For most of 2016, well-designed tour merch was a way show your respect for an artist and look great at the same time. But the trend reached its saturation point and now, given everything happening in Washington, you’re more likely to see young guys and girls standing around in the rain and cold as an act of protest, not because they’re queuing up to get their hands on some screen-printed T-shirts. (Also, for what it's worth, you can just get the T-shirts at Barneys now.)
Bringing the idea of tribute merch into 2017 is Chicago streetwear designer Joe Freshgoods (born Joseph Robinson), who runs a label called DMB. His collection, entitled “Thank You Obama”, is a seven-piece homage to the Obamas for eight years of serving as America’s First Family. And just like 2016’s concert swag, it’s great looking. Robinson enlisted fellow Chicagoan Chance the Rapper to model and call attention to the goods. (Chance’s own love and respect for Obama has been well documented so it was an appropriate union.)
Robinson explains the motivation to create the collection on his "Thank You Obama" microsite:
This isn’t Robinson’s first rodeo though. In fact, he’s made waves for his timely streetwear releases in the past. Several years ago his crass "I wanna fu*ck Rihanna” beanies grabbed headlines (along with a very warranted cease and desist letter from Rihanna’s team), while his cheeky "Yeezus 2020” T-shirts also caught some attention in 2015. He also recently produced a series of "Fuck Donald" T-shirts printed with an American flag on the chest. They are now completely sold out.
What makes the "Thank You Obama" pieces different is that, unlike tour merch (and Robinson's typical troll merch), they probably won't feel stale in a week or two. As far as we're concerned, an airbrushed "Barack and Michelle" T-shirt will never go out of style.
