Over to Sydney Indie brand lift as TV finds 'the perfect T-shirt' for women

The Bear is back for season four, but never mind Carmy's famous white T-shirt. All eyes are on Sydney, the quietly competent chef de cuisine played by Ayo Edebiri, who has been breaking the internet with her own white T-shirt.

- Morwenna Ferrier

Designed by a small independent US brand called Everybody.World, and worn as she's prepping in the opening episode, it mirrors the tight white tee by Merz b. Schwanen preferred by her erratic boss, which crashed the company's website - and helped propel Jeremy Allen White to become the face (and body) of Calvin Klein.

As a unisex top, and coming in at a third of the cost of Carmy's, its popularity suggests there is more to The Bear than costume and drama.

"Audiences are more fashion-aware than ever," said Julie Garlejo, who started an Instagram account, @thebearoutfits, logging the show's clothes. "We don't just want drama - we want characters who feel real, who look like someone we'd pass on the street or follow on Instagram," she said. A fashion photographer, she began documenting the clothes in season one "before the hype fully hit," she said. "I think we've moved from theatrical styling to authentic, lived-in fashion. These aren't just costumes, they're actual wardrobes."

The Bear is a gritty fairy tale about family, ego and financial survival - not fashion per se. But as television has gained more respect as a medium, there has been a knock-on effect on the clothes worn by its stars, which now inform, reflect and even approximate the wider culture.