The "I ❤️ PINAYS" shirt worn in an editorial photoshoot that nods to 70s Americana aesthetics while centering Filipino American style and identity.
The I ❤️ PINAYS shirt, designed by Mikayla “Swiper” Delson in 2024, takes a widely recognizable American graphic—the I ❤️ NY format—and flips it with layered intent. At first glance, the shirt reads as a celebration of Filipina identity. But the design does more than assert affection, it experiments with typography to open up multiple readings. As the “Y” fades, PINAYS becomes PINAS (a colloquial name for the Philippines), or, something more risqué. The visual pun invites the wearer and viewer to decide how they see it—playful, political, or both.
What began as a personal design idea became a reflection of a broader question: who gets to be centered in streetwear, and what does it mean to create for oneself and one’s community rather than for a market?
The shirt uses a direct typographic composition: bold sans-serif lettering with the iconic red heart at center, mirroring the I ❤️ NY design. But subtle interventions make it distinctly personal. The “Y” in PINAYS is intentionally faded—digitally distressed so it visually dissolves into PINAS depending on how you read it. This design choice holds multiple meanings at once: Pinay identity, homeland nostalgia, and a cheeky nod to adult innuendo.
The shirt was first released as tanks then cropped baby tees in soft, body-conscious fits that challenged default streetwear silhouettes. It later expanded to include boxy tees and looser styles to offer gender-inclusive sizing, without sacrificing the original tone: playful, pointed, and rooted in community. The result is an adaptable graphic that’s both intimate and public—a shirt you wear to be read, misread, and remembered.
At the heart of this shirt is an act of reclamation—of language, of space, and of symbols that have long excluded Filipinos from their visual narratives. The design deliberately riffs on one of the most iconic American slogans, developed by the New York Department of Commerce in the 1970s to promote tourism. By restaging I ❤️ NY as I ❤️ PINAYS, Delson repurposes a nationalist symbol into a diasporic expression of self and solidarity. That gesture holds weight: the Philippines was once a formal colony of the United States, and American aesthetics, products, and ideals have long shaped Filipino consumption and aspiration.
To reclaim a symbol like this isn’t just clever design—it’s layered commentary. It echoes how many second-generation Filipino Americans grow up navigating a culture that’s both inherited and imposed. The act of placing a personal identity (Pinay, queer, diasporic) at the center of an American visual code is both defiance and declaration.
The piece also speaks to gendered dynamics within fashion. Streetwear has historically catered to a male gaze and body, often marginalizing femme and queer expressions. Delson’s first run of shirts were cropped baby tees, intentionally centering the girlies, gays, and theys. That choice, along with the shirt’s voice and styling, pushes back on the idea that femininity is secondary or niche—it’s the foundation. Later versions expanded sizing and fit options, but the ethos remained: design with intentional care, not default assumptions.
More than a novelty tee, I ❤️ PINAYS reveals how everyday objects—especially clothing—become portals for negotiating identity. It’s self-expression sharpened by critique, filtered through humor, and made visible in cotton and ink.