a new concept whereby the people can design their own T-shirts. What makes it different from getting it printed at Printo is that it’s a community of artists and designers who get together and select what is ‘good art’. It doesn’t cater to everyone’s whims and fancies.

Vibhu Pillai, the founder of Concept Nation, says that there is an algorithm guiding the site. The designer who gets more votes is selected and their artwork is printed.

While this may seem like it is riddled with holes, Vibhu says, “We have a group of artists who are interested in comments and giving good feedback. The work is also curated by one of our team members to check for obscene or plagiarised content before it is sent out for printing.” 

Vibhu launched the company in November last year. He used to be a business analyst at a multi-national company but was disillusioned with that lifestyle. “I had the idea when I was in college itself but I began developing the site a bit later. It started as an experiment; the idea is to let the consumer make the decision about the design,” he says.

He says he wants people to be a part of the creation and ideation process. “I see people wearing T-shirts that they don’t connect with...it’s not just something you’re wearing but the tee speaks a lot about yourself.” 

According to him, people pick up what is available but their designs are dynamic. “Most brands send researchers to fashion weeks to find out the latest trends but we want people to create their own unique products. We analyse the trends right there and then.”  

They currently have around 112 members and anywhere between 1,000 to 1,500 people visiting the site. And the core team consists of six members and they are soon planning to expand to other clothing and apparel.

“We didn’t know who we should cater to: the consumer or the artists. We decided to go for both and it has become like a community,” he says. 

T-shirts are churned out everyday in bulk and there’s hardly any space for the designer. In an effort to engage the artist behind the scene, they had an event where they painted on the tees directly. It’s this personal touch that makes them unique. “There’s a story and people know the artist,” he ends.