A local teenager has mistakenly been under the impression that ‘Nirvana’ is a fashion label, not the genre-defining grunge rock band that took the world by storm in the 1990s. After buying “one of those dead-eyed smiley face t-shirts” late last year, Steph Ronaldson has spent a couple of months regularly wearing what she believed to be a statement piece from a new fashion label with strong links to Buddhist philosophies.

In fact, it wasn’t until earlier this week that Ronaldson discovered the true origin of her t-shirt’s design, after an awkward encounter with her uncle at a family dinner. With a keen taste for the absurd, Ronaldson’s uncle complimented his niece on her t-shirt and facetiously asked where she got it from.

Without skipping a beat, and giving the strong impression that she’d delivered this explanation on multiple occasions, Ronaldson said, “It’s actually pretty cool. The label means a transcendent state where there is no suffering, desire or selfishness. It’s a Buddhist thing, so you probably wouldn’t understand. It’s pretty, like, deep, man.”

The uncle was reportedly too busy dealing with fits of uncontrollable laughter to set the record straight, so it was left to another family member to explain the true origin. Steph swiftly retreated to her room to decompress, before later resurfacing in a noticeably different outfit. When contacted by The Watsonia Bugle for comment, Steph politely declined.

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