Hopera

Wearing the Louvre, Essentially. Art-History Tees from a Genderless Design House.

Hopera Design is a genderless art-based fashion brand operating on rather a charming proposition: that the great archives of historical art and decorative design — the engravings, the fashion plates, the arabesque interiors, the half-forgotten 19th-century illustrators — should not be quietly mouldering in museum drawers, but should be, well, on T-shirts. Worn out and about. By people. The brand's working motto is "Art to the People," which one could roll one's eyes at, except they have rather earnestly meant it. Each piece pairs a piece of public-domain visual history with sustainable, ethically produced organic cotton garments — so the wearer is, in effect, walking around with a small piece of the Louvre printed properly across the back.

The catalogue runs to organic cotton sweaters, heavyweight T-shirts (regular and long-sleeve), and a parallel print line for those who prefer their art history on the wall rather than the chest. Source artworks include G. Barbier's Costumes Parisiens: Grande robe du soir from 1913 (rather glamorous), Meyer Goldbaum & George Stonehill's Estate of Isaac P. Martin from 1936, and several plates from Emile Prisses d'Avennes' magnificent 1885 study of Arabesque decoration — including the rather wonderful "Hopera's Angels" Plate No. 04. Cotton is organic throughout, production is properly ethical, and the runs are deliberately small. The unexpected effect is that Hopera pieces look, at first glance, rather like quietly cool streetwear, and only on closer inspection reveal themselves to be 138-year-old French illustrations. Which is, I think, rather the point.

For more pieces from independent makers, browse our Women's Fashion and Men's Clothing collections. Find brands chosen for how they make things via Sustainable Brands, find more for the home in Home Décor, and find values-led picks via Shop by Purpose.