Last July, Japanese clothing retailed Uniqlo teamed up with Nintendo to launch a global T-shirt design competition.
Now, the results are in – and they’re nothing short of awesome.
Along with a team of Nintendo judges, Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto personally judged the entries, selecting first, second, and third place winners. The winner of this year’s contest will receive $10,000, a Nintendo Switch signed by Miyamoto, and a “special commemorative prize,” according to Polygon, who first wrote about this year’s winners.
Previous contests have partnered with Disney/Pixar and Star Wars, according to Polygon, but Uniqlo received more than 16,000 entries for this year’s contest, the highest amount ever. Clearly, Nintendo has tens of thousands of artistic fans worldwide.
Beyond the three prize-winners, there are also several other non-winning designs that will be available beginning May 19th. Men’s and women’s shirts will cost $14.90, while kids’ shirts will cost $9.90.
There are 25 total designs that will be available, but here are some of the coolest.
The first place winner was designed by Takashi Kawazoe from Japan. It features Mario — who else? — but in giant, pixelated form.
"I was extremely surprised and pleased to receive such a prestigious award for my creation featuring one of Japan's most renowned characters, Mario, as a motif," Kawazoe wrote in a statement on Uniqlo's website.
Second place went to a "Splatoon"-inspired design created by Shino Yamazaki, also from Japan.
And third place went to this incredibly cool "Legend of Zelda" t-shirt by David Ricardo Flores Gomez, the first Mexican to win the prize.
Uniqlo is also releasing several other fan-made shirts in men's, women's, and kid's sizes. These weren't prize-winners, but they're still very cool. Check out this creative, minimalist Pikachu shirt.
This "Zelda" shirt almost looks embroidered, and it comes in both men's and women's styles.
Female gamers weren't left out of the t-shirt fun. There are a few women-only styles, like this one featuring tiny Pikachus...
...and this one, which stars Princess Peach.
Or there's this shirt with little pictures of Boo all over it.
This adorable "Kirby" shirt is made just for kids.
While this fun "Super Mario"-inspired design is available for all ages.
This men's shirt is more subtle: Look at the tiny Donkey Kong hanging onto the pocket.
But arguably the best one is this men's shirt with Mario and Luigi tucked in the pocket.
There are more shirts featuring designs inspired by "Pikmin," "Metroid," and more. You can see them all on Uniqlo's website.