Editorial 04.
Garment magazine: the
t-shirt
issue
This year’s edition of Garment Magazine marks a bold new chapter. After 22 years, we’re taking a fresh and unexpected approach, all through the lens of one iconic piece: the t-shirt. Familiar and versatile, the t-shirt has long been a canvas for culture, activism, and everyday comfort. But this story comes with a twist. What if the t-shirt disappeared?
In this issue, we explore the power of presence and absence, celebrating the t-shirt’s endless potential while also challenging you to rethink its value. One side of the magazine imagines the world with it, the other without. Together, they highlight the depth of a garment often taken for granted.
our magazine(s)
upper mag - 'with' t-shirt
bottom mag - 'without' t-shirt
Flatlay of our magazine
self-binding process
This year, the pricing was slightly higher due to the use of two separate printers and binders - one for printing and binding, and another for hand-gluing the magazines to ensure a high-quality finish. This two-step process increased our overall production costs compared to previous years. We calculated the final price based on these production expenses, while also taking into account competitor research to ensure we remained within a competitive range.
However, the production timeline turned out to be longer than anticipated, which impacted certain key moments that had already been scheduled and discussed. From our total print run of 1,400 copies, we took 100 copies aside and glued them ourselves. These were essential for our launch event as well as for the Athenaeum bookstore. The binding of the remaining magazines was scheduled to take place only after these important dates, requiring us to act quickly and take matters into our own hands to meet our deadlines.
Despite the increased price point and logistical challenges, we achieved 425 presales. This not only covered our production costs but also reaffirmed the value our audience continues to see in the magazine.
exhibitation of the mag
After months of work, research, and collaboration, we launched the 22nd issue of Garment Magazine, an edition dedicated to the T-shirt as a cultural symbol. We celebrated the launch on June 19th at Bar Benelux, transformed for the night into a hot pink space, our signature color for the issue. The evening featured live DJ sets, a T-shirt painting station by artist Osayiense Osawe, and speeches from the editorial team. Following the event, the magazine was exhibited in the window of Athenaeum Nieuwscentrum, where it remained for a week, quietly sharing our story with the city.
[visit the 2nd phase & branding page of this minor here]
