I believe Symbolika is an Israel-based t-shirt store as that’s where the t-shirt was shipped from, though they may be in Goa, India. From previous communications I know they had a design studio in Goa at one point and their Twitter says they are in Goa. The t-shirt was made in France. (Update: Made in Trance. That’s the slogan. Silly me!) Symbolika doesn’t believe in borders! Here’s what they have to say:

Since 2001, symbolika is dedicated to producing highly unique, experimental visionary and psychedelic artworks inspired by shamanic experiences, infused with elements from spirituality and nature. our vision is simple – inspire and get inspired.

Symbolika T-Shirt Review

Symbolika sent out one medium black 100% cotton t-shirt creatively called “dmt hd men t shirt”. Hmm…. Anyway, the name of the shirt is unimportant in reality but it sometimes gives me, the reviewer, or you, the shopper, an idea of what the shirt is about. Luckily there are some tags on the page: 3d, entheogen, psychedelic, trippy, visionary. OK, I don’t really know what the shirt is about still but I guess if you are into this type of thing you will have a better understanding than me.

Let’s look at the t-shirt itself. As mentioned it’s 100% cotton and it is nice and soft while at the same time appearing to be quite durable. It’s slim fit which I like and long but not too long, at least for my frame. It’s long enough to tuck in if I need to but still not so long as to look weird if I don’t. My impression is that it is slightly better for me in all aspects than a standard America Apparel tee. Of course I’d need to wash it a dozen times to really know how it lasts.

Along the years we have developed and evolved our silk screen printing techniques – symbolika artworks take into account the “space between the lines”, preferring to use the colour of the fabrics as an integral part of the colour palette, thereby reducing the thickness of each print, resulting a more comfortable and more wearable fashion item.

The prints (back and front), while not really to my taste are impeccable. The colors are vivid and, as far as I can tell, the minute detail is flawless. The large back print has an area with vivid colors that looks like it is placed over a more muted arrangement of colors. It looks great and it adds character to the print. Again I don’t know what the images symbolize but the front looks like it has four heads connected to each other as does the back. At the bottom of the back print there is an abstract man lying on the ground.

Branding and Extras

There is a small logo at the bottom left corner of the t-shirt on the front. The Symbolika logo is very cool and adding it to the t-shirt gives the t-shirt an even more premium vibe. There is also a printed tag on the inside neck of the t-shirt. It has M for medium in between two eyes with the url below it. Underneath that there is “made in trance” (which I thought said made in france) text and there is “MANUFACTURED IN ISRAEL” text at the bottom. Between those seemingly contradictory declarations you’ll find the care instructions printed stylishly with some hexagons making it look somewhat like a chemical formula.

The mailer was a plain white job with a Symbolika sticker on it. There were three more new stickers included in the pack. I’m not sure what people do with these. In this house the best we can hope for is that my daughter sticks them on something.

Website

The Symbolika website is very professionally done, modern and responsive. It is easy to navigate and easy to find out more about the business. The homepage takes time to load completely but it’s fun. You should check it out.

There are about 20 different designs to choose from and Symbolika also sell things like hoodies, tank tops, Thai pants (currently out of stock) and dresses. They also sell a bag (out of stock) and some lamps. If you like this style, I think you will love the lamps.

Pricing

The shirts are priced at just under US$30 which I think is reasonable considering the quality of the product and the attention to detail.

Wrap-Up

While this design is not really my cup of tea, I think that the quality of the print is about as good as it gets. The colors are vibrant and the ink light. The spacing of the print also helps with this. The t-shirt quality is great and it’s a good fit (for me). Symbolika.com is a professional and interesting website that allows us to learn about the business and in general their inspiration. I would like to know more details about the individual designs though and I think that if this kind of information was more accessible people who are interested but not all that knowledgeable about this culture might be more inclined to purchase. I like to know what I am wearing.

Symbolika on the Web: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Google+