All aboard!  The nostalgia for travel and the wearable mementoes of those adventures have inspired the launch of Materialust, a unique collection of upscale t-shirts featuring rare and exclusively licensed vintage artwork from coveted destinations across the globe. Designed for men and women, the brand first pulls into the depot at Las Vegas for the Project show during MAGIC, subsequently rolling into high-end boutiques and specialty stores nationwide in Spring 2006.

“Just about everyone has an emotional connection with travel,” says co-founder and creative director Alfredo Malatesta.  The idea for the brand came from his appreciation of traveling and travel artwork.  The graphics on Materialust shirts derive from vintage travel brochures, matchbooks, pamphlets, napkins, even street graphics.  But the brand also understands its expected consumers.  “I just got back from Peru and bought some t-shirts with great art, but the fit isn’t ideal and the feel is a bit rough,” says Malatesta.  “Materialust solves that by bringing great looks, fit and feel together.

With the slogan “Choose Your Destination,” in the spirit of a luxury airline, Materialust takes “passengers” to Paris, Bombay, Tijuana, Las Vegas and Honolulu with its first collection.  Other countries, cities and unique places are scheduled for future “flights.” Each shirt has a unique hang tag (resembling a vintage airline luggage tag circa 1964) along with the airport codes of each destination, which also informs its color palette.  Made in the U.S. from 100% cotton, the products are also distinguished by a special wash that makes each garment look and feel like a classic old souvenir t-shirt from a favorite trip.

Debuting with five styles of shirts for men and women, each between $50 and $60 retail, the brand expects to expand into other product categories including outerwear, travel bags, belts and accessories as well as a children’s collection.

Materialust will be carried at such boutiques and specialty stores as Fred Segal, Lisa Kline, American Rag, E-Street Denim, H. Men, M. Frederic, Intuition and Blue Bee, among others, in major markets including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Miami and Dallas.  Design, production, warehousing and corporate facilities are located in Los Angeles.

Materialust co-founder and creative director Alfredo Malatesta spent several years with L.A.-based apparel company Trunk from its inception in 2003, in charge of marketing and licensing initiatives.  Previously he was a manager at The Firm, handling the likes of Enrique Iglesias as well as worldwide promotional activities for The Backstreet Boys, Korn, Limp Biskit and other artists.  Appropriate to his founding of Materialust, Malatesta earned his bachelor’s degree in History from UCLA in 2000.

Learn more at  www.materialust.com

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Matt Meyerson Sr. V.P., Product Placement
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