Christian clothing and fashion have rarely been considered late breaking or trendsetting. In fact, since the inception of Christian fashion with Christian oriented message, the performance of retailers as as whole have been behind the times.

However, with the advent of faith based, Christian-centric, movies like "The Passion of the Christ", there has been an explosion of demand for Christian apparel for individuals who want modern fabrics and stylish fits. Store owners who specialize in Christian fashion are starting to believe they can deliver Christian apparel in a relevant, contextually appropriate, manner.

Because times are changing, as are those who would wear faith based Christian apparel, so Christian t shirt lovers are moving to modern stylings and modern grunge fits. Christian clothing retailers who want to catch this wave will certainly have to keep their ear tuned to this evolving demographic of Bible thumping, but still stylish, clothing wearers.

Christian fashion has historically been mundane, boring, and uncreative. Perhaps most poignantly, Christian fashion has lagged and trailed the fashion industry by years. Some would argue Christian t-shirts were more than simply decades behind the times -- the fabrics used in Christian fashion were vastly inferior and left much to be desired.

Some of the latest fashions in 2008 are stained t-shirts, abstract art stenciled, and vibrant colored faith based message placed onto mundane backgrounds. Hip hop or urban apparel, and the fits that accompany them, are all part of the latest blitz to hit the Christian and faith centric market.

Christian fashion is one of the quietest, untracked niches in the retail industry, but you can be certain, if you're listening to the pulse of the Christian fashion industry, retailers are responding with Christian apparel designed in modern styles and late breaking fits.

One thing is for sure, those who can design faith based Christian clothing will embrace a growing and increasingly cognizant audience who know what they want from their apparel. Christian man or otherwise, this market of the faithful want clothing that has the faith centered message while enjoying plenty of style and a brilliant fit.

Daniel Lum is a partner of the JesusBranded    .