The ATHLETIC TEE / JOLLY ROGER has been made from 100% cotton loopwheel cloth and is finished with the 90th Bombardment Group JOLLY ROGER motif at the front. This detail has been carefully applied by hand in house at our Kobe HQ.

Loopwheel T-shirts are the antithesis to disposable, fast-fashion. The process to create a seamless loopwheel tee is painstaking compared to modern methods but the results are unparalleled.

Between the 1930s and 60s t-shirts made from Loopwheel fabric were relatively common but remained sought after for their unique properties. This loopwheel tee is knitted in Wakayama, Japan, using extremely rare machines, known in Japan as Tsuriami-ki and even rarer skill and technique, exclusively for The Real McCoy’s.

The resulting material feels like it has been hand woven, with a stretchy element to it, a quality that cannot be replicated by modern production techniques. The crucial difference is that Loopwheel textiles is knitted in an oval shaped sequence to yield a fabric that will comfortably stretch with wear, but will return to its original dimensions with a wash. The absence of seams and the standard of the cotton make for a tee of ultimate comfort and quality.

Operating in the Southwest Pacific Theater, the 90th Bombardment Group played a pivotal role in critical campaigns, including the Battle of the Bismarck Sea and operations over Leyte Gulf, significantly disrupting enemy airpower and securing key Allied victories. Their daring missions and precision were symbolised by their iconic insignia—a skull and crossed bombs—which earned them the nickname “The Best Damn Heavy Bomb Group in the World.”

The 90th Bombardment Group, famously known as the “Jolly Rogers”, was a highly distinguished unit of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Activated on April 15, 1942, at Key Field in Meridian, Mississippi, the group began training with B-24 Liberator bombers under the III Bomber Command. Key Field played a crucial role in transitioning the unit from formation to combat readiness, providing the resources and infrastructure essential for their development. After completing this initial phase, the group continued training at other southeastern U.S. locations before deploying to Hawaii in September 1942. By November 1942, they had moved to the Southwest Pacific, joining the Fifth Air Force and beginning their combat operations.

100% Cotton

6.8 oz Loopwheel fabric

Rubber printing motif

Cotton sewing thread construction

Made in Japan