Hype [hahyp]

– noun
1.  extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion
2.  a deception or hoax.

The term ‘hype’ has become very prevalent over the past few years, describing items of fashion and style which are highly desirable and often sell out as quickly as they are released. In a culture of pre-orders and blogs this web-driven way of living is taken very seriously by some, with these aspirational items going for massive amounts of money, both at the time of sale and when being re-sold as deadstock. This relatively new culture is fuelled by the internet, ‘hype’ products gather almost feverish attention months before their release, sneak previews and leaked-line sheets give ardent followers a glimpse of these much anticipated releases.

With so much money and hard-worked involved in getting your hands on ‘hype’ products, the scene and it’s major-players can sometimes come across as being somewhat stoic. French t-shirt label Hype Means Nothing intend on going some way to dispelling this myth.

In the short time since they started out they Hype Means Nothing have managed to attract a wide range of fans and collaborators from across the world of celebrity – both in reality and fiction -  with their individual concept. Each tee takes the idea of ‘celebrity’ and ‘hype’ and prods a little bit of well placed fun at it. Each premium printed tee features famous faces pretending to wear fashionable sunglasses by making glasses shapes with their hands, with a catalogue-esque description of real ‘hype’ sunglasses including their price, below.

This is a brilliantly done and refreshing parody of a movement that often gets accused of taking itself too seriously, and this balance of actual hype with a light-hearted twist – in our opinion at least! – works very well.