The designer behind Taylor Swift’s viral Chiefs puffer coat now has a deal with the NFL

Blogosphere 2 February, 2024 21:10

In recent weeks, Taylor Swift has been grabbing seemingly endless attention for the NFL with her attendance at boyfriend Travis Kelce’s games. But she also has heads turning for her fashion on and off the field, in particular as she has sported custom-made pieces courtesy of sportswear designer Kristin Juszczyk.

Juszczyk, who describes herself as a “completely self-taught” designer, has built a following on social media re-working traditional sports jerseys, T-shirts and other merchandise (blankets, pillows and even footballs themselves) into trendy tailored pieces, from knee-length coats to corsets and miniskirts. Her designs emphasize sportswear iconography like logos and jersey numbers, taking a fashion-forward approach to football fandom. On her Instagram feed, Juszczyk frequently shares videos contrasting the before and after appearance of her pieces, as well as her design process.

And the 29-year-old, who is married to San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, has just landed a licensing agreement with NFL, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN, allowing her to officially use NFL logos in men’s and women’s apparel.

The deal was first reported by Sportico; CNN has reached out to Juszczyk for further comment.

Juszczyk attended college in Rhode Island and later Maryland, graduating from Towson University with a degree in business administration and marketing. (It was in Maryland that she met her now husband, Juszczyk wrote on her website, as he was then playing for the Baltimore Ravens.) But she had learned how to sew at a young age and spent “countless nights crocheting with my grandma while watching ‘Wheel of Fortune’,” she wrote online. Her passion for the craft was reignited as an adult when she created a couples Halloween costume for herself and her husband.

Her work caught the public eye in particular thanks to a puffer coat custom made for Taylor Swift — sporting Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce’s jersey number, 87 — which the singer wore to a Chiefs game January 13. But Swift isn’t the only one with a one-of-a-kind Juszczyk piece; Brittany Mahomes, who is married to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, has a puffer with her husband’s number, and the designer has also made pieces for Simone Biles, who is married to Green Bay Packers’ Jonathan Owens, and Taylor Lautner, a big-time Detroit Lions fan.In an Instagram Reel Juszczyk shared showcasing the design process of Swift’s now iconic puffer jacket, Lautner may have predicted the deal in the comments sections: “@NFL get this girl licensing stat,” he wrote.

Attending the 49ers game on January 28 against the Lions, Juszczyk seemed to have no doubt her husband’s team would take home the win — and advance to the Super Bowl (where they will now face the Chiefs). When the game was over, Juszczyk rolled up the sleeves of the cascading full-length 49ers puffer jacket she was wearing and revealed the words “Super Bowl bound” embroidered within.

So as the big game quickly approaches, those following Juszczyk are eager to see what the designer will have up her sleeve again.

“I’m so proud of her. And she’s extremely talented, and the things she’s putting out there are one of a kind. I wanted to make sure she got that credit,” Kyle Juszczyk told NBC Sports Bay Area on January 16 when asked about his wife’s designs going viral.