POP/FASHION MASH-UP TING: Michael Stipe designs a shirt for Lacoste, Janelle Monae appears in Gap ad

I’ve never quite understood how people can spend over £30 on a t-shirt. But those people exist - I’ve seen them - and may be interested to know that R.E.M’s Michael Stipe has designed a polo shirt for crocodiley clothing folk Lacoste.
If you’d like to know “the concept” behind the shirt - and no, it’s not just “create a shirt people can wear” - allow me to enlighten you by quoting from the website:
For his take on the LACOSTE polo, Stipe created a monumental two tone photographic image depicting a crowd at a stadium concert from the perspective of a performer on stage. The chaotic crowd image contrasts against colors of the LACOSTE petit pique fabric that both obliterates detail and accentuates silhouette.

So, it’s a shirt with a crowd scene on it. Which is nice and all, but it’s not terribly imaginative, is it? It’s kind of like if they’d asked Lewis Hamilton to do a shirt and he just plonked a big red racing car on it. Which he probably would do, the talented dullard. Michael appears to be concentrating very hardly in that there photo, but this is the best he could come up with? Shame on you, Mickey.
In other pop star/fashion crossover news, Janelle Monae isn’t doing a whole lot to counter thoughts that she is becoming more cult clothes horse than chartbound singing person.
Her latest move is to appear in an ad for Gap alongside labelmates Flo Rida and Trey Songz, among other people. Now, I raved about Janelle and her style not so long ago, but I think it might be an idea for the number of songs she records to at least equal the number of chic photoshoots/ad campaigns she does.
So there.

[image: lacoste.com/michaelstipe]