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• 100% combed ring yarn cotton (basically, the best)

• 7.37oz/yd2 or 250g/m2 beefy, durable heavyweight

• softer, smoother, stronger, with higher absorbency

• oversized fit (think half size bigger than pure size)

• fabric dyed and enzyme washed for a no-shrink fit

• unisex

• made in istanbul

• live immediately



A t-shirt for those who would rather die a meaningful death than live a meaningless life.



The word ‘death’ hovers ominously over a picture of pastoral paradise where shepherds contemplate a skull on a milestone engraved with the words ‘et in arcade ego’ (‘even in arcadia I exist’ or ‘even in paradise there is death’). A stark reminder that even in the blissful utopia of arcadia, death is inevitable.



It’s a sharp ‘memento mori’, a nudge pointing at the inevitability of our demise and for exactly that reason, it’s a celebration of life. A positive call to action. A righteous wake-up call. ‘et in arcade ego’ demands that we find something to die for, a refrain constantly repeating ‘don’t be afraid of death. Be afraid of never having lived’. It’s a rock’n’roll dream screaming ‘be here now. Live immediately!’’.



The picture on the front of the shirt is the first use of the phrase in art, titled ‘et in arcadia ego’, painted by giovanni francesco barbieri (guercino), c. 1618–1622 (also known as ‘the arcadian shepherds’). Since then, ‘et in arcadia ego’ has become widely referenced in popular culture: goethe's italian journey uses it as its motto. Hans christian andersen has two of the main characters discussing guercino’s painting in his ‘improvisatoren’. William faulkner mentions it in reference to maury, a mentally disabled man in his novel ‘the sound and the fury’. ‘et in arcadia ego’ is the title of book one of evelyn waugh's brideshead revisited and is the title of the first episode of the first season of ‘brideshead revisited’. Cormac mccarthy named the judge's gun ‘et in arcadia ego’ in ‘blood meridian’. Tom stoppard called one of his plays ‘arcadia’ implicitly referencing the painting and the phrase. In the 2017 game ‘digimon story: cyber sleuth - hackers memory’, ‘even in arcadia, there am I’ is the name given to the 17th chapter and ‘et in arcadia ego’ is the title of the ninth and tenth episodes of the first season of star trek: picard.



‘et in arcadia ego’ is also packed with esoteric riddles that conceal ancient secrets. It is an anagram of ‘I tego arcana dei’, found in the warning for the maranatha puzzle and translated as ‘begone! I conceal the secrets of god’. Even better, nicholas poussin later famously made two more paintings on the topic that have become legendary in conspiracy circles (see our white ‘louvre’ hoodie and long sleeve ‘chatsworth’ black t-shirt).



All of this in one beautifully strong, elegantly tough t-shirt. What more could you ask for?



Bottom line: even in paradise there is death.



• affirmative

• impactful

• righteous

• be mindful of death