This week, my schedule shifted a little bit. For the past year, Wednesdays have been focused on meetings, planning and professional development. It has been a nice break in the middle of a teaching week. Now, there has been a shift to having that planning day on Mondays. Don’t ask me why. I don’t get it. Anyway, this means that today I have not been teaching (although I did meet with some students), which has allowed me to be around online a bit more. As I was grading some of my modern US history homework, I saw a tweet from DDHQ.
I was not sure what they meant by a “collection” so I had to go check it out. When I went over to the website, it did not take long to figure out what DDHQ (Duran Headquarters) meant by collection. It is obviously a number of items that all feature the Rio cover. This led me to wonder what other collections existed. There are not other collections but “capsules” that focus on specific designs, including 1980 items and the gold crest design. Nonetheless, they are pretty much the same in theory.
Some questions popped into my head. What items are available in the Rio collection? Is the Rio cover worthy of a collection? What other designs might be good? Let’s take those one at a time.
The Rio collection features a number of t-shirts, including black and white ones with the regular t-shirt fit. Black and white t-shirts with a “women’s” fit are available as well. I noticed shirts that are described as “girls vest.” That is not a term that I’m familiar with. Are those in between t-shirts and tank tops? They look just like t-shirts without sleeves, I think. Beyond t-shirts there are three additional items: a coffee mug, a tote bag and a cushion. The cushion intrigues me the most. In closer examination, the cushion is 40 by 40 cm. Are there other items that could be included in this collection? I’m sure. We could make a list and send it to DDHQ. HA!
On that note, is the Rio album cover worthy of a collection? Obviously, the Rio cover art is simply iconic. Everyone knows the cover, even people who are not Duran fans. It is beyond famous. On that note alone, it is probably worthy of a collection. That being said, I am going to make a confession. It is not my favorite album cover. It does not excite me to buy more merchandise. Does that make me a bad fan?? I am not the biggest Nagel fan. I admit that both the 1980 capsule and the gold crest capsule appeal to me a lot more.
So, on that note, what other designs might be good to include in a future collection? What would you like to see? I wish that each era had a collection. For example, I would like to go back to buy some Astronaut related merchandise beyond the few random items that are available. What about more Seven and the Ragged Tiger era as opposed to just a few pieces?
I would love to hear what you all think about these collections!
-A
I grew up calling those sleeveless shirts, “muscle-shirts”. Sexist?? Probably. Anyway, true story – the first DD tee shirt I ever owned was a muscle tee with the slanted D’s and their five faces down the front with the eye logo on the back. -R
PS: as of 03/15/2021, they have removed the tote (was marked as sold out) and I never got the chance to see the cushion as it was already gone from the website… I was also really intrigue by the cushion but now that it’s gone… I guess I could do my own with an old tshirt !