What Is Hanes Doing at Paris Fashion Week? (EXCLUSIVE)
The name Hanes shouldn’t draw a blank because that’s exactly what it does. Millions of times over. The American garment producer is known for its unassuming range of plain tees, sweats and underwear. Like those offered by Fruit of the Loom and Gildan, which acquired Hanes in late 2025. Hanes shirts are famously affordable staples which in turn makes them a frequent canvas for consumers to doodle, customize, and print on.
A genuine quelle surprise today then, when the brand appeared in the heart of the Marais for Paris Fashion Week with a “Fraîche Laundry” pop-up that leans hard into the blank-canvas nature of its signature product. Marking the brand's 125th anniversary, the event is anchored by Hanes T-shirts created in collaboration with a trio of brands: Awake NY, Sky High Farm, and Petrossian.
It’s not a total marketing departure for Hanes, as the PFW moment follows a range of collabs with the likes of Supreme (with whom Hanes has partnered for over a decade), Urban Outfitters, and TikTok Shop. Elsewhere, fashion editors have recently praised the durability of Hanes basics. But heading to fashion week is a bold move for the brand — it’s basically a darecation.
Fortunately for Hanes, its hero product is a reliable one. The item customized by each brand is the Beefy-T, the brand’s cash cow and most premium undershirt. First released in 1975, it became popular among promotional screen printers thanks to its high stitch density and clean finish and remained a go-to streetwear blank for decades.
Each brand has taken a unique approach to customizing the Beefy-T. Awake NY, the savvy streetwear brand, smartly inserted its cursive "A" into the Hanes logo. Non-profit farm-to-fashion collective Sky High Farm, which has collaborated with On and Balenciaga among others, printed its insignia near the hem. Petrossian, the international caviar purveyor, simply emblazoned its typeface on the face of the tee for, excuse us, a genuine front roe look.
The quintessential staple tee and a de facto force in luxury treats, together at last. If there ever was a caviar of basic tees, it'd have to be this.
Unlike Hanes’ factory line, which produces 82 million meters of fabric a year, the production of these tees is strictly limited. Each collaborative style is capped at around 50 pieces and available exclusively at the pop-up, itself a chic, laundrette-room-adjacent studio space where Hanes tees hang from the ceiling. They’re suspended above a range of installations including a retro CRT set-up from analog collective TV STORE, a neon gas work from a local glass sculptor, and upcycled curtains from Colorado-based textile artist Rebecca Espinosa.
In the corner, Hanes’ history is mapped-out through clippings suspended onto a wire rack with clothes pegs in its signature scarlet color. The timeline is a reminder of its extensive heritage, including a three-decade partnership with former spokesman Michael Jordan.
As for the partnerships themselves, they are telling.
It’s unlikely that Hanes is going to be hanging any dedicated streetwear brands out to dry anytime soon, for one. But working with a caviar brand does mark a pivotal step towards exclusivity for Hanes, a brand that markets under the tagline: “Comfortable Clothing for Every Body.”
Rather than just let consumers do the custom jobs with ironed-on-patches or dodgy tie-dye-sessions, Hanes is hinging on borrowed clout to create fresh lore. It’s timely new territory for blanks, as the broader fashion industry finds itself leaning ever harder into wearables defined by wearability.
Hanes’ stab at self-elevation is perhaps summed up best by the caption on the back of the Hanes x Awake NY tee: “Qui ne risque, rien n'a rien.” Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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