Seahawks’ Luke Willson shows sleek moves off field
Seattle Seahawks’ Luke Willson talks style — and that hair — with Aleesha Harris
Luke Willson talks surprisingly freely about fashion.
While the Seattle Seahawks tight end has been known off the field more for his infamous long locks (more on that later) than his clothes, the 27-year-old Windsor, Ont.-native can hold his own on the topic of style.
“For me, it’s kind of laid-back and sort of casual,” Willson says of his off-field fashion. “When I do get dressed up nice, it’s a pretty rare occasion, so I’ll go — I don’t want to say pretty intense — but I’ll try to do a good job.”
In Vancouver recently for a few brief hours to help celebrate the newly renovated Hugo Boss store at Oakridge Centre, Willson spoke candidly — and animatedly — about everything from his shopping struggles to his favourite brands.
While Willson says his go-to look is jeans, sneakers and a “nice” shirt, don’t be fooled. This sports star knows how to dress.
“Sometimes I’ll throw on a bomber jacket,” he admits casually. But, as we delved deeper into our style discussion, Willson confessed to being a bit of a fashion-phile.
And he admits his Canadian upbringing — and his half-Italian heritage — also plays a part in his sartorial side.
“A lot of guys make fun of me, but I tend to wear skinnier jeans,” he says. “They’re not like full-blown skinny jeans, because I can’t fit my legs into those. But they’re tighter. I don’t mind it.
“In Canada, guys are a little more into the European look,” he says. “So, I still like to mess with that. It’s my thing.”
Willson pairs his slim-but-not-tootight denim with his current obsession: Common Projects sneakers.
“I’m on a heavy, heavy Common Projects kick,” he says of the minimalist-chic lace-ups. “I’ve got a collection. I’ve got all white in mids, which are pretty rare. I’ve got tan, grey and the all-black in the Achilles Low.
“And I just scooped up an all-black pair, but the sole of it is kind of shiny. Not too over-the-top shiny, but it just gives it a little bit of a flair. I’m pretty hyped about it.”
Sounds like we have a serious sneaker fan on our hands.
Willson copped to his other go-to brand (the New York-based label Rag & Bone); his must-have accessory (a baseball cap, worn backward); and his favourite watches (from the Detroitbased company Shinola) — equally as enthusiastically.
“I like to look like I’m not trying,” he summarizes of his style. “But, I’m trying.”
While Willson finds a lot of winners in fashion, he admits he has a few struggles in the fitting room as a 6-foot, 5-inch athlete. (Little-known Luke fact: he prefers to shop solo.)
“Shirts and T-shirts are the toughest find for me,” he says. “A lot of the time, if I get one that fits me, I’m swimming in it.”
With all this talk about sneakers and such, one must wonder: just how big is Luke Willson’s clothing collection?
“For a guy, it’s pretty intense,” he admits of his closet at home. “I colourcode all my T-shirts, from white to dark. All my Nike tees or chilling tees are folded. But all my going-out or nicer tees — if there’s such a thing — are hung up.” But wait, there’s more. “I go tees, into long-sleeved tees, into button-ups — but my button-up game is pretty weak,” he says with a laugh.
A quick scroll through Willson’s Instagram feed @lwillson_82 highlights not only his activities on the field, but also his sartorially competitive side outside sports, including the rather upsetting moment at the Seahawks Christmas party last year, when he lost the title of best-dressed player to teammate Justin Britt.
So, naturally, I had to ask him about that.
“The year I won it, I got in a suit and had a little bow tie and a vest. And I’d just cut my hair. So, the hair kind of put me over the top,” he recalls fondly of the year he took home the Best Dressed Seahawks title.
“And then, last year, I wore a hat, which I didn’t even really like. I thought I did OK ... but to be honest, one of the linemen (Britt) won and he was wearing an ugly sweater. So, they kind of went joking instead of legit.”
So, how disappointed was Willson to lose his title — on a scale of one to 10, of course?
“I’d say about a seven or an eight,” he responds. “So, this year, I’m going to have to pull something out. “I might go with a tuxedo.” Consider yourselves warned, fellow Seahawks. Willson may or may not have just picked up a tailored Hugo Boss tux in the hopes of recouping that bestdressed title.
But, speaking with Willson without discussing his aforementioned wild mane would be doing a disservice to his fans. Especially now that he appears to be growing the much-missed tresses back.
“To be honest with you, I’m kind of in the ’tweener stage,” he says of his mid-cropped coif. “So I’m a little insecure about it right now.” So, why the big chop in the first place? “I’d had it long before, but I started (growing it longer) when I was 23 and ended right before I turned 25,” he explains. “I didn’t really realize how much people with long hair — specifically females — really take care of their hair. It’s like, a long process. It’s very impressive.”
Willson says he struggled to care for his long hair — what with all the sweaty practices, helmets and so on. Oh, and he also never brushed it. So, as anyone with even a marginal length to their hair could imagine, Willson’s long hair story turned into a bit of a hair nightmare.
“I went into this salon and they said, ‘ya, you have copious amounts of split ends.’ And the stylist took forever combing it out,” he says with a laugh. “She had to really work to comb through it.”
So, was he offended by the sub-par report on his long locks?
“No. I thought it was hilarious,” he says with a big smile. While not offended, he said it was at that point that he decided it was time for a haircut.
“I went from the wild look to clean cut,” he recalls. “It was a different vibe.”
But as is the case with many professional athletes, Willson’s hair has become a bit of a superstition for him. Don’t worry, he’ll explain.
“I realized that, my two best years playing, statistically, I had either long hair or was growing long hair,” he says. “Last year I got hurt and I had short, clean-cut hair the whole time. I missed six games and had surgery in the middle of the year.
So, naturally, it was time for the hair to grow back.
“This year — I’m off to a pretty hot start, for me personally,” he says. “And I think it’s because I haven’t touched my hair.” The hair? Really? “Yes,” he confirms with a laugh. This time, though, Willson says he’s going to take care of his tresses a little better than he did before.
“It’s not great, but I have been combing it periodically and using conditioner,” he confesses of his newly revamped routine.
It’s for the good of the game, after all.