LONDON — Merz b. Schwanen, the German apparel brand that shot to fame with its white T-shirts worn by Jeremy Allen White in the series “The Bear,” is taking steps to consolidate the business with a sentimental touch.

Gitta and Peter Plotnicki, the husband-and-wife owners of the brand, have bought the factory that produces their 215-style T-shirts using a special loopwheeled machine from the 20th century. The factory in Germany is the same one that Merz b. Schwanen has been using for 14 years and it’s where they discovered the machine that created the Ts that have become their signature.

The factory dates to 1911 when the original Merz b. Schwanen label was founded, but in later decades it was gathering dust before being rediscovered by the couple at a flea market in 2010.

“It’s very important that we can show ourselves as a brand with a factory,” said Peter Plotnicki.

The brand is in possession of 36 loopwheel machines, which are rare to find and even more difficult to fix or find parts for. And they also have between 30 and 35 malfunctioning loopwheeler machines.

“The machines are so unique and old — to have them repaired is extremely expensive, but that still requires special parts being made for them,” said Gitta Plotnicki, adding that the only other place the machines are available is in Japan.  

Each machine takes approximately 25 minutes to produce a loopwheeled T-shirt, but heavy and dense fabrics can take longer.

Merz b. Schwanen also works with a factory in Portugal that produces its non-loopwheeled designs.

“We’ve been traveling back and forth to Portugal for 20 years — it’s a place that we know quite well after many years of experience as freelance designers in our past life,” said Gitta Plotnicki.

“We wanted to stay in Europe as it’s closer and there are more sustainable production practices in Portugal, which is something that wasn’t that common eight years ago. We wanted to ensure that everything was environmentally friendly and well made — Portugal has EU regulations,” she added.

The Plotnickis, who are textile aficionados, said for Merz b. Schwanen’s spring 2026 collection they will be introducing a T-shirt where the yarn is made on a machine a little younger than the loopwheel machine, and for their fall 2026 collection, they’re using a weaving machine so old that it’s listed with the building it’s in.

“We are expanding our collections and introducing new categories,” said Peter Plotnicki, referring to the expansion of Merz b. Schwanen beyond the white T-shirts and “The Bear.” The brand also offers knitwear, shirts, jackets, pants, sweatpants, dresses and skirts with no more than six styles offered in each category in some cases.

“After so much press about the 215 T-shirt, we wanted to showcase that we’re capable of doing other things and that we’re not lazy — we’re not going to rest and go to the beach because of the success of the one T-shirt,” said Gitta Plotnicki.

Venturing into new categories has also impressed the Merz b. Schwanen retailers. The brand is stocked at more than 100 stores worldwide, including in Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Ukraine to the U.S. and U.K.

“We’re both designers. We’re not numbers-driven economic people. We love creating textiles and fabrics,” said Gitta Plotnicki.

That’s not to say the duo doesn’t have its business hats on.

Merz b. Schwanen opened its New York City shop on Canal Street in March last year and the store has exceeded expectations. “It was an amazing year,” Gitta Plotnicki said. “We learned so much from our customers by spending time on the shop floor. We learned the differences between the customers in our Berlin and New York store.” They also found that more customers were coming into the New York store asking for women’s styles, which were slightly cropped or crocheted. 

Peter Plotnicki said this year the brand will be focusing on getting its infrastructure and processes in better shape to be prepared for a larger wholesale push next year. “In the U.K., we would really like to work with a department store — we’re currently working with Nordstrom in the U.S.,” he added.

The big focus remains on the U.S. market, which has reacted positively to the brand, so it’s no surprise that the Plotnickis said the idea of another store opening is flying around in their heads — they don’t know where yet, but they wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of a storefront on the West Coast.