LONDON — The white 215 T-shirt worn by Jeremy Allen White’s character Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in the show “The Bear” has snowballed into something that nobody saw coming — a massive success.
The appetite for German brand Merz b. Schwanen’s white T-shirts is still growing and now fans of the TV show can wear the same T-shirt as White that bulges the biceps and cinches in the waist.
For the hit Hulu TV show, costume designer Courtney Wheeler tailored White’s T-shirts and shared the actor’s exact measurements with founders of the brand, husband-and-wife duo Gitta and Peter Plotnicki.
The brand’s new 2M15 and 2M15C T-shirts — the latter is a cropped style that sits on the waistband of any pants — are a salute to “The Bear” and what it has catapulted.
“The show has really been this exciting power machine for our company — we’re honestly so grateful. It feels like such an amazing gift. The show has brought so much more awareness to Merz b. Schwanen, and we’ve definitely seen that in our sales. We’ve got this whole new group of people who are discovering us for the first time,” Gitta said.
“It’s also given us a bit of a confidence boost, to be honest. The support we’ve received from customers in the U.S. has been huge, and it actually gave us the courage to open our store in New York City a lot sooner than we originally planned,” Peter added.
Merz b. Schwanen dates all the way back to 1911 and opened the doors to its store in March on Canal Street. The founders discovered the location while visiting the city 28 years ago.
The brand is planning five to six collaborations in 2025 and its spring 2025 collection will introduce new categories, styles and fabrics.
The store in New York City remains a priority.
“The store has exceeded our expectations in many ways, far beyond just sales figures. It has become a vibrant place where we have had the pleasure of meeting truly amazing people. We’ve reconnected with long-time customers who have been loyal supporters of our brand,” Gitta said.