Kaia Gerber stepped out in New York City this week wearing an Emily Dawn Long tee that has quietly become one of fashion’s most passed-around insider pieces. The model paired the graphic blue ‘Spoiled Boys’ shirt with a classic black skirt, a Fendi Baguette bag, ballet flats, and sleek sunglasses, all of it looking effortless in that particular way that suggests absolutely no effort was involved.
The outing came the morning after Gerber attended the U.S. Open and celebrated her Vogue September cover at a Casa Magazines event alongside her The Shards co-star Homer Gere. So yes, casual tee and all, she was still operating at full schedule.
The Emily Dawn Long Tee Everyone in Hollywood Is Wearing
If the shirt looks familiar, it should. Pedro Pascal was among the first celebrities to be photographed in the ‘Spoiled Boys’ design, when Long shared a photo of him in a blue version. Paul W. Downs and Tommy Dorfman have since worn colourful iterations to press appearances and red carpets, turning what started as a small-run menswear piece into something closer to a shared wardrobe staple for a certain Hollywood crowd.
The premise of the tee is straightforward: Long, a New York-based designer, sources vintage shirts, then screen-prints ‘Spoiled Boys’ over them. Each one is, by definition, one of a kind. The retail price is $200.
The name is the joke, and also the point. ‘I make menswear, I love my boys,’ Long told Vogue. ‘”Spoiled” usually gets a bad rap, like it’s a negative thing, but it can also mean pampered, cared for, and cherished. It’s a term of endearment.’
Since the first release earlier this year, Long has continued to drop the design in new colourways, widening the appeal without diluting the concept. The shirts have never been marketed in any conventional sense; the audience found them, largely through the kind of organic celebrity visibility that no publicist can reliably manufacture.
For Long, the crossover appeal was always part of the idea. ‘I’m just making fun things for my friends, and ultimately we’re all in on the joke together,’ she said. ‘You can’t really go wrong with any of them: They are all perfectly imperfect.’
Gerber’s appearance in the tee is a good example of how these things actually travel. It is not menswear when she wears it; it just becomes the tee everyone is wearing. That universality, Long suggested, was the intention from the start: it is not just for the boys.
A CFDA Nomination Puts Long’s Work in a Bigger Frame
The ‘Spoiled Boys’ moment is happening alongside a broader recognition of Long’s work. She is one of ten finalists for the 2026 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, a programme that has historically served as one of the more meaningful launchpads for independent American designers.
The 2026 winner will receive $300,000, with each of the two runners-up taking home $100,000. The winner will be announced on 20 October 2026 at a gala dinner in New York City, with the programme backed by Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Instagram, Humane World for Animals, and Vogue.
The other 2026 finalists include Aisling Camps, Amir Taghi, Terrence Zhou of Bad Binch TONGTONG, Jamie Haller, Julia Ferentinos of Juju Vera, Zane Li of Lii, George Inaki of Milamore, Claire Sullivan of Miss Claire Sullivan, and Zoe Gustavia Anna Whalen. It is a competitive field, and the fund’s backing tends to translate into real operational runway for whoever wins.
A tee that Pedro Pascal and Kaia Gerber both reach for is a decent calling card going into October. The $300,000 question gets answered on the 20th.
