Alien Tourist T-Shirts | Rachel Gorman Online

2023

Alien Tourist
T-Shirts

Speculative Design

Experimental Fashion

Alien Tourist T-Shirts is a series of speculative works designed not for the here or now but for a fictional future in which alien life forms tour an abandoned but intact America to learn about our value systems, cultural norms, and achievements.

Created under the tutelage of famed speculative design duo Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby, this project presents the American everyday through a removed, alien lens — and in doing so, hopes to encourage new insights into aspects of modern life Americans may otherwise take for granted.

Contributing Team:

Arly Amaya (Fabricator)

Questions under artistic consideration:

What will Americans leave behind when we go?

What have we built that will last beyond us?

What have we made that will be our cultural legacy?

What do our things say about us?

What would an alien notice about America? What would it imagine we care about? What would it brag to its friends about having seen?

Alien T Shirt with three neckholes and an extra round, large body, with an image of garbage decorating the front

A very small alien tourist t-shirt, closed all the way around except for a sleeve in the middle, with a parking lot decorating the front

An alien tourist t-shirt with four small arms, no shoulders, and a large neck. The shirt is decorated with a highway overpass on the front of it

An alien Tourist T-shirt that is medium size, rounded with two very small neckholes and one sleeve. Decorated with a picture of an empty strip mall on the front of it

Alien Tourist T-shirt Creative Process Image

Creative Process

After developing the concept behind Alien Tourist T-Shirt, I brought it to life by first exploring the kinds of forms and fits that non-human bodies might require from a t-shirt

Using bug bodies and underwater creatures as inspirational reference points, I created hundreds of potential patterns and then moved forward with a handful of options that felt distinctly "alien" but retained enough proximity to a t-shirt to remain recognizable.

I also embarked on a series of material and print experiments to ensure that the final t-shirt images were clear, color-balanced, and sized appropriately.

Finally, I created a series of muslin prototypes to explore final shapes and image placement. Once the prototypes were finalized, I worked with a professional seamstress to create the final, polished pieces.

Next: Ritual Masks for a New Age

R. Gorman