Winona Forever Tee

ORDERS OPEN: 1/16/25
ORDERS CLOSE: 1/19/25
TO PRINT: 1/20/25

PRINTED ON BLACK LAA GD1801 TEES.

ALL ITEMS TAKE BETWEEN 3-6 WEEKS TO PRODUCE AFTER THE ORDER PERIOD ENDS. You will always receive your item unless otherwise contacted. All items are final sale. We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or misplaced packages.

Back in the early ’90s, Johnny Depp got a tattoo dedicated to his then-fiance, Winona Ryder. The tattoo famously said “Winona Forever” and was placed on the star’s bicep. And although he got the words permanently plastered to his arm shortly after they started dating, he insisted that he had no doubt about wanting to get her name inscribed to his skin for eternity. Depp and Ryder met back in 1989, and it was love at first sight for both actors. They locked eyes for the first time near the vending machines of a New York theater, where Ryder recalls getting a coca-cola.  And according to Depp, from the moment he saw Ryder, “It was like the zoom lens in West Side Story, and everything else gets foggy.”

Shortly after meeting, they’d begin spending all of their time together. “When I met Winona, and we fell in love, it was absolutely like nothing before,” Depp revealed, according to Winona Ryder’s unauthorized biography. “We hung out the whole day… and night, and we’ve been hanging out ever since. I love her more than anything in the whole world.” In fact, Depp’s love for the Heathers star was so strong that he got down on one knee and proposed after only five months of dating. “I’d never seen anyone get a tattoo before, so I was pretty squeamish, I guess,” she confessed.

Widely considered to be among the most talented songwriters in history, Patti Smith has solidified her place in rock history as one of the all-time greats. Known for her unique blend of punk and poetry, as well as the subversive politico-philosophical foundations of her iconic songs, Smith’s legacy transcends cultural and national divides. Ranging from Madonna to Sonic Youth, many revered musicians have all acknowledged their debt to the infinitely nuanced oeuvre developed by Smith throughout her illustrious career. However, she has also influenced artists from other disciplines who have been moved by the American pioneer’s strikingly original view of the world we inhabit. Winona Ryder, the acclaimed star of many films definitely counts herself among the latter.

When asked about her experiences, Ryder described how Patti Smith’s iconic track ‘Gloria’ completely changed her life. The actor recalled: “I always loved the Patti Smith lyric ‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine’. I got sent home from school for wearing a Patti Smith T-shirt with that line on. I was not raised religiously; my parents always told me to take a piece of whatever religion you like and make it your own.”

Elaborating on the song’s philosophical trajectories, Ryder added: “And I’ve always thought that to plant concepts of heaven and hell, sin and burning, into a child’s mind is wrong. The lyric is not a ‘fuck you’ message, it’s about being responsible for your own actions. Like James Baldwin said, ‘We pay for our sins because of the lives we lead’. It also makes me think of John Lennon’s quote, ‘Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans’.”