Marinière (Sailor stripe T-Shirt)

T-Shirt / Given away free with the magazine Elle, the sailor stripe t-shirt designed by Jean Paul Gaultier forms part of the Born HIV Free campaign (August 2010)

As seen in kiosks in the summer of 2010, the sailor stripe: blue and white with a double ribbon the logo of the Born HIV Free campaign on the sleeve, is Jean Paul Gaultier’s personal emblem. The designer, who has written the words “Hope spreads faster than AIDS” over the heart, explains that “The heart is that of a mother, but stands for all hearts. It’s also a way of reminding people that AIDS can be contracted through sexual relations. The sailor stripe is something that really speaks to me it symbolises travel, the horizon, or simply hope. Of course, like all those who have lost a loved one, I feel deeply involved in the fight against AIDS. I myself lost the love of my life to the disease.”

To wear this t-shirt is to express your support for the Born HIV Free campaign. Launched on 19 May 2010, the campaign aims to raise awareness with a view to eradicating mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2015. It’s an initiative for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS: a humanitarian organisation seeking to mobilise funding from donor countries for the next three years.