Driven by a sense of certainty, Peter Plotnicki researches the origins of this extraordinary piece of clothing and uncovers a textile industry over one and a half centuries old, located in the Swabian Alps.
A flea market vendor from Berlin bought the Henley-style longarm-undershirt at one of the last hosiery companies called “Merz b. Schwanen”. The company was founded in 1911 by Balthazar Merz and employed more than 2,000 workers over several decades – a rarity in this otherwise very poor region. Globalization finally ended the success story of the family-owned business three years before Peter Plotnicki found it – the heirs closed the manufactory due to a lack of orders.