DBDesigns’ slogan ‘Shirts to Show Off‘ doesn’t just apply to the vibrant, gamechanging designs you see on the exterior. Its also about what’s inside. We wanted to make a shirt to be proud of – a shirt to show off. And a major part of that comes with knowing that we didn’t cut any corners in crafting a luxurious shirt.

A whole lot of time has gone into the production of these shirts.

At times, it seemed hopeless. I had so many specific requirements, and I was just moving through suppliers, none fitting all of my criteria.

They say that the best results come after the greatest efforts of perseverance, and I really think that is true.

My vision for this brand is to have a major focus on self-improvement and social change. Hopefully thats pretty obvious to everyone reading this.

Can you imagine if these shirts were then being made from crap materials in sweatshops by workers with an average age of 4 and 3 months?

Would be pretty hypocritical.

I scoured plenty of corners of the internet to look for suppliers, and had some pretty ideal options price-wise. The only problem was that they weren’t able to meet all of my ethical requirements.

The first major selling point is the use of REPREVE polyester for the main fabric. We’ve always wanted to use polyester, due to its light, comfortable, durable and versatile nature. It can work for style, whilst also working for sports, or any other event where someone might wear a DBDesigns shirt. To then take it a step further, we found a fabric made solely out of recycled plastic bottles. Fully protected from microplastics and safe to wear, this responsible alternative is just another way that we aim to do good for the environment with this brand.

The sleeve cuffs and collars are made out a ribbed cotton knit fabric. Along the production journey, we were advised very often to use polyester for this too as its cheaper. “Nobody will know the difference, so the only one that’ll be impacted is you” one supplier notably said. Needless to say, they didn’t fully understand the vision of the brand. We don’t mind reducing our profit margins a bit, as long as the shirts are at the top of their field, and that means using the best materials.

Our logos are made using DTF print, which promises the most accurate, clear and durable visuals, able to capture millimetres of detail. We went through a lot of different options here – embroidery wasn’t accurate enough, normal sublimation print looked really basic and budget, patches were boring, silicon badges started peeling almost instantly. DTF printing offers something a bit different, an accurate, classy, tough premium option for the logos on the shirts – the top in the range for logos and badges.