This Retro Canadian Brand Is Making a Comeback

For a certain subset of liberal North Americans who grew up in the 1990s (perhaps best exemplified by this photo of Justin Trudeau wearing a pukka shell necklace), the world shirt – a simple crewneck sweatshirt festooned with a gigantic flag motif, usually worn oversize -- was one of the most covetable items of sportswear on the market. The roomy sweatshirts were the attire du jour for open-minded lefties who welcomed the concept of the “global village,” a whole decade before those ‘Coexist’ bumper stickers came into, well, existence.

Now you can own a piece of history, as the Winnipeg-based brand Mondetta, which means ‘small world’ in French and Latin, is rereleasing a collection of the now-retro sweaters. The collection represents seven different nations – Canada, the US, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Mexico and the European Union – but if your nation of choice is not represented, fear not. They come with the option of further customization in the form of removable sleeve patches, with come with over 170 different country options as well as political causes like LGBTQ rights.

Mondetta, whose motto is “a world undivided,” was founded in Winnipeg in 1986 by brothers Ash and Prashant Moja with their cousins Raj and Amit Bahl. Their respective families arrived in Canada as refugees who fled Uganda during the dictatorship of Idi Amin. They created the world shirt to exemplify diversity and celebrate the global village, and though the mission of the sweaters seems rather quaint in the flaming wreckage of 2018, the founders believe that their “message continues to resonate on a global scale, now more than ever.”

The sweaters are currently only available in Canada, as a way for Mondetta to “honour the nation that opened doors to them” before expanding availability worldwide this fall.

Prev

Next

Photography Courtesy of Mondetta

1/7

Mondetta World Shirts