A Tribute to Indonesia's Surprisingly Fashionable Campaign T-Shirts

There are two things that are nearly impossible to get rid of in Indonesia: cringey posts on social media and political campaign T-shirts. The humble T-shirt is, by far, the most visible part of any campaign. Sure candidates may splash the cash on star-studded concerts and huge "pick me" posters, but the T-shirts will live on in our closets forever (or at least until we finally get around to Marie Kondo-ing our lives).

These shirts aren't just a reminder of political campaigns won and lost, they're also big business. On average, screen printers make up to Rp 7 billion ($477,000 USD) in profits during the election season (that is, if the candidates don’t run away before paying off the invoices).

And here at VICE's Indonesia office, we don't think these shirts, with their gaudy colors, bold graphics, and campaign slogans, are tacky at all. No, they're unique, and, if worn right, part of a totally fashionable outfit for all those Instagram poses. I mean seriously, just look at these shirts. You wish your favorite hypebeast labels were bold enough to release anything like this.

So we spent the last two weeks searching for the best old campaign shirts we could find to show you, our readers, how to pull off some stunning looks in next year's election season. We found incredibly well-made shirts, like those purchased by Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (the son of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) for his failed run in the Jakarta governor's race. We also found shirts of a future that never was, like one promoting a Joko Widodo-Muhaimin Iskandar 2019 ticket.

They're all so much more than simple campaign swag. In each one is a record of someone's hopes, ambitions, and unkempt promises. It would be a shame to just let them sit in someone's storeroom, never to see the light of day again, so we pulled in one of our favorite photographers Angga Pratama and had him help us show how amazingly fashionable Indonesian elections can actually be.

Photographer: Angga Pratama
Stylist: Arzia Wargadiredja T-shirts by:
Sujay 5 Workshop
Jl. Tosiga VII No.9, RT.14/RW.4, Kb. Jeruk, Kota Jakarta Barat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 11530 0852-8307-6789
Jl. Arsip 2, RT.9/RW.7, Srengseng Sawah, Jagakarsa, DKI Jakarta, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 12640 | 0812-8769-7778

Model: Adi Renaldi, Yvvete Tanamal, Firman Dicho Rivan, Farraz Tandjoeng
Make up: Dini Lestari
Wardrobe: Ilyas Rivani