I’m Not Like You
Italian creatives take Instagram to T-shirts
The brainchild of Sicilian writer and musician Vittorio Bongiorno and accessories designer Marisa Bernardoni from Bologna, I’m Not Like You is a collection of limited edition T-shirts made by hand in Italy and emblazoned with an image taken and shared on Instagram. Thirteen styles have been produced in batches of 50, each of which features a unique hashtag that ties back to the photo-sharing app. Adopting the motto that every photo tells a story, IMNLY plays with the notion of actual and virtual reality—taking online images into the tangible (and wearable) realm and then back again, as users can explore the hashtags printed on each shirt in Instagram. A combination of special terms coined by IMNLY (#infinitetaste) and generic tags (#nyc) the hashtags serve as a call to action for wearers to delve deeper into the messages they choose to wear.
The idea of the narrative starts with the very origin of the brand, whose name comes from the title of a short story by Bongiorno. Based on music and coming of age, the story’s influence on the graphic-based project reinforces the layers of meaning behind every image, and the cross-pollination of the founders’ creative fields. Beyond what might find online, each shirt comes with a story by Bongiorno and a CD containing music chosen to accompany each style. The IMNLY online shop is in the works, and orders can be placed by contacting them directly. Find more information on their website.
