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Last Exit To Nowhere | Film & TV Inspired Apparel

Last Exit To Nowhere are a small group, made up of designers, illustrators, screen printers and photographers. They were established in 2007, and have become the leading UK-based supplier of hand screen printed t-shirts. All of the items that they sell are inspired by films or television shows, and in addition to clothing, they also sell a variety of accessories ranging from mugs and coasters, to keyrings and greeting cards. If you have a favourite movie or television show, chances are Last Exit To Nowhere will have clothing or accessories that are featured in, or inspired by the places, companies, or characters from it. They ship items all over the world and pride themselves on their excellent customer service. I will include links below to socials, as well as featuring some designs and products that they currently stock. You can click on the image below to take you straight to the Last Exit To Nowhere website.


 

From a personal point of view, I have been using Last Exit To Nowhere for quite a number of years. I forget exactly how long, but my favourite t-shirt is, or was (as sadly it is no longer one they stock) a KAB Radio t-shirt inspired by the radio station from John Carpenter's The Fog. The image below of the t-shirt was very kindly to us supplied by @FoxySnob over on Twitter. I have also had some Alien and Aliens inspired t-shirts from them, including a U.S.S. Sulaco one from Aliens that I wore when I met Lance Henriksen (who played Bishop in the movie), back in 2013. He took the time to chat to me about it. I also had a Weyland-Yutani t-shirt and I wore that one when I met Michael Biehn (who played Hicks in Aliens), back in 2015. I do have some great photos of both these meetings, but unfortunately they are currently sitting in stasis on my old laptop, in a cupboard, where it fails to boot up. Need to get that fixed. More recently I have picked up some t-shirts with summer looming, this time opting for the newer Weyland-Yutani one, which conveniently arrived on Alien Day (April 26th), along with The Shining inspired Overlook Hotel t-shirt, and The Fog inspired Antonio Bay one. I should point out that I placed my order from Last Exit late on the Sunday evening and my package arrived in Ireland on the Wednesday. Super fast delivery and as mentioned, conveniently as well for Alien Day. There are some options over on the website for you regarding shipping.

 

We spoke to Mike from Last Exit To Nowhere and asked him a few questions... 1. Tell us how Last Exit To Nowhere all began back in 2007?

Our online shop LastExitToNowhere.com was launched in October 2007, but I can trace my first film inspired T-shirt design back to the early 90s. My brother (who still prints our apparel) has been a screen printer for over 25 years, so I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of my film inspired designs ideas printed onto T-shirts, as and when I wanted one. Over time it occurred to me that if I liked wearing these T-shirts I’d designed, that only referenced fictional film locations, companies and corporations etc., then someone else out there would enjoy that idea in the same way too.


The concept was new at the time, there was literally no other companies selling T-shirts of just film inspired references, in the way that we do. For that reason, a number of media sources such as The New York Times, The Irish Times, Empire Magazine and Playboy Magazine among others, soon picked up on what we were doing. And the seed was sown.


2. How different is the company now than it was back then?

The company is very similar to how it was then, only the unit space is larger and we employ a few more people for the day to day running of the company. The original ethos of the company has remained the same.


3. Can you take us through the process from idea to end product?

Once the idea is set for a reference, I usually sketch up some initial ideas and then work them up in Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. The finished artwork is transferred to films, screens are made and then the finished garment is screen printed by hand.


4. What hurdles have you encountered over the years?

Occasionally we have legal hurdles to navigate, but thankfully we have an amazing team that work on our behalf to negotiate such matters.


5. Can you tell us about some of the commissions that you have had?

It's always great to have commissioned work. We've done a lot of official T-shirts for StudioCanal, Universal Pictures and some Ben Wheatley films (Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England). We did a range of designs for Warp Films 10 year anniversary which was great fun too.


6. How much did the pandemic impact on the company?

I think it's fair to say the pandemic had a huge impact on everyone, indirectly or not. However, we had a reasonably successful year in terms of orders, probably due to the fact that people weren't going out, and a T-shirt is for most people an affordable luxury.


7. Have there been any designs you could not use due to licencing?

There are few designs that reached the end of their licensing agreement which prevents us from releasing them again.


8. What are your personal favourites, from the designs, past or present?

Some of my favourite designs from the back catalogue include USCSS Nostromo, Tyrell Corp, Amity Island. In terms of latest designs I'm currently wearing our The Adventures of Luke Starkiller T-shirt (inspired by the draft title for Star Wars: A New Hope) so that's also a favourite.


9. Can you reveal any future plans for Last Exit To Nowhere?

We've got a number of new T-shirts lined up this summer which we're excited about. To keep up-to-date with our latest release information check out or NEWS PAGE. Or sign up to our mailing list.


10. On a personal note, are there any plans to bring back the KAB Radio t-shirt? Occasionally, we bring back old T-shirts to the range. I'll make a note for future ideas.


 

There are some big name testimonials on their website and below are just a few of those... “Clever and industrious. Very cool indeed.” Simon Pegg “For serious movie geeks, these shirts are esoteric in the coolest possible way.” Irish Times “A one-stop shop for everything movie cool!” Total Film “Great designs, great ideas, high quality shirts. Brilliant!” - John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor - Industrial Light & Magic “For my birthday last year, Steve Pemberton got me a Thorn Industries t shirt. It’s inspired! Thank you for creating it to wear!” Reece Shearsmith More testimonials can be found in the About Us section as well as on the Testimonials page.


 

Many thanks to Mike and the rest of the team over at Last Exit To Nowhere, firstly for letting us cover what they do, and to showcase just some of the products that they create and sell. But also for being, in my eyes, the one-stop-shop for all of your television and movie related items, from clothing and apparel, right through to all of the accessories. As a huge sci-fi and horror fan myself, being able to buy and wear clothing inspired by my favourite movies, I really could not recommend them enough. You have probably walked past someone in the street at some time or another who is wearing something bought from Last Exit To Nowhere. And having been a customer of them myself for many years, I will continue to be one for many more to come. I have only featured just some of the amazing designs that they stock, with t-shirts, hoodies, coasters, and baseball caps. There is so much more available over on their website. If you want to follow them on social media, or indeed just have a look through their social feeds, here are the direct links to those pages: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

 

#LastExitToNowhere #FilmAndTVInspired #ClothingAndApparel #UKBasedClothingRetailer

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