While most of the world waits with baited breath for the winner of the soccer (football) World Cup, all of us t-shirt enthusiasts get our own little competition. The second T-1 World Cup is helmed by Shigesato Itoi and is basically a T-shirt playoff based on gross sales. 24 designers from 13 different countries are taking part in this tee-slangin’ extravaganza. The first T-1 World Cup had only japanese designers, but this time around there’s a lot more international flair. Amongst the participants are Stefan Sagmeister, Nando Costa, Klein Dytham architecture, Singapore’s Phunk studio and Japan’s contingent of Naoto Fukasawa and Jun Aoki. Coinciding with the actual World Cup, this competition also runs from June 9th to July 10th.
All shirts are available online and are expected to ship in early August 2006, which means you’ll have to wait a bit after the competition for them to arrive. The winner of the competition will be the designer whose shirt sells the most, across all sizes–and that person will be declared the T-1 World Cup Champion! So support independent t-shirt designers and buy a great shirt while you’re at it. Via Jean Snow