Steve Coe understands the value of a quality t-shirt. "I want to wear it to death," he says, "I want mine to fall apart out of their own volition." His fittingly named company, Worn Free, is dedicated to crafting shirts with enough character to have endured for decades.

After hunting through photographic archives for rarely seen images of rock n' roll icons, he recreates the vintage tees worn by the likes of Debbie Harry, John Lennon, the Ramone boys, Zappa, and Iggy Pop. But Coe, a student of music (and a guitar player himself) originally from England, isn't just seeking superstar names. They may get the most attention, but he's more intrigued by the casual wardrobes of Gram Parsons, Mick Ronson, Ian Drury, and other artists that inspired the icons. "He didn't really give a shit about what anyone else is doing," says Coe, of Drury. "So it really influenced a lot of people. It's kind of like a great British institution really."

This focus on the 60s, 70s, and early 80s is no coincidence, says Coe, who got his start in the industry selling shirts like "Jehovah's Fitness" to Urban Outfitters. By the 90s, he says, "Everything starts to become branded." Thus, notions of working with favorites contemporary acts such as Super Furry Animals, and maybe dipping into reggae with Jimmy Cliff, will have to wait. But that's not stopping others from taking notice now, as everyone from Common to Travis to the cast of HBO's Entourage has donned Worn Free tees. "It's all kind of connected in a nice way," Coe says of his legendary roster, but it seems it's no less true nowadays. --NICK MOSQUERA

READ MORE:
The man behind Gram Parsons's iconic look
The real star of the Black and White ball: Truman Capote's tux

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