Thu, 4 Dec 2008 12:08

Despite it being over a month since Barack Obama won the US election, promotional clothing bearing his name is still proving to be a major seller. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, products featuring the image and message of the president-elect, which are known as Obama-belia, have accounted for 50 per cent of all candidate-related sales over the past year. Some experts are even suggesting that Mr Obama is now a fashion icon.Barack Obama will take up his role as the 44th American president in January 2009 and also become the first ever black man to occupy the White House in the process. Online printed clothing retailer Cafe Press estimated that the interest in Obama-wear would begin to taper off following the election victory, but this has not proved the case. Marc Cowlin, the site's spokesman, said that Obama-related products are still selling well. This includes digitally printed clothes bearing post-election messages, such as Yes, We Did and Hope Won. Mr Cowilin explained to the newspaper: "Not too long ago, if you wanted to wear a t-shirt of a candidate, you were pretty much limited to getting it at campaign headquarters. Now, with the internet, this is the first time they've been available on such a large scale." In Hawaii, where Mr Obama was born, the first batch of printed t-shirts designed by local company Print Proz sold out in just a few days, local news network KHNL revealed. Daniel Fox owns Columbus-based apparel company Skreened where 90 per cent of recent printed clothing sales for his firm have been Obama-related. The company has created Harry Potter-themed promotional t-shirts, printed sweatshirts and embroidered polo shirts bearing the slogans Voldemort Can't Stop Barack and Wizards for Obama. "We were quite honestly worried that shirt sales would drop off dramatically," Mr Fox told the Columbus Dispatch. "Fortunately for us, quite the opposite happened. It seems to be deeper than just a trend or a fashion. It seems that people are really looking to identify themselves with an ideology."It's a similar story at Urban Outfitters, which has sold Obama-related promotional clothing from early on in the election campaign. Caitlin Reno, spokesperson for the store's San Francisco branch on Bancroft Street, told the San Francisco Chronicle that "we're selling even more now" and that "people are constantly coming in asking for them". The biggest seller is a design by street artist Shepard Fairey which features an Andy Warhohl-inspired image of Mr Obama with either Hope or Progress emblazoned underneath. "I've been creating images for 20 years, but nothing has come close to this," Fairey said in an interview with CBS News. "I think it's due to the emotion behind Obama. Young people and artists especially respond to authenticity. And whether he's just very good at seeming authentic or he's really authentic, I think he has a lot of us convinced."US magazines, such as Time, Rolling Stone and Ebony, have also produced promotional clothing which features the magazine's cover images marking Mr Obama's victory. It is believed that the popularity of these embroidered sweatshirts and digitally printed clothes taps into the desire to own a piece of history. Previously, the most popular political figures in terms of printed clothing designs have been largely from outside of America, such as Cuban leader Che Guevara. Therefore, Mr Obama marks the first American since Martin Luther King to gain such popularity. However, the Obama-themed printed clothing and embroidered fleeces have also proved occasionally controversial. Some individuals have been stopped from wearing their Obama themed printed t-shirts and embroidered sweatshirts because this was viewed as making a political statement. After all, not everyone voted for him to enter the White House. Despite this, it is predicted that sales will increase again during Mr Obama's inauguration on January 20th as more people prove keen to show their support for the new president.