Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1983

  • Work on this object began.

2020

2025

  • You found it!

Uniform T-shirt, Surrounded Islands

This is a Uniform T-shirt. It was designed by Willi Smith and made for WilliWear Productions.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Vasari Project as part of Willi Smith: Street Couture.

It is dated 1983. Its medium is screenprint on cotton. It is a part of the department.


Designing the T-shirts for Surrounded Islands inspired Smith and Mallet to pursue more opportunities to bring art into everyday life. The artist T-shirt project they launched in 1984 made the work of contemporary artists affordable to the general public.

It is credited Courtesy of The Vasari Project, Special Collections & Archives, Miami-Dade Public Library System, Miami, FL.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Willi Smith: Street Couture.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318802500/ |title=Uniform T-shirt, Surrounded Islands |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=6 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>