Merz b. Schwanen

Merz b. Schwanen is a German clothing brand based in Berlin. The label goes back to 1911, when Balthasar Merz founded a maker of circular-knitted workwear and underwear on the Swabian Alb. Gitta and Peter Plotnicki revived the brand after finding a 1911 henley shirt at a Berlin flea market and restarting production on century-old circular knitting machines.

Products

• THE ORIGINALS: basics made in Germany, inspired by workwear of the 1920s to 1940s
• A second line made with a family-run manufacturer in Portugal since 2016
• T-shirts, henleys, sweats, trousers and accessories for men and women

The family-run company opened its flagship store in Berlin Mitte in 2022 and followed with a store in New York in 2024 and one in Los Angeles in 2026.