Uniqlo Is Launching a Line of T-Shirts Dedicated to Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Currently on display in Melbourne, the National Gallery of Victoria's world-first exhibition Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines is pegged to be one of the hot-ticket cultural events of this summer. But if browsing the two iconic artists' works on a wall just isn't enough, you're going to want to check out the latest line of threads from clothing retailer and sponsor Uniqlo. The Japanese brand has just unveiled its new Crossing Lines collection of t-shirts, inspired by key pieces from both Haring and Basquiat's own repertoires.

Launching overseas this month before dropping in Australian stores in January — all as part of Uniqlo's UT range — the mens' and womens' collection is the result of a collaboration with the Basquiat Estate and creative consultants Artestar. And it's filled with famous designs from the two late art legends, translating a number of Haring and Basquiat's works into t-shirt form.

You'll spy Haring's famed crawling baby figure, Basquiat's recognisable scrawl from his piece Untitled (World Famous) 1983, and the tribute crown symbol painted by Haring after Basquiat's death. The horseshoe sketch makes an appearance, as do the familiar wiggling outline figures, just like the ones Haring famously painted on a Collingwood wall back in 1984.

It's not the first time Uniqlo has gotten behind a major art event with some fresh designs. The label's collaboration t-shirts with acclaimed American artist Kaws proved a sell-out success when they launched earlier this year, coinciding with NGV exhibition Kaws: Companionship in the Age of Loneliness.

Uniqlo's Crossing Lines collection will hit Australian stores in January 2020.

Keith Haring | Jean-Michel Basquiat: Crossing Lines is on display at the National Gallery of Victoria until April 13, 2020.