Back in 2022, The Bear changed everything that genpop America knew about kitchen lingo, Jeremy Allen White’s acting range, and, of course, white T-shirts. Frazzled and sexy Carmen Berzatto turned a tiny German brand’s bicep-hugging, waist-grazing tee into the hottest piece of menswear available. Except it wasn’t all that available.
That shirt, the Merz B. Schwannen 215 tee, launched the then-cult brand into the stratosphere. Which caused a bit of a problem, because the brand loves doing things the hard way.
When The Bear blew up the spot of the 215 shirt, old-world craftsmanship collided head-on with a hype train. The tee, hefty and structured, is made on vintage knitting machines that result in a side-seam-free experience; production couldn’t be scaled to match the hordes of men looking for a crisp white shortcut to Jeremy Allen White’s biceps. What’s more, Merz B. Schwanen, culty as it was, could only be found at IYKYK-type menswear havens.
Merz, founded in 1911 and reborn in 2011, has long been prized in very specific menswear circles that also care deeply about historical construction techniques in service of crafting long-lasting, beautifully made basics. The brand’s products are meticulously made in Germany, often using bygone methods and decades-old machines (the equipment dates back to the 1800s in some cases). None of the brand’s products are “cheap” in the financial sense, but trying a single piece often leads to obsession.
When I worked at legendary menswear store Unionmade Goods in San Francisco (RIP) a decade ago, Merz B. Schwannen was one of the shop’s best-selling brands, partially due to a dozen or so guys who would buy basically everything we had, every season.
Three years on from Jeremy Allen White’s first unwitting foray into undergarment influencing, we have some great news: if you tried and failed to score the 215 T-Shirt in 2022—or did buy the 215 in 2022 and stopped there—then you’ve now got a chance to dive deeper into Merz B. Schwanen’s magical world.
The once-elusive label is a touch easier to source, for one. Three years on from The Bear’s debut, you can now buy Merz B. Schwanen at places like Huckberry, Nordstrom, and SSENSE, in addition to the more esoteric stockists that have backed the German knit geniuses for years.
What’s more, the brand has managed to beef up its production without sacrificing quality—while, crucially, expanding its available styles into a sneaky-wide range of white tees that fit an even broader range of guys.
While the Bear-sanctified 215 remains a low-volume rarity, Merz has blessed us with a great alternative in the Classic 2M15 T-Shirt. Sure, it has side seams and a cotton that’s both a little lighter and a touch less structured than the Bear-famed original, but that means it wears a little more generously as a result. (The 215 is an incredible shirt, but the thick-and-slim style isn’t a win for everyone.) The brand’s Classic Cropped 2M15, meanwhile, is a sensibly shortened iteration that will look just right with some higher-waisted pants all summer long.
Don’t sleep on Merz B. Schwanen’s sweatshirts, either. I’ve been wearing a black crewneck of the brand’s for years, and have every intention of doing so for many more. The extended ribbing on this Organic Cotton Hoodie is testing my devotion to every hoodie I currently enjoy. And for anyone still on the hunt for a killer quarter-zip, the brand’s Quarter Zip Organic Cotton Sweatshirt can be scooped up, inexplicably, for just $114 at the moment.
Cheap? No, nothing from Merz is cheap, even when the sale gods briefly shine down on us. But everything Merz B. Schwanen turns out is built to last. Just be careful—you might end up as obsessed as the Merz B.-lovers from my old job.
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