Travis Kelce is teaming up with fashion label Tommy Hilfiger. Will the American brand also be dressing him for his wedding to Taylor Swift? – Christopher Polk/Billboard/Getty Images
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If Taylor Swift’s record-breaking engagement announcement is any indication, Polymarket bets, group chats and neighborhood wagers are undoubtedly sprouting up around the world to guess what she might wear for her upcoming wedding to Travis Kelce.
But Kelce is no fashion slouch himself. A former GQ cover star, the Kansas City Chiefs player has helped spread the tunnel fit phenomenon with his vintage-inflected suits and goofy statement print pieces — helping to rebrand the logistical walkway into a surprising fashion moment for sporting stars. Kelce’s tailoring choices on the day Swift walks down the aisle will certainly make news, too.
This week, a clue appeared in the form of a new partnership between Kelce and Tommy Hilfiger. It suggests that, just as Swift wore American fashion hero Ralph Lauren for her viral engagement photos on Instagram, Kelce may integrate a patriotic great into his matrimonial trousseau. On Monday, Tommy Hilfiger announced that Kelce will join the label as both a global brand ambassador and a creative collaborator.
Designer Tommy Hilfiger’s fashion label announced a “multi-season partnership” with Travis Kelce. – Courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger
He will kick off his collaborative duties this fall with a vague project, per a press release from the brand: “the athletic icon enters Tommy Hilfiger’s New York – a setting of timeless glamour, easy sophistication and where surprise encounters are never more than a block away.” Is it an ad campaign? A Kelce-themed fashion show?
Things become more concrete next year, as Kelce is scheduled to co-design a collection of men’s clothing and accessories. This will mark the first time that the football tight end, podcaster and world’s-most-famous boyfriend can add “fashion designer” to his credits.
In the release, Hilfiger praised Kelce as being “at the forefront of a new generation of athletes expressing themselves through style, with a down-to-earth quality that people immediately connect with.” Kelce, for his part, outed himself as a nearly-lifelong Hilfiger fan: “Ever since high school, when I used to ask my mom to buy Sailing Gear jackets, I’ve been drawn towards the brand’s confident style and over the years have respected its ability to be classic and consistent while still evolving.”
While high profile brand deals are nothing new, Tommy Hilfiger has long been a pioneer of teaming up with A-listers. Not only has the label excelled at celebrity dressing – particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s, when Destiny’s Child, *NSYNC and Snoop Dogg proudly wore Tommy logos on their T-shirts and waistbands – it was also an early adopter of starry guest designers, tasking talents like Zendaya and Gigi Hadid with creating full-blown collections in 2019 and 2018 respectively. At last, someone has recognized that Kelce’s cloud-print denim suits and outré silk shirts suggest he also has a fashion designer inside just raring to get out.
In between these design responsibilities, ambassador Kelce will presumably wear quite a bit of Tommy Hilfiger clothes. Given the mania for 1990s style, inspired by “Love Story” and streamlined basics at revived mall stalwarts like the Gap, a Tommy logo waistband has the potential to feed those pre-season paparazzi pics. And, if the stars align and Kelce wants his wedding look to be both preppy and accessible, we might see him in a Tommy tux come June, as well.
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