We The People
The We The People clothing line was conceived in order to marry two concepts into an artistic medium that people could literally wear in public.
The first concept was the brainchild of our company's founder. He had always desired to start a clothing line that could take the simplicity of a tee-shirt and turn it into a message of significance. The second concept was the ideological artistry of our company's co-founder. His vision was one of simple statements and images that, when juxtaposed, would provide the viewer/wearer with a complex philosophical and political idea that could be reduced to its simplest form.
Together, these two concepts were blended to create a line that is much more than something one puts on in the morning to cover one's nakedness. It is an artistic expression, open to many interpretations, delivered in a verbally and graphically efficient manner. It is delivered to the viewer as quickly as possible. Each message takes but a second of focus and concentration to download into a subject's brain, and a moment to hit and create a visceral response and opinion.
This artform is dedicated to allowing the viewer/wearer to form their own subjective opinion, independent of the intent of the designers. Our goal is not so much to hit people over the head with our own ideology, as it is to tickle and incite the philosophical and political responses in us all. We may be from different eras, ethos, races, and walks-of-life, but what unites us all are common desires for truth, freedom, justice, and righteousness. This is especially true of the American consciousness. We The People taps into this consciousness by taking the vernacular and iconography held so dear by all Americans and twisting it in such a way that it forces the viewer/wearer to reexamine and reaffirm these ideals which we take for granted.
A simple shirt can awaken us and make us question the nature and state of our being.
A simple printed slogan and image can create a most visceral and instinctive reaction to ourselves and the relationship we have to the world we live in.
Indeed, the main goal that Almost The Coast Apparel embodies in our We The People collection has almost nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with introducing a new concept to the fashion world, and that is simply to create a tee-shirt that becomes a conversation piece. Literally, a piece of art designed to start a philosophical dialogue in the most Socratic sense.
It's not so much what the shirts mean to us... but rather, what do they mean to you, The People?