Boutique street label Alpha60 have built a cult following with their wry, witty T-shirts. The brother-sister duo mine the 20th century for influences which figure both directly (patron saint Jean-Luc Goddard presides over their growing empire) and indirectly in their collections. Ballet was bound to make a cameo sooner or later.

These photographs from Alex and Georgie Cleary’s Fitzroy studio find them hard at work on – what else? – a T-shirt for The Australian Ballet Shop. The limited-edition run of 100 (each with a hand-numbered swing tag) is technically Alex’s second foray into ballet – he worked for the company’s merchandise department in the very early days of Alpha60. “We are really pleased to have been asked to do something for The Australian Ballet,” he says. “We love what the ballet does and we were excited to put an Alpha spin to it.”

The T is classic Alpha60 – monochrome, unisex, irreverent. Four businessmen – staid and  bespectacled – stalk a Parisian avenue, but one sports a tutu and pointe shoes along with his briefcase. “We really wanted to create an image that put the ballet in a different environment,” says Alex. “I love the contrast between the serious suits and the pointe shoes – the expressions on their faces look like they are in on the joke and trying not to show it.”

The Ballet V Alpha60 T-shirt is available exclusively through The Australian Ballet Shop