San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Kristin Juszczyk drawing much interest for designs
LAS VEGAS — When Lindsay Baty moved to the Bay Area in the late 1990s and found herself swept up in Steve Young and the San Francisco 49ers, she wanted to show her fandom.
But the San Francisco resident found that the way the NFL made and marketed merchandise failed to recognize how she identified as a fan.
So when Kristin Juszczyk, wife of 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk, went viral during the postseason for the NFL merch she was designing for celebrities, Baty finally saw something made for female football fans that wasn’t just ugly.
“Kristin Juszczyk’s clothes are decades more fashionable than anything I’ve ever seen (in) the NFL’s official merch store,” Baty said. “They should be paying her in truckloads of cash to help them.”
Juszczyk’s clothing went viral after Taylor Swift wore a Kristin-made jacket with boyfriend Travis Kelce’s No. 87 on the front. As Kelce, a Chiefs tight end, and his teammates prepare to face the 49ers in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Swiftie-mania has swept over the NFL, including in the fashion world.
Female fans saw something they’ve been looking for but has been out of reach: NFL merchandise that women want to wear.
“She didn’t really like the options for women,” Kyle said of his wife’s inspiration. “She quite literally took it in their own hands and started making her own clothes and it was just kind of this year that she started making noise.”
The rapid rise in public attention earned Kristin an official licensing deal with the NFL, which allows her to use team logos in her designs. The NFL doesn’t just hand those out to just anyone. Swift’s presence certainly had an impact on her business blowing up.
Kristin gained more than 450,000 Instagram followers after Swift donned her puffer coat during the Chiefs’ first postseason game last month, a move the 29-year-old said “catapulted my career.”
Meanwhile, fans have been clamoring for her gear, which is not being sold to the masses — yet. A cursory glance at the NFL Shop online shows women’s options with primarily low cuts or tight fits, something not every fan would want. Not even every player that is available for men’s apparel has a jersey in a women’s fit.
“I have always wondered who the target audience is for the women’s NFL merch,” Baty said. “I suppose there’s always a market for bedazzled T-shirts, crop tops, and so much fringe, but I will never understand the marketing of bubble gum pink jerseys to women. It’s either that or you order men’s clothes
Stephen Lam/The Chronicle that have absolutely no room for hips. I usually just end up cutting the bottoms off of any of those shirts.” Women and girls made up 46% of the NFL fan base according to a 2021 SSRS Sports Poll — numbers that came before the Swiftie boom.