McGregor no fashion underdog
Stylish MMA star has wardrobe edge
Inside a nondescript building that contains some of the finest fabrics in the world, a team of designers, seamstresses and tailors is working on something almost as secret as the details of Conor McGregor’s strategy for his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
That would be McGregor’s boxing robe.
Even the mixed martial arts star himself will not see it until he’s in his dressing room at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night, said David August Heil, the man responsible for the garment.
“When his hands are taped, he’ll say, ‘Well, what am I wearing?’ ” Heil told USA TODAY Sports this week. “I’ll put the robe on him and push him out the door.”
McGregor, nicknamed “Notorious” and known as a notorious clotheshorse, trusts he’ll look like a champ. Heil provides tailormade suits and casual wear to the rich and famous. His clients have included President Clinton, President George W. Bush and, more recently and infamously, the bombastic Irish fighter squaring off with Mayweather.
McGregor’s collection of Heil’s three-piece suits numbers in the hundreds. The prized creation is wool and pinstriped. McGregor wore it to the press stop in Los Angeles last month and proudly showed off the pinstripes, which read “f— you.”
Heil, wearing a matching suit and mischievous grin that day, said he’d been searching since January for someone willing to weave profanity into the fabric. He said it was a surprise for McGregor — and countless people who have since viewed photos of the suit online.
“It could have been really bad or really fantastic,” Heil said. “And it turned out to be a grand slam.”
Working together, Heil and McGregor tend to swing for the fences, recently experimenting with floral prints and never sparing expense. Heil estimated the fighter each year spends more than $1 million on clothes. A good chunk of that money ends up with Heil, who said McGregor spends $5,500 to $8,500 a suit, $4,500 to $10,000 for each sport coat and $565 to $895 for dress shirts when he’s ordering from Heil.
For the buildup to the “The Money Fight” this week, Heil said, he has produced seven special outfits for his prized client — and been tasked with helping McGregor win the wardrobe war.
“Conor’s definitely got the edge, in a big way,” Heil, 56, said this week. “And I know that Floyd knows that, too.
“I think (Mayweather) is looking for flash, and flash is not what you want. You want elegance, and you need a beautiful finish on your garment. That’s what Conor has, and Floyd definitely does not have that.”
On Wednesday, Mayweather fired back: “I don’t get paid to dress. I get paid to kick ass.”
Heil said his relationship with McGregor dates about three years, when UFC President Dana White and Lorenzo Fertita, then co-owner of UFC, ushered McGregor into an office with a promise of new clothes.
“‘Is this the tailor?’ ” Heil recalled McGregor asking, and Heil added, “We got to educate him a little on that. Hey, Conor, guess what? I meant to tell you this, but I’m not a tailor.”
He’s more painter, with fabrics his palette. Heil recalled a phone conversation with McGregor last month when the fighter was in New York for a promotional stop.
“He actually FaceTimed me from Gucci that day and said, ‘Hey, listen, I want to wear this fur,’ ” Heil said. “And I said, ‘ Oh, my God, don’t do it.’
“I said, ‘You’ve been talking up you’re an elegant dresser and (Mayweather) should dress his age, and now you’re going to come out in a fur? I think it’s a bad idea. But I know Conor, and once he has something in his mind …”
Bare-chested, McGregor arrived for that news conference wearing the white fur coat, though, at Heil’s behest, he also wore loafers rather than going barefoot. “I’m just a young man enjoying myself,” McGregor said that day as he paraded past a line of reporters.
Things could get even more flamboyant this week.
“Conor loves clothing, and he loves to push the envelope,” Heil said. “What’s kind of fun about dealing with someone like that and working with someone like Conor is I love doing the same thing, and it’s all about owning what you’re wearing.”