T-shirts lined the walls of McKissick Museum as “Identi-Tee: Beyond the White Shirt” hosted a showing of Dr. Laura Kissel's documentary "Cotton Road" Monday evening. Identi-Tee sought to show the history of the T-shirt from its humble beginnings as an undergarment to its modern form as a display individual identity.
The exhibit had T-shirts from various eras and styles. From custom tees to political slogans "Identi-Tee" detailed the transition of the T-shirt to a cultural icon. Among the shirts there were displays of great moments in T-shirt history. These displays chronicled the emergence of the Hanes company, Marlon Brando in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and the use of T-shirts as a form of activism. Identi-Tee exhibited not only T-shirts, but also the cultural significance of this article of clothing.
“Cotton Road,” a film by Laura Kissel, documents the transnational movement of the commodity of cotton from local farmers in South Carolina to textile manufactures in coastal China. The film shows how modern globalization has impacted local and international markets and has brought different challenges to everyone involved.
Kissel stated that the theme that drove her through her research and travels was transparency in manufacturing and marketing.
“Because we have moved a lot of manufacturing in the United States overseas, we no longer have any kind of connection to where things come from,” she said. This project seeks to expose the reality of the textile industry and show Western consumers where their clothes come from and how they are made.
"Identi-Tee" and "Cotton Road" collaborated for this exhibit to show how the history and future of textiles and T-shirts. This collaboration also aimed to make visitors more mindful about the source of their purchases. The collaboration allowed visitors to see how the cultural icon of the T-shirt was created and the conditions of the workers throughout the entire process.