By Catherine Donaldson-Evans
He’s a
movie star and a pop culture icon, thanks to "The Passion of the
Christ" (search) craze at the box office. And now Jesus is also a fashion
statement.
A slew of designers and boutiques have been jumping on the
Jesus bandwagon, offering everything from T-shirts to belts paying homage
to the Lord. And celebrities from Madonna (search) to Pamela Anderson (search) have been spotted sporting
the Jesus chic wear.
“It’s a
fun, little Hollywood trend that was sparked by the
success of the movie,” said E! Networks lifestyle director Elycia Rubin. “Obviously, fashion influences movies
and movies influence fashion.”
A Los Angeles company called Teenage
Millionaire makes shirts that say “Jesus Is My Homeboy”
and “Mary Is My Homegirl.” Madonna was seen
wearing a Mary shirt; Pamela Anderson and Lara Flynn Boyle
(search) have been running around in
the Jesus Ts, and Ashton Kutcher (search) was photographed with a
“Jesus Is My Homeboy” baseball cap on.
“We looked
at the popular icons of the 20th century and Jesus definitely topped the
list,” said Chris Hoy, a partner at Teenage Millionaire. “This shirt has
been in our line for about three years, but it’s just now getting all the
popularity. The movie’s out; there’s just a big buzz.”
Other
shirts bear the Jesus fish symbol and the phrase “Go Fish.” One line by
an L.A. company called Datomana
(search) features frilly pink Ts with
cats on them that say “jesus loves me” in tiny
letters. And an Arkansas company called Kerusso
(search) makes T-shirts with slogans
like “My Savior is Tougher Than Nails!”
There are
also belts and buckle bracelets engraved with the Ten Commandments. The
anti-pornography site XXXchurch.com sells Jesus action figures and action
figure Ts that say “Don’t Make Me Kung-Fu You.”
“The
Christian items are such a hot trend right now,” said Jaye
Hersh, owner of the L.A. boutique Intuition,
which sells some of the Jesus chic items. “Madonna has been wearing
‘Jesus Is My Homeboy,’ so that kind of started the trend because she is
such a fashionista and whatever she wears goes.
Then it’s kind of trickled down to other celebrities.”
Jesus wear
has long been available in Christian apparel stores, but now it’s popping
up in mainstream chains like Urban Outfitters.
“It’s
everywhere. It’s at all the stores,” said Craig Gross, founder of
XXXchurch.com. “This is the latest thing. A lot of people are wearing them not
because they want to display their relationship with God, but because
it’s the cool thing to do.”
The
“Homeboy” shirts retail for about $25, and Hoy said they’re selling
thousands of them a month.
“This is
definitely our most popular shirt that people know us for,” Hoy said.
“Our little piece of Hollywood has gone worldwide, and it’s
beyond my wildest dreams.”
E! Networks’ Rubin called the Jesus chic
style “kitschy” and “playful.”
“It will
probably be short-lived, but they’ll probably get bang for their buck,”
she said of the fad.
Inevitably,
some are insulted by the Ts and accessories bearing Christ’s name and
image.
“A lot of people find it offensive
and say you can’t put Jesus on a shirt,” Gross said.
One of
those people is Los Angeles attorney Michael Allan, who grew up Catholic.
"I
think these T-shirts are disrespectful," Allan said. "Mary and Jesus
don't belong on T-shirts. There are other ways to show your
devotion."
But other
Jesus followers are pleased as punch with the new fashion trend, and are
going along with it as much as the artsy Hollywood set is.
“The
Christians like it, the hipsters like it,” said Hoy. “We had no idea it
was going to be this big.”
The icon
status of Jesus Christ in the fashion and pop culture worlds doesn’t
necessarily equal a renewed interest in church, prayer and religion,
however.
“I don’t
think there’s much spiritual significance in the popularity of the Jesus
junk,” Gross said.
Fox
News' Elka Worner
contributed to this report.
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