Zosia Mamet, Evan Jonigkeit Model J. Crew’s New Political Tees

J. Crew is more woke than you think.

Days after the apparel brand launched a feminist T-shirt collab with prinkshop, it debuted “Love first.” tees with 50 percent of the sales going to the Human Rights Campaign in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month. On Thursday, actor-spouses Zosia Mamet (Girls) and Evan Jonigkeit (X-Men: Days of Future Past) modeled the rainbow apparel on Instagram to show their support. 

Styles ($34.50) include white text on a dusty rose or navy shirt or rainbow font on a white or gray shirt, reading “Love first.” The preppy retailer is also offering socks ($14.50) with equal signs and Madewell totes, reading “Love to all” ($10), to benefit the civil rights organization. 

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Mamet wrote, “‘Love first’ means ensuring that we take care of one another.” She was pictured on J. Crew’s Instagram, laughing on a stool with her husband, Jonigkeit. 

Jonigkeit posted on his Instagram, saying, “It is not lost on me, being a cisgendered straight white male in America that I have a great deal of advantages, ones that have never made me question whether I personally was being treated fairly by society at large. Part of being an actor is putting myself in other people’s shoes.” He started an LGBTQ theater company in Philadelphia with his friend director Peter Reynolds.

“Playing those characters and being immersed and led by a community so full of love and support was seminal in my development as a person and an artist,” Jonigkeit added. “While on one hand there have been great strides in equality, there are constant threats to anyone who has not been born with the same physical traits and identifiers I have.”

But the brand’s previous marriage of fashion and politics left some customers upset.

Last week, the company posted “Start ’em young” on Instagram alongside a photo of a young boy in a pink shirt reading, “I am a feminist, too” ($29.50). Some commenters complained of a “political agenda” and “leftist virtue signaling.”  “Shame on you for politicizing little boys into what their MOMS want them to be,” wrote one.

Others shared their love for the product. One user posted, “Being a feminist simply means believing in equality of the genders. There is nothing wrong with teaching a young kid to treat both girls and boys gently and with respect. Stop finding reasons to smear brands which use good intentioned advertisements.”

Prinkshop chimed in on Instagram: “Thank you J. Crew for honoring the boys with our inclusive design. We are proud to celebrate the men and boys who acknowledge and practice feminism. Equality for all.”

This year, J. Crew and its sister brand Madewell have also offered more inclusive size options, adding sizes 23 to 35 and debuting The Curvy Jean with a contoured waistband. 

It comes after J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons left the ailing company after 26 years in 2017, followed by the exit of J. Crew CEO Mickey Drexler. 

Perhaps the new team is hoping a little Meghan Markle sparkle will rub off? The newly married royal did wear a navy J. Crew coat on International Women’s Day, and calls herself “a proud feminist” on her official royal website.