Legendary Director David Lynch Is a Promotional Products Master

By Tom Higgins

Ever the iconoclast, David Lynch has never been known to bow to society’s expectations of what artistic success should look like, and how and where older creators should focus their creative efforts. That being said, perhaps it should be no surprise to fans of such works as "Eraserhead," "The Elephant Man," "Twin Peaks" and "Mulholland Drive" that their director also happens to be a promotional merchandise genius.

For his latest act of promotional wizardry, Lynch has launched a store on Amazon called Studio: David Lynch, featuring a line of T-shirts designed by the director himself.

Dear Twitter Friends, What is this? https://t.co/mibk7CCN09

— David Lynch (@DAVID_LYNCH) June 7, 2018

The T-shirts range from strange to generally unsettling, featuring drawings of animals such as a shark and a whale, handwritten and typed text and images of flowers and creepy clay heads, and these are only the designs that lend themselves easily to language. Overall, the T-shirts have a very Lynchian surrealist feel to them, and should be a hit with his droves of fans. Each T-shirt is priced at $26, and many make reference to Lynch’s feature films and television work.

As it turns out, this latest project is merely a continuation of Lynch’s promotional prowess. Previous examples include David Lynch Coffee, a series of "Twin Peaks"-inspired craft beers made in collaboration with Mikkeller Brewing, and a very cool line of skateboards and apparel from Habitat.

These promotions point both to Lynch’s branding talent and his ability to maintain an ever-growing fan base who will follow his every move, watch and rewatch all of his films and shows, and even support his adventures in the world of branded merchandise. To do all of this without acquiring the moniker of sellout may be Lynch’s most impressive achievement. After all, if there’s anything this man isn’t, it’s inauthentic. Oh, and we can’t forget to mention that he has Philadelphia roots, which makes him a champion no matter what.