T-Shirt & Sweatshirt Book. Spring-Summer 88

London: Design Intelligence Limited, 1987. Original presentation folder, assembled in-house, of British trend forecaster Design Intelligence Limited’s exclusive report on t-shirts and sweatshirts for spring and summer 1988. A twenty-three-year-old Juergen Teller, at the very start of his career, shot the cover image of a woman in a classic white tee and jeans. The ten oversized fabric samples collected here promise “up to the minute graphic images,” and represent a mood board of ‘80’s pop iconography: a pattern of lime green boxers emblazoned with handguns; a kinetic collage of pastel make-up tools and overwrought speech bubbles; moody Afro-inspired monochromes; (truncated) cartoonish primary-colored speeding cars. The enclosed letter from managing director Joy Elphick to her American marketing agents emphasizes the importance of the swatches’ size. Given the scale of the graphics, “it would have totally ruined the effect of them to cut them into small pieces to stick into the books.” She then cautions her team, in all caps: “YOU MUST NOT SELL THE FABRICS.” Elphick adds that sales have already been robust, and that the company can “develop art-work for any of the designs” at the customer’s request. Design Intelligence was among the agencies that forecast trends through proprietary reports printed in small runs, shared with fashion houses via agents: this appears to be their first t-shirt and sweatshirt report, which was scheduled to be released twice yearly. See Regina Blaszczyk and Ben Wubs, eds., The Fashion Forecasters: A Hidden History of Color and Trend Prediction (Bloomsbury, 2018). A fine example of a fascinating and ephemeral resource, with ten oversized original fabric samples. Single volume, measuring 11.5 x 8 inches: [4]. Original punch-bound plain brown wrappers containing a printed bifolium sheet and ten large color patterned cotton fabric swatches, measuring 11.5 x 8 inches each, laid into plastic sleeves. Typed letter signed by Design Intelligence managing director on company letterhead, dated 15th April 1987, laid in. Wrappers worn, light wrinkling to text leaves and letter. (Inventory #: 1004091)