The Tamesis
Welcome to The Scoop: a weekly email series in which we ask fashion insiders about the week’s stories. This will be a way for the Vogue business community to synthesize and reflect on the latest headlines every Friday and get a little inside scoop.
This week’s guest is the NFL’s first fashion editor, Kyle Smith. Smith is the reason all these American football players suddenly become people you know — sitting in the front row of shows and talking about their “fits” on podcasts.
Over the past year, the stylist (who also created his own role by simply spotting a gap in the market) took over the tunnel walk and reframed it as a moment of opportunity — for players to express their personal style and for the league to make money. Abercrombie & Fitch, Breitling and Hugo Boss are just three brands that the alliance partnered with last year.
As Smith’s first official NFL season comes to a close, I caught up with Smith to get the scoop on this year’s Super Bowl.
Hi Kyle, any scoop?
The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and as you know, Abercrombie & Fitch is the first official fashion partner of the NFL. What you didn’t know is that we’re going to be doing a fashion show with Abercrombie & Fitch right before the Super Bowl.
If you look at the history of Abercrombie & Fitch, it’s 134 years old. When I went to the brand’s headquarters to broker the deal, I saw a pair of pants there that Kennedy had worn—and I got goosebumps. So the show is inspired by their long and rich history and then adds NFL footage.
This event is by invitation only. I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s going to be star-studded because it’s right before our big celebrity flag football game. So every celebrity in town will be there for the Super Bowl. I’ll also be wearing Abercrombie & Fitch – all black.
I feel like fashion shows are gaining more and more attention as a format outside of fashion week.
I think the idea of fashion presentation is changing. What I love about fashion is that it touches so many aspects of culture that sometimes it’s almost silly to look at it in a vacuum, right? So it’s like, how does fashion touch sports? How does it come into contact with the film? How does fashion affect all other parts of life? Hosting a fashion show at the Super Bowl celebrates how people can express their identity through football fandom. Football means a lot to a lot of people. It’s a really exciting way to get more and more people involved in fashion.
You only wear black, so I knew you would enjoy this question. We’ve got news that Gen Z is rejecting it: What are your thoughts?
This is a heavy question for me. I had no idea until you sent me the article. I honestly think it’s just a trend and probably a reaction to the doom and gloom of it all. I have a 19 year old sister. I read how Gen Z feels and I get it. It’s really hard out there. If you can bring joy into your life in any way possible, whether it’s wearing brighter colors or adding glamor to your bag, then do it. No matter what, bring yourself happiness.
There’s a classic notion that people who work in clothing wear black so they can focus on other people’s clothes. Is that why you wear black?
