Sales of shirt worn by 'El Chapo' spike after pictures

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles creators of a shirt made famous by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman said sales are "skyrocketing" since the drug kingpin donned the garment.

Shawn and Sam Esteghbal, the Iranian brothers behind the Barabas boutique in Los Angeles, said they decided to use the drug lord in their advertising after he was photographed wearing one of their shirts in Rolling Stone photographs of El Chapo's meeting with actor Sean Penn prior to his being recaptured.

"MOST WANTED SHIRT," the garment is now labeled on their website.

"It's not about that he's an international criminal," Shawn Esteghbal told the Guardian. "But we're excited because he could buy anything, he could buy Versace, any other brand, but to choose our brand, our designs!"

The brothers said it wasn't clear what attracted Guzman to their $128 shirt.

"I don't know. People just always look for something unique, and they're probably thinking this is unique because that guy wears it. He could wear a $10,000 shirt or a $3,000 shirt, but he wears Barabas," Sam Esteghbal told CNN.

Shawn Esteghbal said "sales are skyrocketing" since the pictures went public.

"We cannot keep them in stock, and we have a lot of demand from all over," he said.