Hasta La Ideas

Predict Africa’s fate with bold tees and hoodies

Raised in Paris by a French mother and Congolese father, photographer Nicolas Premier traveled to the Republic of Congo to investigate his roots for the first time in September 2001. Shocked by the destruction and poverty plaguing much of the capital city Brazzaville due to the civil war, Premier painted a series of portraits inspired by this reality.

When he showed his work at a group exhibit in Paris, Premier made a one-off shirt for the exhibit, which plainly stated “Africa is the Future.” Following its success, he initially only produced a small run of the tees, but now peddles the altruistic duds online.

Premier has been documenting the various people wearing the shirts on the AITF blog, which includes everyone from Nigerian-German singer Nneka to American hip-hop duo Dead Prez. AITF tanks, tees and hoodies start around €17.