There’s more to Ayo Edebiri than ‘The Bear’. Cue: her graphic tee collection

The Bear may have come to an end with its fifth and final season last week, but my obsession with Ayo Edebiri is only growing. Don’t get me wrong—I’ve loved her from the very beginning, but recently I’ve discovered a new reason to love the actor: her graphic tee collection.

A couple of weeks ago in the lead-up to the release of the final season of the show, Edebiri was spotted in a vintage 1993 Björk ‘Debut’ long-sleeve tee from Artifact, styled by Danielle Goldberg. Worn with a pair of thong kitten heels, black trousers, and a delicious spotted Chanel 25 mini handbag, every angle of the look populated my feed, the comments abuzz with vindicated affirmations that Ayo Edebiri is that girl.

The appearance was enigmatic yet precise—undeniably Björky—and made me wonder: is the graphic tee the ultimate signifier of taste when it comes to celebrity personal style?

Granted she’s not the first celebrity to wear a graphic tee; in recent times alone we’ve seen Zendaya swap out carpet couture for a Spiderman tee, Olivia Rodrigo use graphic tees in tour looks to subtly announce track names from her new album, and of course, the Hailey Bieber ‘nepo baby’ tee that became an instant hit. One of my personal favourites is more of a throwback—Julia Roberts’s homemade ‘A low Vera’ tee from 2002. A dig at Vera Steimberg, ex-wife of her then-boyfriend Danny Moder, who was refusing to grant him a divorce. The original subtweet. Roberts notably inspired Edebiri’s look at the Golden Globes last year. 

But what makes Edebiri’s particular collection so brilliant is how well it understands the graphic tee as a vehicle to express personal taste. The comfy silhouette signals a lived-in quality, that this is just who you are. And even at your laziest, slouchiest, you’re still kind of chic because you’re in the know.

Through her off-duty looks in makeup chairs and set photos, at airports and the Criterion Closet, Edebiri subtly cues us into the person she might be. Not the costumed character or the curated public figure but the real human being with interests and a point of view. At her SNL debut back in 2024, Edebiri sported a simple white T-shirt with a four-leaf clover and her name, a nod to her running joke that she is Irish.

Where that example is more one-of-one, largely her graphic tee game leans towards the referential. And the risk of wearing a graphic tee? Especially one affiliated with a band—is being asked to name five songs (just ask teenage Elle Woods). There’s a fine line with a graphic tee—you want to harness the energy of what’s emblazoned upon it, not simply insist upon an association. Being “unafraid to reference or not reference”, as Lady Gaga once said, is a balance Edebiri’s collection strikes particularly well.

The graphic tee is also uniquely positioned to be a piece of fashion that says something important, whether it’s Pedro Pascal in Connor Ives’s ‘Protect the Dolls’ T-shirt or Zeenat Aman in NorBlack NorWhite’s ‘Aunty’ tee; the proceeds go to organisations like Trans Lifeline and Shalini Shakti, respectively. And when it comes to celebrity style, I am certainly of the opinion that there are few things as tasteful as a little integrity.

Edebiri has long been that girl, and every further glimpse into her personality through these tees only confirms that she’s also incredibly tasteful.