Almost exactly a year ago, Kristin Juszczyk, the wife of the San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, who had been happily D.I.Y.-ing her own game-day merch, became the Cinderella of her own fashion fairy tale when Taylor Swift wore one of Ms. Juszczyk’s custom-made jackets to watch her new boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play football. Before you could say touchdown, she had 1.2 million Instagram followers, a licensing deal with the N.F.L. and was chosen to make a jacket for the winner of the Indy 500.
Now she is teaming up with Emma Grede, a founding partner of Skims, the chief executive of Good American and a “Shark Tank” guest-star investor (also a woman known as the Kardashians’ “secret business weapon”), to turn her home hobby into an actual brand. Together with Fanatics, the sports merchandiser founded by Michael Rubin of White Party fame, they are introducing Off Season, a unisex collection of three puffer (but not too puffy) styles with a sort of Hilfiger-esque air: a vest, a cropped jacket like the one Ms. Swift made famous and a longer coat.
The collection, in the colors of five N.F.L. teams (the 49ers, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs), ranges in price from $295 to $495 and will be available online on Jan. 7.
With headquarters in Los Angeles, where Ms. Grede lives, Off Season is the latest example of the connections between fashion and sports, as each becomes defined as a subset of entertainment. Indeed, the holding company Ms. Grede owns with her husband, Jens Grede, is called Popular Culture, and the goal of her partnership with Ms. Juszczyk, Ms. Grede said, is to “define an entirely new category of apparel.”
They are convinced that football fan chic (and maybe soccer and baseball and more) is not an oxymoron but a market opportunity waiting to happen. So much so that they were happy to get on the phone to explain why. This interview has been edited and condensed.
How did you meet?
KRISTIN JUSZCZYK Once I was granted the N.F.L. license, I knew I wanted to make a brand, and the first person who came to mind was Emma. I’d been a fan of hers from watching “Shark Tank,” and every product I’ve ever bought from one of her companies, whether it was denim with Good American or intimates with Skims, made me a returning customer. So I reached out, asking, “Somebody, please get me in touch with Emma.” I DM’ed her, I emailed her, I cold-called her. I finally got her on the phone.
EMMA GREDE I hadn’t heard about Kristin at that point. But about nine people had said you have to meet this person, so I did.
What did she say that made you think this could be a business?
GREDE I think that brands work best when they’re in lock-step with what’s happening in the wider culture. We’ve seen a seismic shift in the way sports is impacting popular culture — after the Olympics last year, the way the Super Bowl is becoming a global must-watch and how women’s sports has taken center stage. We’ve seen that athletes really understand that fashion can be an accelerator when it comes to building their brands. And so many big brands, whether it be Balenciaga or Chanel, take their cues from sports.
Are you a football fan?
GREDE I grew up going to soccer games with my family in England. I’m from East London, and they all support West Ham, but I’m an Arsenal fan. My husband is a massive, massive American football fan. Now I’m a Lakers season ticket holder. I live around the corner from the U.C.L.A. campus, so I love a bit of women’s basketball. It’s really pure entertainment.
But is it fashion? Most people don’t go to big sports events and think, “So elegant!”
GREDE When you go to games, I would say 90 percent of people are wearing some type of fan gear, and many of them have started to customize it. They take a T-shirt, they roll it up, they cut a sleeve off. It comes down to options. Seven, eight years ago, when we started Good American and were talking about fashion for women of all sizes, I understood that fashionable women exist in bigger sizes, but their options were limited. It’s really just about giving fans at every level a different option. Fans’ love for their teams is boundless.
And priceless?
GREDE What Kristin does feels very different from everything that’s out there. But we’re not just going to create a product — we also need to create the audience for it. Then we’re going to corner that market.
I think there’s this huge space when it comes to serving the fans and their needs. We’re thinking about this as a full line: men’s, women’s and not just for these five teams, but for all 32 teams, and for other leagues.
We’ll have a little surprise around the Super Bowl, and then we’ll start with what is essentially our spring collection around March, April. It’s probably not what you would imagine from the first launch.
It’s not all puffers, caps and T-shirts?
JUSZCZYK Imagine a corset for women or, you know, a really cool sweatshirt for the guys. I’ve essentially been testing the market for the last five years, challenging myself every single week to wear something completely different to games, something no one had seen before, and posting it. Then I could dip into the IG comments and see if people said, “We want that shirt or that short pair of shorts.”
GREDE We want customers to buy our products because they’re fans of the team, but also because they just need a new jacket, or they need a great sweatsuit. They are getting real design, not just a team logo on a T-shirt.
JUSZCZYK That’s why it’s called Off Season. We wanted a name that encapsulated the fact that this isn’t just for football season. It’s for year-round.
Do you test the products on your husband?
JUSZCZYK Kyle and a friend wore jackets to the game last week. I go to all of his games, home or away, and what’s so fun is people in opposing team uniforms coming up to me and instead of saying, “Boo your team,” they say, “We love your work.” Even if they are rivals, teams in different leagues, fashion provides some unity.
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