THE JOURNAL
Mr Jeremy Allen White in The Bear, season two, episode three, 2023. Photograph by Mr Chuck Hodes/FX Networks. All rights reserved
When FX’s The Bear landed on our screens last summer, it earned social media and critical buzz for more than its brilliant storylines. There was the soundtrack, filled with throwback tracks by Radiohead and Wilco. There was the intense, emotion-stirring performances, led by Mr Jeremy Allen White as lauded chef Carmy and Ms Ayo Edebiri as his protégé, Sydney. There was the way the cinematography, all tight and pacy, plunged you right into the simmering tensions of a professional kitchen. But perhaps most unexpectedly – at least for a show set in the behind-the-scenes of a gritty sandwich shop – it was the wardrobe that became the breakout star.
You may have missed it but The Bear actually declares its fashion credentials pretty early on in the first season. Within minutes of the pilot, Carmy, who returns from Michelin-starred glory in New York to help out his family joint, The Beef, in the South Side of Chicago, has shown off his extensive collection of vintage selvedge denim (Levi’s big E redline from 1944, to be exact), which he must sell off to help settle some debts.
From that early scene, the first series is littered with menswear moments: Carmy’s NN07 wool jacket and Sydney’s Paloma Wool Hokusai jacket are both standouts, while his seemingly unassuming work uniform of plain white T-shirts launched a thousand fashion thinkpieces.
Ms Ayo Edebiri and Mr Jeremy Allen White in The Bear, season two, episode one, 2023. Photograph by Mr Chuck Hodes/FX Networks. All rights reserved
The fashion influence continues into the second season, which has already been released in the US and launches in the UK this month. Sydney’s KAPITAL bandana in one episode was picked up by eagle-eyed viewers and dissected on Twitter and Reddit threads. Carmy even discusses his passion for Thom Browne, particularly his trousers (“I had this idea for like, like Dickies, but cuffed, made with worsted wool”), and wears a grey cable-knit sweater that has already gone viral.
As it happens, these aren’t simply gratuitous Easter eggs for the Throwing Fits community – rather, each of the character’s fashion choices are intended to offer a little further insight into their personas. “Clothes and costumes in general are so important when it comes to building a character and having them feel like a real person,” says Ms Courtney Wheeler, the costume designer for The Bear. “I’d like you to be able to mute the TV and still understand who they are.”
For Sydney, this is communicated through vintage tees and sweatshirts, while pastry chef Marcus often combines his streetwear staples – Off-White and Patta tees both feature – with his signature Carhartt beanie and a pair of Jordans.
For “cousin” Richie, his well-worn The Beef T-shirts in the first season signal his attachment to the restaurant and how things used to be. And for Carmy, it’s all about that selvedge denim and those perfect white tees.
“He’s honed his style to the point where he can pick up anything from his closet, eyes closed and it will go together,” Wheeler says of Carmy. “His pieces are well made, well cut, and timeless. He’s freed himself from worrying about what to put on day to day, so he’s dialled in on the task ahead.”
“Carmy’s not a fussy dresser, but he’s very sure of what suits him and what looks good”
Carmy’s status as a modern menswear icon is perhaps down to the fact that it’s attainable. Rather than feeling overly put together, or like he’s wearing a costume, he simply dresses like an average guy, albeit one who knows what works for him. There’s a parallel to Mr Oscar Isaac’s viral wardrobe for 2021’s Scenes From A Marriage, when costume designer Ms Miyako Bellizzi dressed him in soft brown Loro Piana polo shirts, a Beams Plus overshirt – worn with a button-down shirt and grey sweater – and New Balance 993s. It was nothing out the ordinary, really, but the internet went wild for pictures of the normal-guy-dressed-well wardrobe.
“Carmy’s not a fussy dresser, but he’s very sure [of] what suits him and what looks good,” Wheeler says. Dressing for this brief meant an extensive sourcing process, one that covered high-end brands and classic Chicago workwear stores. As Wheeler explains, it’s a mix of “internet wormholes and hitting the stores in Chicago”, as well as hunting for treasure in the backrooms of vintage stores, striking up friendships with retailers and sellers and a constant “where did you get that” back-and-forth between the cast and crew.
In turn, the if-you-know-you-know fashion details have inspired frantic searches for the items in question. Nowhere has this been more apparent than with Carmy’s beloved white T-shirts, with various theories and suggestions thrown around before fans eventually found the right tee from Merz b. Schwanen.
“It’s been such a trip to get sent the Reddit threads with people on the hunt for particular items or seeing the articles breaking down a character’s wardrobe,” Wheeler says. “Shows that aren’t period pieces or about fashion usually don’t get this type of attention, so it definitely surprised us – but it’s been such a nice surprise. We’ve worked pretty hard on it and it’s cool to see it resonate with people.”
Ms Ayo Edebiri in The Bear, season two, episode nine, 2023. Photograph by Mr Chuck Hodes/FX Networks. All rights reserved
While the white tees return for the second season – the crew had to work directly with Merz b. Schwanen to guarantee a good supply – there is a general shift in tone. The Beef is closed and The Bear is yet to open, which means the characters are instead shown away from the kitchen throughout the series, giving us more insight into their off-duty lives – and off-duty wardrobes.
“Some characters you see more of who they are, like Carmy,” Wheeler says. “In the first season, he wore maybe a couple of items, but this season, we added to it. He was finally taking things out of his suitcase or getting his clothes sent from where he came from. He’s settled into the idea of staying around.”
Meanwhile, Richie and Tina embark on personal transformations in line with the restaurant, which is reflected in more serious outfits. Marcus, too, becomes more and more focused on the role, and his graphic tees increasingly pared back – although he still manages to wear a couple of Drake’s tees in the kitchen.
The clothes in The Bear walk a tightrope, managing to appear both effortless and carefully considered. It’s this that has made the show a breakout fashion series, and spawned articles about the rise of “hot chef summer” and celebrating the rise and rise of “chef style”.
Nowadays, for the first time since Mr Marco Pierre White became the first celebrity chef, chefs are menswear pin-ups again. Maybe that explains why so many people went looking for the exact white T-shirt, or the people who reportedly bought a thousand of them, or why people have been analysing the characters’ costumes – right down to the tattoos. Everybody wants to dress like Carmy. Yes, chef!
The Bear is now on Hulu in the US and launches on Disney+ in the UK on 19 July
The Bear necessities
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