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For the first time in over 30 years!
This IS THE VERY LAST "ALL OVER" BELT PRINT RE-ISSUE for the forseeable future!
The Puffed Lava Forever Gecko "All Over" Tee is created with an original, retro, monster of a 'belt-print' machine -- It's as authentic 1980s as possible without actually being made in the 1980s!
Belt Printing Machines are a relic of the past and there are only a few working ones left in existence!
This is a tee that was almost impossible to keep on the shelves due to high demand in 1989, and is epic for a daily wear, or to look cool as hell at a 80s/90s party.
A perfect gift for any Gecko Hawaii Fan searching for that authentic 80s throwback/retro look & feel.
The puff ink is designed to look like molten lava rock -- and it is so on point!
HISTORY OF GECKO WALL ALL-OVER BELT PRINT
Gecko Hawaii was THE VERY FIRST brand to make a Belt Print tee with a graphic printed on top of it! And this exact tee -- "Gecko Wall" -- was one of our most popular belt print designs EVER. The hand-drawn art was so popular that for the next decade, we used the design on all sorts of awesome apparel.
Originally released in 1987, "Gecko Wall" was about 5 years ahead of it's time. Belt printing became very popular in the early 90s -- around 1991.
Today, there are VERY FEW Belt Printing machines left in the ENTIRE country -- so these tees are extremely hard to make, and rare to find.
Each one is hand screened - a lengthy and time consuming process.
Until Gecko's "Forever Gecko" and "Gecko Wall" belt printed tees (with graphics stamped on them) were released in '86, '87 & '88 -- many brands did not want to create such a shirt for two main reasons:
1. The design was so different, that they were not sure how people would react to it, or if it would sell.
2. It uses 4X the amount of ink and took twice as long to make (because the design was on both sides -- plus the additional printed graphic).
But Gecko Hawaii was all about risk taking -- and the "Gecko Wall" Black Tee sold out so fast, that at first it was tough to keep up with the demand. Then, of course, other brands took notice and jumped on board once the concept turned out to be a success.
This tee is a thicker cotton with a slightly larger collar -- just like back in the 80s!
We are super stoked to bring it back -- but we will know that it will sell out quickly. These are really rare tees, as we mentioned, belt printing machines are almost non-existent these days with the expense, the advent of digital printers -- and that it takes a specialist to make them -- which there are even less of. We don't know how long we will be able to continue to replicate it -- we also plan on making other colors eventually -- but it only comes from one place, one specialist -- so it takes time.
Get yours while you can!
