I think that “distressed” printing can no longer be considered a fad.  When something sticks long enough it becomes a standard.  Upon thinking about this I tried to remember the first time I came across a distressed print.  I remember Gap and Old Navy doing a lot in the mid to late ’90’s, but I’m sure the technique goes back further.  When I asked Rick if he can remember the first distressed print he ever saw he mentioned the Zappa Pipco tee, but I think that was just old school printing.  Maybe not.  Whenever and wherever the first use of the technique it is here forever.  I like this distressed print that we recently for it’s subtlety and authentic look.   I used a combination of distressed filters from Arsenal, then played with transparency levels on each filter layer within Illustrator.  For inks we used semi-soft Opaque Chino base mixes from Rutland.  The right garment selection doesn’t hurt either…