Most graphic T-shirts are designed by a committee. A mood board gets made, a trend referenced, an image licensed or generated. The result is a garment that looks like a feeling without actually containing one.
SUZI ROHER graphic tees work differently. They begin, as everything in this studio begins, with an image that refused to leave.
Key Takeaways
- Every SUZI ROHER graphic tee features original artwork by Suzi herself — not licensed, not generated, not borrowed from a trend board.
- Many tee graphics share their image with a Cristina or Lily scarf from the same collection. Two forms, one original work of art.
- The average fast-fashion garment is worn just 7 to 10 times before it is discarded (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017).
A SUZI ROHER tee is built to last years, not seasons.
Why Most Graphic Tees Don't Last
The average fast-fashion garment is worn just 7 to 10 times before being discarded — a drop in utilization of nearly 40% compared to clothing from two decades ago, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's landmark textiles study. The math isn't complicated. A thirty-dollar tee worn seven times costs more per wearing than a well-made garment worn a hundred times.
This isn't an accident of consumer behaviour. It's the product of how most graphic tees are made.
When the image starts with a trend, it ends with the trend. When the cotton is cut to a budget, it loses its shape by the fifth wash. When nobody cared about the design, you eventually stop caring about the garment.
What separates a piece you'll still want for years isn't the price tag. It's whether someone cared, at every stage, about what they were making.
How Does a SUZI ROHER Graphic Tee Begin?
Every graphic on a SUZI ROHER tee is an original work of art — photographed, drawn, refined, and resolved by Suzi until it holds exactly what it was meant to hold: a feeling, a moment, a world compressed into a single visual.
Quality and craftsmanship rank as the top purchase driver among discerning consumers today, ahead of price or novelty, according to Simon-Kucher's 2025 Global Luxury Consumer Trends Study. People have always been able to feel the difference between something made with intention and something that wasn't.
The same rigour that goes into designing a Cristina scarf goes into designing a tee. The canvas changes, from modal/silk to cotton, from draped to flat, from accessory to garment. The standard doesn't.
Suzi creates each graphic until it could stand alone as a print, a scarf, a thing worth looking at. Then it goes on a tee, where it will be looked at, on a body, every time it's worn.
When One Artwork Lives in Two Forms
Many SUZI ROHER graphic tees pair perfectly with a Cristina or Lily scarf from the same collection. The Rose Garden. Le Printemps. I Love Coffee. My Love.
The artwork itself doesn't change. Only the form it takes.
A scarf wraps, drapes, ties, and moves. A tee holds the image flat against the body, giving it stillness and weight. Wearing one is a considered choice. Wearing them together is a statement about how you see art: as something that belongs on a body, not behind glass.
This dual life is unusual. Most garments are designed in isolation — made for a season, without reference to anything else in a collection. Here, a graphic tee and a scarf can be two expressions of the same original work. Both produced in the same Toronto studio. From the same hand.
What that means for the person wearing them is a wardrobe with internal logic. Not just individual pieces, but a coherent point of view.
What Makes a Premium Graphic Tee Worth Keeping?
The decorated apparel market — art prints, screen printing, hand-applied imagery on garments — is growing at a 13% annual rate and is projected to reach $68 billion by 2030 (Grand View Research, 2024). The category is expanding. What remains hard to find within it is quality that earns its keep.
A few things separate a tee you'll want in a decade from one you'll forget about in a year.
The fabric. Ring-spun combed cotton starts with longer, finer fibres. It softens over time rather than wearing out. It holds a printed image without cracking at the seams. Anything below 180 GSM tends to tell on itself quickly.
The cut. Flattering isn't the same as fitted. A well-cut tee works tucked or untucked, with jeans or with tailored trousers, and retains its shape through washing. These are the details that decide whether a garment becomes part of your rotation or quietly leaves it.
The image. Does it have internal logic? Could you describe what it means, not just what it looks like? A graphic that reads as decoration ages faster than one that reads as art.
Our tees are printed on premium ring-spun cotton, cut to flatter rather than merely fit, and designed to outlast any trend that was current when they were made.
How to Wear a SUZI ROHER Graphic Tee
There is no formula. But there are starting points.
- With tailored trousers and a belt. The tee is elevated by its company. The graphic becomes the most considered element in the outfit.
- With well-cut jeans and nothing else. The tee is the centrepiece. Everything else stays quiet.
- With a linen blazer thrown over. The tee becomes the most interesting layer beneath the structure.
- With its matching Cristina or Lily scarf. The tee completes a thought that the scarf started.
The right question isn't "how do I wear this?" It's "what does this image want to be next to?"
Frequently Asked Questions
What fabric are SUZI ROHER graphic tees made from?
Our tees are printed on 100% premium cotton. The fabric is chosen for longevity — it softens with washing rather than losing shape, and holds a print without cracking or fading over time. These are made to be worn repeatedly, washed properly, and worn again for years.
Are the tee graphics the same artwork as the scarves?
Many of them are. Several tees in the current collection share their image exactly with a Cristina or Lily scarf from the same seasonal offering. The artwork is the same — what changes is the medium and the way the image interacts with the body. Wearing both together is a deliberate choice, not a coincidence. A perfect colour story for styling.
How does the design process work?
Every graphic is an original work by Suzi Roher. She is inspired and refines each image in the studio until it holds exactly what it was meant to — then that same image goes into production on both the scarves and the tees. It begins and ends in the same place.
Are these tees available to try on in Toronto?
Yes. Visit us in-store in Toronto to try the current collection.
Explore the current tee collection at suziroher.com.
Suzi Roher is a Toronto-based designer known for original hand-drawn silk scarves and wearable art. About the studio.
