SGG Weekly: The Power of Personal Style
The Common Thread in Stefon Diggs' + Jason Kelce's Aesthetics and Oscars' highlights.
Hi friends and strangers,
If you hear a collective sigh of relief over the internet this week, it’s because another fashion month and awards season is over, with the Oscars and Paris Fashion Week serving as the inevitable conclusion, respectively. In the sports world, the NFL Draft is fast approaching and both the NHL and NBA push to post-season is underway and baseball will soon be back (see-through pants or not). It’s been a busy few weeks but I’ve noticed a specific thread that I want to focus on today, along with some much-needed Oscars callouts (obviously).
The Power of Personal Style in Sports
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the use of personal style as a narrative device, and how some of us may use it consciously and often, for celebrities in a commercial, planned manner. While others may use it more subconsciously because it’s so ingrained in their sense of self. It works best when it feels genuine and self-propelled. I first thought about this concept when reading all the touching tributes to Iris Apfel, the 102-year-old style star, textile expert and interior designer who passed away on March 1st, 2024. Her own Instagram profile declares, “More is more and less is a bore”. She seemed to both genuinely love fashion and see it as a form of self-expression and joy - and I think that’s one of the main reasons she was - and will continue to be - beloved.
I thought again about personal style when Travis Kelce asked his brother and podcast co-host Jason Kelce to describe his outfit following his very publicized retirement press conference. Finally, I thought about when I was reviewing all of Stefon Diggs’ fashion month outfits and his new brand, LIEM. When it comes specifically to the two athletes, you may not see the connection but I see these examples as two very clear attempts to use fashion to cement their respective public images.
Let’s focus on the former first, Stefon Diggs - because after all, a fashion line debut and an Instagram full of runway-ready outfits is an overt example of using fashion to define a personal brand. Diggs, currently a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills, has been one of the NFL players to watch for both tunnel looks and at the front row of fashion week for a few seasons. He’s worked with a few different stylists and photographers to document his fits and he seems immersed in making himself the predominant model athlete. His new line is called Liem - which stands for live every moment - and is a take on elevated streetwear, but is positioning itself as a luxury house (although in the last few years luxury fashion houses are obsessed with co-opting streetwear so it is de rigour but that is a topic for a later newsletter). There are sweatsuits, graphic tees, hats and even a knit “Grandma Sweater”. Their website declares:
LIEM is a luxury fashion house founded by Stefon Diggs in 2022. After years of being a consumer, Stefon's decision to shift gears into creating his own pieces came from a lifetime of love for quality garments and an innate creative ability. Like most creatives, the desire for something that did not exist was apparent in his everyday life when interacting with clothes, so inevitably, LIEM was born.
At LIEM we focus on crafting garments that are a direct translation of Stefon's ideas and artistic vision. Each garment is designed with the intention of individuality,
ultimately giving the consumer space for self expression and comfort, while encouraging each of you to Live In Every Moment.
It is standard fashion copywriting for “we don’t have a key aesthetic or hero piece - we will do what we think is cool each drop” - which makes sense. They are in a phase of experimentation and likely, product testing. I’m sure they’ll expand and develop based on what sells, and how Diggs’ vision evolves and changes. Aesthetically, it reminds me of the early days of Rhude’s more casual pieces at a slightly more accessible price point - although $175 for a trucker hat is not what I would call affordable or a good investment.
He’s done interviews with High Snobiety and an editorial with Mr. Porter, mostly wearing the new Fear of God collection (it doesn’t appear that Liem is in any retail locations yet, just direct to consumers online). In both interviews, it’s interesting to see how he highlights that fashion is one of his many creative pursuits - but it’s not his only focus. He’s also curating his home, still loves football, and dabbles in pottery - and I think his style reflects this as well. His fashion line isn’t big enough yet to wear head to toe, so he mixes it in with other labels and immerses himself in fashion week events. In the High Snobiety piece he says, “The long-term vision is to keep creating things that are authentic to myself and Liem as we grow into something that will live beyond me. Create, create, create!” - and I wouldn’t be surprised if Liem functions as a way to collaborate on other projects, like Russell Westbrook’s Honor the Gift. Westbrook’s brand has grown using collections to tell stories and released collaborations with Jordan Brand (his longtime shoe sponsor) and Legacy as well as being carried in several retail stores. It’s a way for Westbrook to explore fashion, design and other projects through the brand so it’s not just purely on him as an ambassador - there is more ownership and more room to experiment behind the scenes.
I think it’s smart to highlight that the brand will be an outlet for Diggs rather than a specific standalone brand - it could be going forward but he is positioning himself as a multi-hyphenate. This is shown through his style choices like a cropped fur and leather at Bottega Veneta, all white and big boots at Balenciaga and even a Louis Vuitton kilt and letterman jacket in the tunnel - he is building his aesthetic persona and signature silhouettes by mixing his brand with big name fashion companies he wants to work with and perhaps, compete with someday.
