(Illustration by José L. Soto/The Washington Post; FX; iStock)
The sold-out thick tees worn by Jeremy Allen White in hit TV show 'The Bear' embody current fashion trends.
Savvy viewers of "The Bear" were quick to identify his signature white T-shirts as the creations of Merz b. Schwanen, a family-owned German textile manufacturer that was founded in 1911. It closed in 2008, but it was revived three years later by new owners Peter and Gitta Plotnicki in 2011.
In the summer of 2022, when "The Bear" costume designers Courtney Wheeler and Christina Spiridakis confirmed publicly that Carmy's T-shirts were Merz b. Schwanen, the company's website crashed overnight. It sold every last garment in stock.
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Why have T-shirts gotten so heavy?