I’ve never won anything before…

It’s not that I’m particularly unlucky.

I just don’t enter a lot of competitions!

They’re usually for prizes that I don’t particularly need or want.

But occasionally something catches my eye – particularly if it presents a creative challenge I can sink my teeth into.

Last December, I spotted a t-shirt design competition for Folk, a cool London-based clothing company.

I wear a lot of their stuff, and as I had a bit of spare time over Christmas, I decided to give it a go.

A few weeks later…

I got a runner up notification (ie: everyone who entered) and a 25% discount on my next shop.

At the time, I was a little disappointed that I wasn’t revealed to be the next Alexander McQueen.

But life moved on.

Then, just two days ago, Folk got in touch with me again.

This time, I was informed that yes, I’d actually won £1,000 (£500 cash and a £500 voucher).

Best of all, my design had been turned into a real t-shirt that’s for sale in their shop!

Yes indeed, you can now purchase an original Nick Laight piece ‘Bleached Stripe’. (I was shocked and a little smug when I saw they were selling it for £95!)

But this isn’t a sales pitch.

Nor is to show off (well, maybe a little bit 😊)

It’s to remind you that t-shirts are a fantastic ‘blank canvas’ product that have unlimited possibilities… AND endlessly enduring popularity.

And yes, they’re something that could make you money – even as a home-based online operator – without needing to touch a single garment.

Why This Everyday Garment is Big Business

Amazingly, the humble t-shirt has only been around since the early 20th century, starting out as US navy-issue underwear.

By the 1950s, Marlon Brando was wearing one in A Streetcar Named Desire and James Dean was rocking the look in Rebel Without a Cause.

This turned the t-shirt from underwear into outerwear… and made it rebellious and cool.

By the 1960s and 70s, the t-shirt was a way of representing your politics, musical interests and cultural tribe – whether that was Woodstock tie-dye, Che Guevara’s face or Grateful Dead band merch.

In the 1980s they got taken up by fashion designers, for instance those oversized CHOOSE LIFE slogan tee-shirts that George Michael’s Wham! used to wear.

And by the 1990s they were a staple of hip-hop and skater cultures.

Now we’re in a situation where t-shirts can be high fashion or low fashion… worn by everyone from billionaires to buskers, office managers to old-age pensioners… and widely used to promote events, businesses and bands…

So T-shirts offer unlimited niches that you could tap into.

You can use print-on-demand services to get them made for you and shipped to customers directly – without needing to invest upfront in stock.

Plus you can use AI to generate ideas, come up with slogans and create images.

It can all be set up via a platform like Etsy.com or Redbubble.com, with orders processed for you and sent to your POD supplier.

Which makes this the ideal starter product if you’re looking to set up an eCommerce business.

Now, I’ve covered POD t-shirts before…

But I thought it would be useful to update you on what’s trending right now…

The Latest Trends in POD Tees

T-shirts, especially custom or graphic tees, are still the most popular POD items at the moment.

But because of this huge popularity, some genres and niches are becoming oversaturated. For example broader subjects like astrology, Halloween or mental health.

So the key is to either find a unique twist or angle on these that disrupts the expected cliches.

Also note that there has been a shift away from minimalist design towards more chaotic, intentionally ‘bad’ design, or ‘anti-design’.

For example, harsh fonts, obvious pixelation, lo-fi digital aesthetics and strong, clashing colours – like this:

There’s also a trend for ‘retro tech’ memes, referencing the late ’90s and early 2000s for example:

• Fake Windows error messages
• Retro file folders
• Classic clip art
• Old email popups,

For example, here’s a popular one referencing those old Tamagotchi toys.

According to a report from Adobe, holiday destinations are really popular, for example, European cityscapes or specific places like Corfu.

They also suggest images of exotic food and drink fused with strong graphics and bright colours.

Style wise, it might be worth considering going for one of these subniches:

• Goblincore – earthy images, mushrooms, mossy stones, and overgrown nature.

• Fairy Grunge – woodland fantasy meets decay, with skeletal leaves, runes, and moody palettes.

• Dark, Gothic, Academic – anything about magic, books, tarot..

• Indie Sleaze Revival – messy, punk designs, and ‘cheap chic’ slogan t-shirts that you might have seen in the early 2000s.

• 90’s pop culture revival – the nineties are making a comeback, both for people who were there originally, and kids who are being inspired (for good or bad) by the fashions of the era.

• Wellness-with-a-twist– sarcastic affirmations, yoga goths, ironic ‘self-care’ jokes

It also might be worth knowing that the ‘Pantone colour of the year’ is Mocha Mousse, a warm, brown hue (used in the example above) which is ideal for vintage-inspired or nature-inspired designs.

Finally, one of the most interesting micro-trends I’ve read about is the use of logos, slogans, and names that look like they could be from a premium label.

So if you’re going to get a range of t-shirts made, consider creating a ‘company name’ that you can add to your print-on-demand designs.

Be ironic, playful or mysterious, suggesting a super exclusive underground label.

Just don’t copy (or mimic) anything that exists already, or try to pass yourself off as a big fashion company.

How to Get Started

If this sparks ideas for you, then start with 3–5 designs and work on those.

You can use AI to help you improve or craft a slogan – or even generate the image.

Remember, there’s also a great new AI tool that allows you to edit AI images without any skills or experience.

Nano Banana is Google’s new Gemini 2.5 image editor. It’s very fast and it gives you the sort of control over the edits that you’d get with Photoshop.

Just upload a picture and then type what you want changed.

When it makes the changes it will keep the rest of the design as it is, rather than reinventing the whole image (which is what happens with most AI image creators).

You can try it via this link: https://gemini.google/overview/image-generation/

Once you’ve got something you like you can use free mockup generators like Placeit to drop your design onto real models wearing your t-shirt.

Anyway, if you try this out, I’d love to see your amazing t-shirt creations!