Launching December is the limited edition Maison Martin Margiela charity t-shirt benefiting HIV/AIDS. The charity AIDS T-Shirt has been present in all Maison Martin Margiela collections since Fall/Winter 1994/1995. Each T-Shirt is produced in a different colour with contrasted text every season and bears the text marked below in English:
The t-shirt was designed to be purposefully ambiguous in order to create dialogue between the wearer and those who see the shirt. When the thirt is worn it is no longer possible for others to read the text printed on it (most of the text is on the inside at the back of the V-neckline). A dialogue on HIV/AIDS is there encouraged once another asks the wearer to explain what is written on their T-Shirt.
A percentage of the sales is donated to ‘AIDES’, a French organization dedicated to fight the HIV virus and take care of patients living with HIV/AIDS (www.aides.org). Over the years, 170,000 T-shirts have been sold and brought a contribution of over 700,000 euros to ‘AIDES’. Unfortunately, the virus is still around and that action is still valid.
In addition to the English version, Maison Martin Margiela will also create a t-shirt in a different language each year for World AIDS day, starting with Japanese. The shirts will be sold exclusively in Maison Martin Margiela stores worldwide starting December 1.
