Lumumba Color I The essential unisex 100% cotton t-shirt

An essential to wear, a gaze to pass on. This United Souls t-shirt features Lumumba Classic, the first design of the collection, by Marie-Claire Laffaire. The pencil portrait of Patrice Lumumba remains in black and white: a presence that invites reflection on freedom, memory, and a struggle that transcends a single life.

Its regular fit and 170 gsm cotton make it a piece to pair with jeans or layer under a jacket. From white to sand, from pink to light blue, the garment’s colors complement the portrait without altering the Classic design. An everyday silhouette, faithful to the United Souls conviction: style has meaning.

A creation by Marie-Claire Laffaire

Trained at the Fine Arts School in Toulouse, Marie-Claire Laffaire worked in architectural illustration and poster design before dedicating her artistic practice to memory through drawing. Her portrait of Patrice Lumumba, created with pencil using a subtractive technique, resonates with the history of United Souls: preserving a gaze, transmitting a memory, and keeping a struggle for emancipation alive.

The Classic version keeps the design in black and white, without the pastel veil of Lumumba Color or the reinterpretation by Fred Ebami for Lumumba Pop Art. For United Souls, the power of this gaze evokes the determination and hope for a free and sovereign Congo.

T-shirt specifications

Material: 100% cotton, STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certified
Fit: regular
Weight: 170 gsm

THE MARTYR OF INDEPENDENCE

PATRICE EMERY LUMUMBA (1925-1961) - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

A major figure in Congolese independence, Patrice Lumumba became Prime Minister in 1960. His speech on June 30th denounced the violence and humiliations of Belgian colonialism. In a country facing crisis and foreign interference, he defended the sovereignty of the Congo and a pan-African vision of emancipation. Arrested and then assassinated in January 1961 alongside Maurice Mpolo and Joseph Okito, he remains a figure of memory and resistance, a symbol of an independence that must be defended beyond its proclamation.

A creation by artist Marie-Claire Laffaire

Size guide