Greater>Than Clothing

In this post, I’ll describe the second of two prototype designs that are currently in the works, as mentioned earlier. The first can be found here.

Continuing with a theme of learnings from other cultures (I now realize), this tee is inspired by the Bushidō code of the samurai warrior class of feudal Japan. I have long appreciated the stoicism, honor, and discipline that the memory of these legendarily deadly men continues to evoke. I think a big part of what I dig about the samurai, as opposed to other fighters respected historically for their effectiveness, was their lack of blood lust. Killing was their vocation, and they went about it with the utmost seriousness. Much of the Bushidō code revolves around preparation for death, which couldn’t help but remind the samurai of the gravity of ending someone else’s life.

In that context, it makes sense that one of the seven virtues of the way of the warrior was “jin”, best translated to English as “benevolence”. Far from dispassionate killing machines, they were trained to maintain a charitable disposition, to live their lives with kindness in their hearts. On the other hand, of course, they were called upon to kill without mercy when the situation called for it. It is this dichotomy that I hope to explore with this design.

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This is the first of two prototype designs that I have commissioned (as I explained earlier). I present the idea here as part of my attempt to demonstrate (rather than simply explain) what Greater>Than Clothing is about. I am also a firm believer in the power of creative cross-pollination; I’ll be ecstatic if this idea inspires you in your own creative work (whatever that may be). Greater>Than is also committed to being open to new ideas, so if you have something to say about this design, please get in touch with me by leaving a comment on this post or by visiting the contact page.

Huginn and Muninn were the ravens of the norse god Odin. They would perch on his shoulders and keep him informed by whispering in his ears. Huginn represented thought, news, learning; Muninn represented memory, wisdom. Odin relied on them, and feared that something would happen to them. Without them, he would be cut off from the world, without the knowledge necessary to govern his people. As Odin explained, as much as he feared the loss of Huginn, he feared losing Muninn more. Remembering what you have learned is more important than learning new things.

I think this lesson carries new resonance today, as the blessed Interweb has given us access to so much raw information. In an age of RSS-enabled hyper-throughput, Odin reminds us to be careful what we retain. Not all knowledge grows up to be wisdom (Wisdom>Knowledge). The shirt is about this idea, and the design uses the ravens to deliver the metaphor. Read the rest of this entry »