Juszczyk, 30, has no technical background in fashion; she graduated from Towson University with a degree in business. But with the help of countless YouTube videos, she turned the bud of an idea into a highly cultivated skillset. The first thing she made was a pair of sweatpants from shirts that said “100% Juice,” Kyle’s nickname. (Actually, the first thing she ever made was a couples costume rendition of Britney Spears’ and Justin Timberlake’s full denim look from Walmart jeans.) “Now if I look back at them, I cover my eyes, but at the time I was so proud.” She has since moved from simple silhouettes like loose shirts and sweatpants into cargo shorts and snowsuits—and she rarely repeats a look.
Her personal fan base is no happy accident. Juszczyk has been sharing her newly fashioned wardrobe along with snippets of the creative process on her Instagram and TikTok. Convinced others would delight in her creations, she reached out to people she thought might be interested, especially ones with big followings. “I knew that there was a gap in the market, and I knew that the only way for me to be able to potentially get an NFL license or to find a business partner is for me to place this in the right hands.”
Most notably, Taylor Swift wore a custom red puffer jacket emblazoned with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s number, 87, this past January. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was one of the first to wear one of Juszczyk’s designs, a custom puffer vest in support of her husband Jonathan Owens, who at the time played for the Green Bay Packers. The vest came with a plaid inner lining complete with a pocket from an old Packers T-shirt, a game-day flag, and, of course, an Olympic patch—all these details were shared on TikTok. Her custom designs have also been worn by Taylor Lautner, Brittany Mahomes, and Kyle’s teammate Deebo Samuel Sr.—and her Instagram following has since surpassed a million garner enough attention to attract Grede.
“To say Kristin was tenacious in her reach out is an understatement,” laughs Grede, who boasts an impressive resume herself. Grede, 42, founded Good American with Khloe Kardashian in 2016, is a founding partner of SKIMS, and a Chairwoman of the Fifteen Percent Pledge. “I immediately had that Taylor Swift jacket moment in my mind,” she recounts. The businesswoman’s philosophy specializes in identifying areas of the market under-serving women, this particular one she describes as an “unbelievable opportunity.”
