Joe Burrow hates the colour pink. Or shorts which are too lengthy.
He could also be one of many NFL’s most trendy athletes, however even the Cincinnati Bengals’ quarterback has onerous traces he received’t cross — and Kyle Smith, the person behind his headline-making tunnel seems, has them memorized.
“We’re in all probability by no means going to see him in a completely pink outfit,” Smith, the NFL’s first-ever style editor, tells me with a understanding snort. And, no — it’s not as a result of pink occurs to be the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs’ group shade. “He simply doesn’t like pink.”
It’s not Burrow’s solely sartorial pet peeve, Smith provides. “Another issues he’ll by no means do? [Wear] shorts that go previous the knee,” the stylist says. “He hates shorts that go previous the knee. You realize, honest. We will deal with a lot larger issues right here — like carrying the Bottega bag.”
That woven leather-based Bottega carryall — which turned heads and fueled loads of web discourse — made its now-famous look throughout Quarterback, Netflix’s docuseries following Burrow and different NFL stars. The second is fast however unforgettable: a becoming room scene between Smith and Burrow, the place cameras seize the 2 males mid-styling session.
“That’s so loopy as a result of I didn’t know I used to be going to be on that present till like 10 minutes earlier than we began filming,” Smith recollects. “I simply appeared Joe within the eye, and I used to be like, ‘I don’t need to do that.’ He was like, ‘Please.’”
That second could have lasted just a few seconds onscreen, but it surely stated all the things about their working relationship: one which’s constructed on belief, collaboration and a shared understanding that style, like soccer, is a recreation of daring strikes.
Kyle Smith helps Burrow and different NFL stars improve their type recreation. (Thibaud Moritz/AFP through Getty Photos)
Inside Burrow’s type playbook
When Smith first met Burrow, it wasn’t over espresso for a vibe test; it was a garments becoming. “I got here in blind with a bunch of stuff, simply hoping to see what he’d gravitate towards,” Smith recollects. Burrow, quiet and imposing, took all of it in. “Joe is available in very tall and form of scary,” Smith jokes. “However I’m additionally very tall and probably scary — so we have been an ideal match.”
Because it seems, they’re each 6’4″ — which makes clothes-swapping not solely attainable however sometimes sensible. Nonetheless, the true connection got here from one thing else completely: shared curiosity. “What I came upon about Joe is that he loves house and dinosaurs,” Smith says. “So I like incorporating these particulars into his seems. It makes it private.”
And private is the precedence. Whereas Smith brings the style experience, it’s Burrow’s persona and temper that cleared the path. “I get this query rather a lot: ‘What traits can we anticipate this season?’” Smith says. “However athletes don’t care about traits. They’re not in search of them. They’re setting them.”
After a turf toe harm sidelined Burrow in Week 2 this season, he made his triumphant return on Nov. 27. Strolling into the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium in a cropped white Alo sherpa jacket and plaid wide-leg trousers, Burrow delivered the form of quietly assured look that followers had been lacking. The hair was longer (to the delight of X, previously Twitter), the vitality cool and composed. It was a style reset as a lot as a soccer one — a sign that Burrow wasn’t simply again; he was nonetheless very a lot him.
As Smith places it, “There are some things Joe, in the beginning of us working collectively, would by no means do. After which he’s slowly form of attempting on some new issues. And it’s fascinating then to see what the followers say. … I’m like, ‘Yeah, I do know. I do know it’s a superb look.’”
Sport-day seems — from a squiggle two-piece forward of Monday Evening Soccer to a Chrome Hearts swimsuit paired with an orange Birkin bag — are hardly ever deliberate far prematurely. “I don’t suppose numerous gamers know what they’re going to be carrying Week 18,” Smith says. “It all the time, you understand, relies on your temper. You get up sooner or later and also you’re like, Who am I as we speak? What do I need to categorical as we speak?”
In Burrow’s case, that expression may be a daring silhouette, a touch of classic prep or one thing extra surprising — like a backless Thom Browne swimsuit on the “Vogue World: Paris” runway. However even with riskier seems, Smith says the precedence is authenticity, not shock worth.
Burrow walked the runway in a Thom Browne swimsuit throughout “Vogue World: Paris” in June 2024. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Photos for Vogue)
The tunnel is their pink carpet
Because the NFL’s first style editor, Smith has the uncommon process of serving to the league look good — actually. And whereas pink carpets used to belong to film stars and musicians, he says soccer gamers are actually absolutely within the combine.
“Actually, the tunnel is a pink carpet,” Smith says. “With actors, you’re selling a movie. With athletes, it’s themselves — their model, their persona.”
Smith ought to know. Earlier than becoming a member of the league, he was a star stylist, however working with gamers is totally different. “It used to really feel such as you had to decide on: Had been you a sports activities particular person or a style particular person?” he says. “Now? You will be each. You may lose the sport — and nonetheless have an awesome outfit.”
The impression is seen far past the sphere. “These are the traits that we noticed originate within the tunnel — like, now each child in highschool is carrying this factor that some participant wore Week 8,” Smith says. “That’s the ripple impact.”
And whereas Burrow garners probably the most headlines, Smith is fast to shout out others making waves. “Stefon Diggs — all the time has his personal sense of favor, all the time supporting new manufacturers. But additionally guys like Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Ogbo Okoronkwo, Grant Delpit, Kenny Moore, Puka Nacua — they’re all doing wonderful issues.”
That’s what excites him most — the vary. “We have now tons of gamers on each single group,” Smith says. “And what I like about that’s that there is only a breadth of our bodies and kinds for any fan to form of align themselves with.”
There’s no single components. “Some guys are in full designer. Some store on Amazon. There’s one thing for everybody,” he says. “And that’s what makes it enjoyable.”
Dressing the half
For Smith, styling isn’t about simply what somebody wears — it’s about how they really feel in it. That’s very true with athletes like Burrow, who’re navigating intense public scrutiny whereas constructing a private model off the sphere. “If we’re going to do one thing daring, we take into consideration why we’re doing this and the way,” Smith says. “I believe that’s one thing that’s essential to me about style: What are you attempting to say with it?”
That intentionality is what retains the collaboration working. It’s not about pushing limits simply to go viral. It’s about evolving whereas staying grounded in who the participant actually is — and, extra vital, needs to be. “If we’re going to do one thing daring, we take into consideration what it’s saying. I all the time need the look to say one thing about who the particular person is,” Smith says. “And if you see the followers reply positively? That simply reinforces that we’re doing it proper.”
There could also be no pink in Burrow’s future, and positively no lengthy shorts — however that doesn’t imply he’s enjoying it protected. From the tunnel to the runway, Burrow’s seems proceed to sign one factor: He’s absolutely accountable for his picture. And Kyle Smith is correct there with him — ensuring each match tells the story, even earlier than the primary snap.
