A few weeks back, the alleged romance between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift picked up steam, as things so often do in the Swiftian realm, thanks to a (dubiously) symbolic item of clothing. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end wore a blue-marbled KidSuper set en route to a home game against the Bears, where the pop superstar was seen cheering alongside Kelce’s mom in the stands. As fans began to speculate online that the ensemble’s blue hue was a nod to Swift’s 1989 album, KidSuper quickly renamed the products on their web store as the “1989 Bedroom Painting” jacket and pants. Right away, it became clear that Travis Kelce—already one of the NFL’s more fashion-inclined stars over the last few years—was about to really start dressing.
On Saturday evening—while Swift’s Eras tour concert film was debuting in theaters to a cool $96 million—the couple hit up the Manhattan outpost of the celeb-favorite sushi spot Nobu before heading over to both perform on-air during the season premiere of Saturday Night Live: Swift introduced her collaborator, pal, and VMAs seatmate Ice Spice as the evening’s musical guest, while Kelce appeared for a split second at the end of a skit about the duo’s purported relationship. A few hours later, the duo popped up at the SNL afterparty at a different Manhattan hot spot, Catch Steak, where paparazzi got a full view of their date-night ensembles: Kelce wore brown linen trousers, a pair of blindingly white sneakers, and a wool Jil Sander jacket printed with birds (do the 1989 stans know about this?), while Swift layered a Gant men’s houndstooth overcoat over a black Versace corset top and high-waisted pleated pants.
(It had already been a busy Saturday for Trav: Earlier that afternoon, Kelce cheered on his big brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, during an Eagles-Jets game at MetLife Stadium in nearby New Jersey—the same arena where Swift played the New York show of her Eras tour, naturally—where he wore an Eagles-green designer tracksuit from Palm Angels and dark Saint Laurent shades. For those keeping track, we’ve got more bird imagery, a meaningful football stadium… Lots of continuity here.)
The next night, the pair dined at yet another NYC haunt, the West Village’s Waverly Inn, and once again each wore their paparazzi-ready-dinner-date best. Kelce sported a porridge-hued corduroy jacket with matching trousers and bright white Nikes, while Swift opted for a rose-printed Jean Paul Gaultier top and black leather mini skirt. (Paging Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny: Let’s get Traylor some his-and-hers Gaultier.) And as anyone who’s ever been to Nobu, Catch Steak, and the Waverly Inn all in one weekend could presumably attest, we are in the midst of Travis Kelce’s own menswear Super Bowl. Every evening is a big game under the lights, and the pressure is on.
“I don’t have a stylist,” Kelce told Complex in 2021, adding that he’ll sometimes even pick out his game-day outfits the Sunday morning of. Though Kelce has worked with stylists including Sasha Elina and Anastasia Walker for one-off events, the now extremely booked-and-busy Chiefs tight end is still pulling all of his own ensembles. And as his own primary self-stylist, Kelce’s passion for streetwear is well established.
“The football world is starting to kind of come around to being that fashion-forward mentality. And our game days are 16, 17 weeks, now 18 weeks out of the year,” Kelce said. “So it’s like we get almost anticipation for those big-time moments. It’s almost like it’s a red carpet every single week.”
Except when you’re dating Taylor Swift, it’s a red carpet every single second.
