{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O301404"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O301404/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HE9543/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HE9543/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2014HE9543","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HE9526","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2014HE9540","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O301404","accessionNumber":"T.649-1997","objectType":"Vest","titles":[{"title":"The Leather Brotherhood","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"This singlet was printed for London Gay Pride 1985. The base garment was produced by Body Zone of London, whose vests and singlets were popular with men who wanted to show off their physique, including Freddie Mercury (who owned several Body Zone tops), but the design would have been screenprinted on by someone else. either a custom-printing company who was prepared to print explictly gay content, or by an indivdual working solo with access to the necessary equipment.  The design is a 1980 Tom of Finland illustration of three masculine men wearing leather, titled \"The Leather Brotherhood.\"\n\nTom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920-1991) was one of the first artists to become internationally famous for his erotic artwork for gay audiences. His drawings of hyper-masculine men frequently engaged in explicit adult activities were very popular with their target audience and even non-explicit artworks such as this were designed to appeal to gay men. A man wearing a top such as this would have worn it as a way of making his sexuality known to others, either as a form of defiance, or as a way of letting others know who he was attracted to - or both.\n\r\nThis shirt was part of a large collection of T-shirts collected by Richard L. Velleman who died in either 1994 or 1995, which included several shirts with LGBTQ+ and safe-sex themes, including rare London Pride shirts from 1985, alongside band shirts from Velleman's favourite rock and punk bands, others depicting skateboarding, surfing, and partying; and random amusing or funny shirts.\r\n\r\nWe do not know who Richard Velleman was or anything about him beyond that he collected and wore these shirts, many of which show clear signs of having formed part of an actively and enthusiastically worn wardrobe; and that the collection of shirts was donated to us in his memory. The choice of T-shirts is often deeply personal and subject to the wearer's individual taste, acting as a wearable billboard for their beliefs, tastes and other opinions.","physicalDescription":"White cotton vest printed with a Tom of Finland-style illustration of three men in leather.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Tom of Finland","id":"AUTH332265"},"association":{"text":"artist","id":"AAT25103"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Body Zone","id":"AUTH407847"},"association":{"text":"manufacturer","id":"x33306"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cotton","id":"AAT14067"}],"techniques":[{"text":"printing","id":"AAT53319"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Printed cotton","categories":[{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"},{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"},{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Gender and Sexuality","id":"THES48940"},{"text":"LGBTQ","id":"THES266921"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2014HE9543","2014HE9526","2014HE9540"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"011","id":"THES306461"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Vest","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"place":{"text":"Finland","id":"x28847"},"association":{"text":"drawn","id":"x30545"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1985","earliest":"1985-01-01","latest":"1985-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Donated by Andrew Shanahan in memory of Richard L. Velleman","dimensions":[],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"The design screenprinted on this singlet is a 1980 Tom of Finland illustration of three masculine men wearing leather, titled \"The Leather Brotherhood.\" Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920-1991) was one of the first artists to become internationally famous for his erotic artwork for gay audiences. His drawings of hyper-masculine men frequently engaged in explicit adult activities were very popular with their target audience and even non-explicit artworks such as this were designed to appeal to gay men. A man wearing a top such as this would have worn it as a way of making his sexuality known to others, either as a form of defiance, or as a way of letting others know who he was attracted to - or both.\n\nThis singlet was printed for London Gay Pride 1985. The base garment was produced by Body Zone of London, whose vests and singlets were popular with men who wanted to show off their physique, including Freddie Mercury (who owned several Body Zone tops), but the design would have been screenprinted on by someone else. either a custom-printing company who was prepared to print explictly gay content, or by an indivdual working solo with access to the necessary equipment. \n\nDaniel Milford-Cottam,16/04/2025","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Printed cotton vest by Body Zone, London, for London Gay Pride 1985, with an illustration of three men by Tom of Finland, titled \"The Leather Brotherhood\" from 1980","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"gay","id":"THES266884"},{"text":"homoerotic","id":"x34639"},{"text":"bikers","id":"AAT258998"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.649-1997"],"accessionNumberNum":"649","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1997,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2025PK9600"],"recordModificationDate":"2026-01-01","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":true}}