Tien’s new identity ‘reuses’ letters from famous fashion brands
The concept created by "Fcklck Studio" reflects the spirit of a Dutch vintage clothing store.
Based in Groningen in the Netherlands, Tien sells second-hand sportswear and casual fashion, with each item costing €10 (‘tien’ is ‘ten’ in Dutch). “Our rebrand starts from the insight that the world doesn’t need more clothes, just better use of what’s already there,” says Fcklck, the studio behind the new identity. “The direction was evident: reuse only what exists.”
The project was based on a simple principle related to overproduction and saturation in both fashion and branding culture, which was then applied to the creative professionals involved in the rebranding: “Why buy new clothing if there are already countless perfectly good garments in circulation? Why design a new logo if there are already so many logos out there?”
The result is a collage of used letters, “chaotically cut from brands found in ever-growing mountains of discarded clothing, [forming] an ever-changing logo.” The dynamic wordmark is combined with the medium of Untitled Sans (Klim Type Foundry) – a rich black on white and light gray – to calm the identity.
“No decoration, no fluff, just activating design assembled from borrowed parts,” the studio says. “This playful and witty communication nods to old-school Dutch functionalism, reminding us that the message is enough.” The system makes use of over 70 existing logos that one might find amid Tien’s racks – each supplying at least one of the four letters in the brand’s name (there are approximately 40 to 50 examples of each letter in the system).
“In application, we pushed even further, ensuring every physical intervention followed the same logic,” say the designers. This involved rebranding various pre-owned garments in a Tien style and reworking slogans – ‘Just do Tien’ and ‘The Intelligent Choice. Tien’ – alongside fitting in-store signage that could accommodate the branding programme.
A series of four used LED screens from Belgian company Ledblox carry the identity in the shop, and, say Fcklck, despite some broken pixels, the screens are in fine working order and complement the idea of re-use perfectly. “In the end, value doesn’t disappear if it’s reimagined with purpose the second time around.”
Credits:
All images courtesy of Fcklck Studio.