Now, Jason Kelce on the other hand has made it clear that he does not care for fashion, has only been to a fashion show when he was tricked and will never wear a suit unless it’s necessary, like to a wedding. I thought it was interesting that he dismissed Travis’ question initially and then detailed each piece - he may think he is not participating but he is, even subconsciously. He wore a shirt he’s had forever that he lifted in over the years during training, a pair of his trademark slides, and had his longtime trainer, Joe O’Pella, wrap his ankles since O’Pella who wrapped his ankles and hands his whole career, but missed out during the final season due to his fight with cancer.
He also wore his custom Rolex yellow gold Rolex GMT Master II with a green dial and black bezel on his wrist, which was made in honor of the Eagles Super Bowl victory in 2018 (apparently the ring chaffed and felt too flashy for Kelce). Those little aesthetic elements tied into the elder Kelce’s narrative, whether he meant to or not. Wearing the old shirt, the slides, and even the tape - it showed his everyman style - which connects him to the guy watching who might not relate to his brother Travis’ jet-setting fashion sense. Although the watch is flashy, it’s a piece with sentimental value as well as part of his journey and a reminder that he helped bring the Eagles their first and only championship.
His outfit made it easier for everyone who was watching - fans, reporters, even Swifties - to focus on his message and his amazing storytelling. If he came in a fitted, fancy suit - that would have been the narrative and pulled attention away. Kelce’s speech was so much about his team, his journey and his family and wearing the old shirt, the slides and the tape - connected it. He may not even subconsciously thought that while getting ready (honestly, I felt like Travis was hinting at it on the podcast but maybe I’m just too aesthetically obsessed) but he understands who he is. This is how I see Kelce connect to Diggs and even Apfel - a genuine sense of themselves that’s reflected in their unique approaches to getting dressed for events. I’m sure it will translate into more sales for their podcast merchandise line with Homage, more Kelce jersey sales for the Eagles and I’m sure plenty of endorsement and on-air gig options. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up having signature colorways of his preferred “dad” shoes - New Balances or Nike Monarchs - or slides soon, too. While Travis is the Kelce brother known for his love of fashion (his mom joked on the podcast that she did get a girl because of how much Travis loves to dress up) - it is interesting to see how Jason’s wardrobe works in his favour of cementing his brand and ethos.
An Oscars Ogling for a Good Cause
In keeping with our theme of fashion being an essential component of narrative construction - John Cena’s bit enforced this idea quite literally, after all, “costumes - they’re important. Maybe the most important thing there is”. Cena’s segment, in which he was presenting best costume design, was meant as an homage to the infamous Oscars streaker. Much can be said bout his birthday suit (this gif seems appropriate) it’s important to recognize that this segment came at a perfect time for a current equity campaign in Hollywood.
The Costume Designers Guild Local 892’s Pay Equity Committee is advocating for fair pay as costume designers are the lowest-paid creative department heads in the industry today. Their “you’re naked without us” campaign got a perfect memeable moment with Cena truly demonstrating the need for the costume department on all sets. I feel like the behind-the-scenes moments showing the dressers and team that made sure he was a little more clothed for the actual award presentation did a great way of highlighting this fact as well. A reminder, that in the fight for equity and fair pay - not all heroes wear capes - sometimes they wear jorts and sometimes they wear Birkenstocks Arizona sandals, an unseen modesty garment and an envelope.
Best Achievement in Footwear I Want Right Now
I’m ashamed to say I haven’t seen Godzilla Minus One yet (especially as I’m both the kind of person who never grew out of their dinosaur/giant monster phase and a lover of Japanese cinema) but I’ve been loving the coordination of the teams looks on red carpets through the awards season. For the Oscars, the team all wore shoes with Godzilla-esque claws and details on the heels while carrying miniature Godzilla figures - which made for some cute juggling when they won the award.
The shoes are made by Matsui Ryosuke, a Japanese designer, for their brand ha | za | ma, as part of a collaboration celebrating the film, which included shoes, this amazing jacket and even a perfume bottle. The brand dressed the whole team from head to toe, according to their Instagram. I don’t have much to say besides that I love seeing smaller productions both win big at the Oscars and support local, up-and-coming talent. I’m hoping for a re-release in the boots and jewelry, and in related news - I’m a size 23 in Japanese sizing - just saying.
Extra Credit:
Derek Guy aka the Menswear Guy on Twitter has a great thread on why Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s silk Dolce & Gabanna suit did not work. Spoiler: I also thought it was a tight, shiny mess. Dave Bautista is my pick for best-dressed wrestler currently (I think the fact that he rescues pit bulls, has the same Basquiat tattoo as me and was in Blade Runner: 2049 helps his cause too).
Plenty of athletes were at the Oscars and the after parties including Jalen Hurts, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Roger Federer and Serena Williams. This reel from GQ Sports highlights a few. I think I’ll do a full rundown for paid subscribers so watch out for that.
This rundown from Variety on how Ryan Gosling’s incredible fun and earnest I’m Just Ken performance came together is a cute little read.
Would you rather follow Jason Kelce or Stefon Diggs as a style inspiration and did you have a best dressed or perhaps most improved aesthetic choice from Oscars weekend? Let me know. I will be going through endless Instagram posts of outfits and trying to work on my Japanese in hopes of landing a pair of Godzilla boots until further notice.
Stay safe and stay true,
Megan