If you’ve been paying attention to pop culture and the media for the better part of the past year, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is on track to being the biggest tour in concert history. Not only in regards to the millions of dollars in revenue that the tour brings in to each city it visits, or the 3 hour long, 40 song set list that Taylor performs every weekend, but… the merch. The exclusive merch that is sold only at the concert. That is going for hundreds of dollars on resale sites. That fans line up for by the thousands, two days before the concert even takes place, in order to snag that blue crewneck sweatshirt (you know the one we’re talking about).
Although the excitement of everything Eras Tour remains, there have been several reports of Swifties’ hard earned merchandise fatally fading after being thrown in the washer, to the point that in some cases, the iconic Eras Tour poster is hardly identifiable.
Taylor’s team released a statement back in April 2023 reading, “This slight fade is related to the product’s distressed, vintage look. Please also note it is important to follow product care instructions as listed on the product label when washing and drying your items, to best protect and maintain the product’s look and feel.”
This has caused Swifties to panic, and question if they should’ve said no to concert merch in the first place. But don’t you worry your pretty little mind, we’re here to get you out of trouble (trouble, trouble), and help you with some tips and tricks to preserve your merch for evermore.
The print type used on a majority of merchandise like this is a screen print transfer, meaning it’s a computer printed transfer applied to the garments with heat. This type of print is extremely delicate (isn’t it, isn’t it…), and doesn’t last long without proper care. The following steps should help to preserve the print as long as possible.
If hand washing your merch isn’t an option:
- Always wash the garment:
- On a delicate cycle
- In cold water
- Inside out
- Hang dry
- As a lot of fans have shown on social media, ironing over the image could help preserve it for a while longer, but
- Running your iron over it quickly won’t help adhere the image to the garment.
- Use extreme caution as the iron can ultimately scorch the image if the iron settings are incorrect.
- You will need to make sure you have a parchment-type paper to put between the design and the iron.
- The iron needs to hit 320° for a minimum of 20 seconds (most use 330° to guarantee it).
- Make sure each section is ironed for the minimum of 20 seconds
Since custom prints are our specialty at UGP, we have our 5 tips to protect your custom prints!
So it goes that not every piece of merch will be able to easily shake it off. Sadly it seems like some garments were not properly cured before placing the ink/transfers- meaning water is trapped beneath the ink, and unfortunately, there is no way to fix it on your own, kid if this is the case. If you see ink coming up on your parchment paper during ironing, reach out to Taylor Nation (Taylor's team- taylorswift@umgstores.com) immediately, and make sure to read the replacement guidelines on their website.
Please be advised that while this is us trying, and while we hope that you are fearless enough to try these tips and tricks out, we don’t want any bad blood... Results may vary, and any laundering may compromise the print.