Once upon a time, the worlds of football and fashion were considered totally separate from each other, but in recent years, the two have become increasingly intertwined. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Super Bowl Halftime Show, where performers like Usher (in Dolce & Gabbana), Rihanna (in Loewe and Alaïa), Mary J. Blige (in Peter Dundas), J.Lo (in Versace), and Lady Gaga (also in Versace) have made the 50-yard line their runway.
Kendrick Lamar’s performance this year promises to be no different. Today, the rapper has announced that he’s teamed up with designer Willy Chavarria on a limited collection to commemorate the event—perhaps a hint of what’s to come? “I absolutely love Kendrick’s message as a performer and his voice in society,” Chavarria said on a phone call from Paris where he had just shown his fall 2025 collection. The first time the two Californians linked up professionally was when Lamar wore Willy Chavarria on his recent Big Steppers Tour, but Lamar had already been sporting Chavarria’s pieces.
“The inspiration for this collection was just celebrating him and celebrating a real ’90s influence in fashion, going back to the whole idea of how people of color incorporated sportswear into fashion,” Chavarria added. He described their creative process as “my all-the-time creative process” with “texts, meetings, phone calls, FaceTimes, Zooms, it was very collaborative from the fits to the fabric to the artwork.” The lineup includes a wide array of pieces including a very “Willy fit” satin starter jacket that’s a bit cropped at the waist with slightly ballooning sleeves and a “KLamar” embroidery detail on the front, with big g.NATIONAL—a nod to the Grand National Tour he’s embarking on this year along with SZA, which kicks off in Minneapolis in April—patchworked letters across the back. There are also practice jerseys, hoodies, and t-shirts with a graphic that reads “Foot Up On The Gas But Somebody Gotta Do It” designed by Felipe Merida, a graphic artist who frequently works with Chavarria. But the starter jacket remains the designer’s favorite piece in the collection. “It’s the perfect combination of us, Kendrick and Willy.” The collection goes on sale on Wednesday, January 29th.
