Never Have Family Photos Looked So Chic

Ignore pulling out your phone to display family photos or placing a locket around your neck with a loved one’s face in it. Imagine being able to wear your most treasured memories on your back.

Thebe Magugu, a South African designer, began experimenting with this concept two years ago when he created his “Genealogy” collection. Thebe was inspired by old photos of his mother and aunts and even included his grandmother’s portrait in a wax print on one of his shirts.

“It is a source of pride that every home in the township where I was raised has family photos on display,” Mr. Magugu remarked. Thus, I reasoned that wearing one on a shirt made sense.

However, after I wore it, everybody complimented me on the shirt and said they wished they could own one.

With the launch of the Heirloom shirt project last month, anyone could visit the Thebe Magugu website, upload a favorite photo, and create their own glossy, unisex shirt for three weeks. This allowed those dreams to come true. In order to break even, Mr. Magugu had hoped for 50 orders. Rather, he was inundated with several hundred requests from individuals worldwide (Michelle Obama placed an order for one featuring a picture of her mother, Marian Robinson).

“Someone would try and upload Lady Gaga, but none of them felt frivolous,” Mr. Magugu had been concerned.

He claimed that “there was an overall sense of tragedy in all of them.” The majority of submissions featured deceased individuals.

“I believe there is a significance to asking the spirits of the dead for support,” he remarked. “I always think of my grandmother when I’m feeling uneasy, insecure, or out of place because I’ve always talked to her about getting into fashion, and she always says, ‘One day I’ll be front row.'”

Even though his grandmother passed away in 2009, Mr. Magugu claimed that wearing her shirt was a powerful symbol of charm. I believe that holds true with lot of people.

To be completely honest, I think this is one of the biggest projects I have ever worked on.

This, along with the fact that he continued to receive emails from clients who had missed the project deadline, led him to decide to turn the initiative into an annual event with a variety of themes. While maintaining the basic shirt as an option, Mr. Magugu plans to add a shirtdress for women and a jalabiya for men next year. “I’ve sketched it already,” Mr. Magugu said. The range of styles will remain from XS to XXXL.

Meanwhile, the first shipment of shirts is scheduled for delivery in early December, in time for the holidays. According to him, the shirts will also serve as conversation starters and a test case for how fashion can foster human connection beyond the concept of a novelty or souvenir tee.

He remarked, “Perhaps we’ll get to know one another in a different way.” In order to achieve this, a few of the buyers from this year consented to share the origins of their shirts.