Who doesn’t crave a hamburger once in a while? Even veg heads can’t resist a meatless version of the legendary patty sandwich from time to time. And it’s not just North Americans who appreciate the mighty fast-food staple. In Japan, where lighter diets reign supreme, people seem to love all things burger. At least that was the case when Vancouver T-shirt designer Matt Linsangan was visiting family there a few years ago.

“More often than not, they used hamburgers in their designs: little erasers, notepads, beachballs, CD case—and what’s funny is there wasn’t all that many really good hamburgers in Japan. They couldn’t make them, but they were obsessed with the art,” recalls Linsangan, who, along with his two partners, Jay Castro and Rumell Payot, recently sat down with the Straight at a Kits café to talk about their Hamburger Disco clothing line.

“So that’s something I took back,” Linsangan continues. “I was like, ”˜I love this art. I can’t believe we’re not doing this in Canada and in the U.S. because it’s such an iconic symbol.’ I mean, everyone knows what a hamburger looks like and everyone loves hamburgers, so I thought, ”˜Why not bring this to Vancouver?’ And Hamburger Disco was born.”

And now every month or two, Linsangan and his partners add a few more designs to their modest line of short-sleeved graphic T-shirts that pay homage to their favourite food. (You can order the styles online at hamburgerdisco.com). One of the T-shirts that started it all is the Burgergram 2 ($30), which comes in a girl’s cut as well as a guy’s cut. You can order this future classic—which features a digital collage of 150 multicoloured mini burgers to make one giant burger—in black or white.

From Hamburger Disco’s brand-new Video Game line, there’s the girls’ stretchy, combed-cotton Burgergram 3 ($30), a purple T that features a vast array of sliders cleverly positioned to make up one giant Tetris screen.

The hot seller for guys remains the powder-blue Everyday Chaos ($28). This silk-screened graphic tells the story of “Hamburger Yeti” (imagine if Expo Ernie and Quatchi had a giant love child) wreaking havoc on a small town over which a volcano is spewing—what else?—hamburger-shaped lava.

Another popular design for guys is the black Monster’s Brawl ($30), in which an electric-blue King Kong, a fiery red werewolf, and an eye-poppingly bright yellow Godzilla type are racing up a skyscraper to snag a giant rooftop burger. It’s campy neon mayhem at its retro-arcade best.

“One thing about our colour and design schemes is we’re not subtle at all,” says Linsangan. “But we’re not totally avant-garde either, like an Ed Hardy shirt with the crazy graphics going everywhere. I’d say we’re a bit in-between, but definitely on the louder side.”

As for the disco part of their line’s name (and despite the ironic graphics), they all insist Hamburger Disco is not just for the club kids.

“Not to toot our own horn, but we get a lot of love from various groups. First the hamburger lovers, who aren’t even into fashion or don’t know much about it, so that’s a good base, and then there’s young kids, older people, people who like hip-hop, and hipsters who like indie”¦” says Linsangan, before proudly adding, “So, it covers a good cross-section of people.”