'WILLIE NORRIS INSPIRED & APPROVED MIXTAPE SHIRT', 2022

F1RST T1ME APPROACHED WILLIE NORRIS; CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER FOR TOMBOYX, EX-DESIGN DIRECTOR OF BROOKLYN-BASED MENSWEAR BRAND OUTLIER AND HOMOSEXUALITY’S LARGEST PROMOTER; TO CREATE THE GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR HIS FIRST MIXTAPE TITLED ‘WHENEVER I POP’. WILLIE NORRIS INSTEAD APPROACHED F1RST T1ME WITH THE SAME IDEA; TO UTILIZE HER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TO CREATE A “PERFECT BOOTLEG” OF HER WORK.

F1RST T1ME BUILT FROM THE GROUND UP THE FOUNDATION OF THIS PROJECT’S VISUAL REPRESENTATION, UTILIZING HIS EXTENSIVE PERSONAL COLLECTION OF WILLIE NORRIS’ WORK THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AS REFERENCE. GAINING APPROVAL FROM WILLIE HERSELF; F1RST T1ME RELEASES THE ‘WILLIE NORRIS INSPIRED & APPROVED MIXTAPE SHIRT’, ALONGSIDE HIS FIRST MIXTAPE, ‘WHENEVER I POP’.

A FIRST IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY; A BOOTLEG APPROVED FOR DISTRIBUTION DIRECTLY FROM THE ORIGIN OF THE SOURCE MATERIAL. A CONCEPTUAL TAKE ON THE FAKE MERCHANDISE WE PURCHASE OFF THE STREETS, TO ACCOMPANY A COLLECTION OF SONIC SIGNATURES ONLY FOUND IN THE STREETS.

THE FRONT OF THE SHIRT DISPLAYS A SPOKEN WORD FOUND IN THE OUTRO OF THE MIXTAPE IN F1RST T1ME’S FONT OF CHOICE, OVER AN OFFSET WILLIE NORRIS RED BOX. TRUE TO THE NATURE OF WILLIE’S TEXT FORMATTING, THE FIRST LINE OF TEXT RUNS ACROSS THE COLLAR OF THE SHIRT. THE BACK OF THE SHIRT DISPLAYS F1RST T1ME’S IMMEMORIAL LOGO—A CLOCKFACE WITH ONLY THE NUMBER 1 DISPLAYED AND CIRCLE—A HOMAGE TO MARTIN MARGIELA’S NUMBERED LOGO TAG.

WILLIE NORRIS UNDERSTANDS THE PROVISIONALITY OF THE BODY; F1RST T1ME STYLISTICALLY CHOOSES OVERSIZED PIECES. AS A RESULT, THE SHIRT ONLY COMES IN TWO SIZES; XL (OVERSIZED) & XXL (ARTISANAL).