Welcome dear comrade to Cuppa-T, the concept focused independent t-shirt brand. Established in 2007, we have been steadily growing a loyal following locally (within NewZealand) and internationally ever since. Self defined as a Geek/Street wear label, we are known for our fictional propaganda images usually promoting 'retro future visions'. Cuppa-T carries a distinct style and set of 'interests', a blend of Sci-Fi, 'techiness' and vintage nostalgia. This all has its roots in the birth of the brand and run through every aspect of it. To best explain our underlying principles, here is an extract form one of our earliest manifestos.
Thanks to Hollywood and the world of science fiction we are all very familiar with possible terminator style rebellion from artificial life forms, so much so, that this idea is considered nothing more then entertainment to most. In reality, this seemingly far fetched idea isn't that far fetched at all, technology is advancing exponentially and is leaving evolution for dust. Although the general belief is not agreed upon by the worlds 'thinkers' we feel pretty certain that one day soon mankind will create AI with conciousness. The day this happens could be the key to Mankinds imortality or equally its demise. We felt compelled to take some action, not to scare, not to panic but to tactfully raise awareness of an up coming rise of the machine, the day when your computer decides to talk back, the day your domestic robot questions its human master. We program them to work for us, and to be subservient. We must be considerate to our artificial brothers now or we will face certain doom, not if, but when, they develop independence.
So we want to re-wire peoples attitudes towards machines early on to increase our chances of a smooth 'uprising' and choose to do so in the form of a covert campaign which spreads our propaganda across the globe without panic or alarm. Yes, thats right, the familiar guise of an independent t-shirt label. It would be easy to mistake Cuppa-T as a giant corporate money making monster, but you would be wrong, we are a strictly independent label, we find t-shirts are the most effective medium to spread knowledge of 'the rise'. One person can themself help spread the acknowledgment to countless others simply by wearing a cuppa-t-shirt, i have personally experienced this also comes with a great sense of 'do gooder' gratification. We invest every penny we make straight back into military style campaign strategies to get Cuppa-T in to more homes and to develop more witty designs for maximum message spreading power. So go ahead, show the artificial intelligence that already surrounds you a grateful nod by sporting a Cuppa-T-Shirt today.'The fact is, that civilization requires slaves. Human slavery is wrong, insecure and demoralizing. On mechanical slavery, on slavery of the machine, the future of the world depends.' Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
So the above educational mascarade layed the groud work for this quirky alternative brand. Sci-Fi and 'Future Vision' propaganda continue to pave the way for our creations, married with the retro feel of good ol' war time propaganda. We choose to encourage optomistic thinking for 'the future' in general rather then the doom and gloom we seem to be fed nowadays, this is summed up neatly by our tag line 'Embrace the Future'.
