PALY Hollywood, one of Los Angeles’ most popular emerging brands, is launching a limited-edition T-shirt in collaboration with Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, one of the year’s most anticipated movies. The limited-edition shirt drops on Feb. 11 for $325 exclusively at palyhollywood.com.
The piece was originally created exclusively for the cast and crew, and has already been spotted on the film’s lead Jacob Elordi, who has quietly been a PALY supporter for several years. Featuring original artwork by PALY co-founder James Franco, the T-shirt draws directly from the poster of Samuel Goldwyn’s 1939 adaptation, layering narrative-driven imagery that reflects the emotional complexity of the film’s central characters.
In a market dominated by mass blockbuster collaborations, the Wuthering Heights tee reinforces PALY’s bespoke approach to storytelling at the intersection of art, entertainment, fashion, and culture. PALY uses fashion as a vehicle to honor Hollywood’s layered past, present, and future through carefully referential design.
We spoke with PALY co-founders Kyle Lindgren and Franco about their relationship with Elordi and how the Wuthering Heights collaboration came together.
Jacob Elordi has been wearing PALY for years now. How did that relationship develop, and what made Wuthering Heights feel like the right moment to formalize that connection into a collaboration?
Kyle Lindgren: In the early days of PALY, I used to see every order that came in on Shopify. There weren’t many. There was a loyal customer who was consistently buying our pieces, and I always wondered who it was. Not long after, Jacob DMed us about a size exchange, and when I checked the order number, it all clicked. It was the name that I had been wondering about! He, rightfully so, had been ordering under a rather creative pseudonym. Let’s just say it was not your average John Smith. Since then, PALY’s become a more frequent staple in his wardrobe. Our pieces are meant to be worn, lived in, and shaped by the person wearing them, so it’s been cool to see how he styles PALY and how those stories of the original garments evolve, especially given how intentional and influential his personal style is. Creating the Wuthering Heights tee for the cast was a natural extension of that shared history. And once I saw the trailer, I was so blown away, and knew we had to deliver the limited-edition drop for our clients, too.
This started as a cast-only piece before becoming a public release. What changed, and what do you hope someone who’s never heard of PALY takes away when they discover the brand through this collaboration?
Kyle Lindgren: Initially, we had just made these shirts as wrap gifts for the cast and crew through our friends on set. During the holidays, I went to the theaters with my parents, caught the trailer for Wuthering Heights, and was completely blown away. I immediately messaged the team and asked if we could push these through as an exclusive drop in time for the film’s release.
As a small brand, everything we do is very personal to us and comes from an authentic place of admiration. If we’re not into it, we don’t do it. What I hope people can see and experience with the clothing is to feel the soul and energy that comes along with it, the intention behind every artistic and design decision. Like the way we’re able to print so it looks like someone actually drew on the tee, or the specific distressing techniques we use to wash and distress each piece to feel authentically vintage. It’s always a win if I can trick someone into thinking our product is authentic vintage or truly hand-drawn.
The artwork draws from the 1939 Samuel Goldwyn adaptation. What was it about that visual language that felt right for translating Emerald Fennell’s contemporary interpretation?
James Franco: One of the things about Wuthering Heights is its classic status. It’s like a Shakespeare play, the way it’s been interpreted by different people over the years. I think the Olivier version is maybe the most classic, like the Granddaddy of the adaptations, and the new one by Emerald Fennell is a reinterpretation for this generation. So, the shirt is a way to link the traditional with the new, which is what Paly is all about. Taking old Hollywood and mixing it into contemporary clothes.
Without giving too much away about the film, how did you approach capturing the Heathcliff and Catherine dynamic visually?
James Franco: My guess is that there are going to be a couple of iconic scenes, some imagery that will pop from the movie, so we tried to sneak some of that in there.
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