Kyle Juszczyk and the San Francisco 49ers lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs, but Kristin Juszczyk, Kyle’s wife of five years, was one of the biggest winners of last season.
Kyle Juszczyk is entering his twelfth season — and eighth with the Niners — as an All-Pro fullback, and this season will be the first since Kristin Juszczyk signed a licensing deal with the NFL. Juszczyk has been designing clothes for years, but her business blew up when Taylor Swift wore a Travis Kelce-centric puffer jacket custom designed by Juszczyk to the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Wild Card game against the Miami Dolphins this January. Brittany Mahomes wore a Patrick Mahomes-centric puffer jacket from Kristin Juszczyk Designs to the same game.
Mahomes and Swift joined Simone Biles and Taylor Lautner in sporting the unique puffer jackets. While Juszczyk feels “blessed” to have added to the wardrobes of such icons, her lifelong goal has always been to “dress the fans.” She now has an unlimited runway to do so in 2024 and beyond under her new partnership with the NFL.
Below, Juszczyk caught up with UPROXX ahead of the 49ers’ season-opener against the New York Jets and in partnership with Purina Treats.
Why partner with Purina?
The “Purina For The Win” challenge and partnering up with Purina Treats is just the perfect partnership for us because we truly love our dogs and anything that will promote other dog owners to go outside and bond what their pets. They’re issuing four different challenges. My personal favorite is “The Busy Minute Challenge,” and it’s 60 seconds of showing off your pet’s favorite tricks, which is always so fun for pet owners to do. We love it when our dogs howl, and they sit and play dead. There’s also the “Beggin’ to Play Fetch Challenge,” which promotes dog owners to go outside and play fetch with their dogs with a Frisbee or a tennis ball. Kyle and I are just a really competitive household. We love to compete in all facets of life, truly. So to be able to partner up with Purina Treats and promote other dog owners to compete with each other is right up our alley.
I know hand-making customized clothes began as a hobby — that Halloween when you and Kyle wanted to recreate Britney and Justin’s denim moment — but you grew up knitting with your grandmother. Do you have a favorite childhood knitting memory with her?
Yeah, so I grew up [on Long Island, New York] just living at my grandparents’ house. I adored my grandparents, and I still do. I feel like a lot of people have this relationship with their grandparents where there’s Wheel Of Fortune or Jeopardy! on [the television], and you’re sitting on the couch knitting with your grandma. That’s exactly what it was. When I think back into that memory, it’s just that overwhelming feeling of warmth and love, and it’s just sitting next to my grandma watching Jeopardy! I was probably four. I had no idea what was going on, you know what I mean? We were just sitting there, and it was mindless — just teaching me how to knit and crochet.
I feel like being able to do something in silence with someone is the ultimate bond.
Honestly. So true. Kyle and I always say that about friendships. [You know] who your real friends are when you’re comfortable in silence with each other.
Do you recall the first day you wore one of your own designs to one of Kyle’s games?
I do. I had a box of Kyle’s merchandise. He had these shirts that had a juice box on it. We had so many left over, so one day, I decided to play around. I was like, I’m going to try to make a pair of sweatpants. So I went on YouTube, and I just googled how to make sweatpants. Next thing you know, I made these black-and-white checkered sweatpants that were also gray. I made a matching top. When I put it on, I realized, These are Raider colors. I didn’t even know what I was doing. I was just playing around. But I’m like, I’ve got to wear this. I put so much time and energy into it. I remember when I posted it, everyone was like, ‘Why did you make Raider color sweatpants?’ It’s so funny now when I look back at it. It was so mediocre and very bootleg, but I was proud of it.
Was there a particular compliment you received that made you consider that maybe you were onto something — that you could design for other people?
I feel like it just kind of started happening progressively where I realized that there actually was a demand for this. The 49ers came to me to host a “Women Of The Niners” event last year and I think, at that moment — because I had been hearing so many nos. I’ve been trying to break into this business for a long time, and it was really challenging. Of course, after a few years of just constantly being told no, it totally gets to you at some point. You definitely are like, Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I putting myself through all this stress? But I think [I’d point to] when we hosted the “Women Of The Niners” event, and I got to be around hundreds of women and hearing them tell me how they’ve been inspired to pick up the sewing machine. I get tagged in things with people recreating stuff that I’ve made.
At the time, it was just a hobby for me. I’m like, Oh, wow, I’m actually making a difference out here. Even though it’s just clothing, it’s bringing people happiness. Having people discover new hobbies later in life is what’s so important. I always have this mantra that every day is a new opportunity to begin again. I’m 30 years old, and this is now a career that I’m finally settling into. In your twenties, you have this expectation that you need to have everything figured out, and you need to know exactly what you want to do. You need to try things and figure out what works and figure out what doesn’t work. But, at the end of the day, this is a love of mine. I didn’t need to hear from anyone else to know that I liked what I was doing.
It didn’t hurt that the world’s biggest pop star wore one of your customized jackets. What was your favorite moment from the day Taylor Swift wore your jacket?
I feel like just seeing her walk out in it and knowing that that was one of the coldest games in NFL history [between the Chiefs and the Dolphins on January 13, 2024]. I remember Brittany [Mahomes] texting me that it kept them so warm. I wanted to make sure that it was functional as well because it wasn’t a day to play around with not being able to stay warm.
Kyle always talks about how many sleepless nights go into your clothes — how taxing this work really is. What part of the process is the most draining?
To my core, I’m such a procrastinator. I hate that about myself, and I’m really trying to be more proactive in getting things done. Earlier last year, things got really crazy, and I just couldn’t keep up with the workflow. Three days before the game, I’m like, What am I making this week? For myself to wear. Of course, I look back at some of the things I’ve made, and I’m like, ‘Those are horrible. I can’t believe I made that.’ So I would say the most daunting [part] for me is making sure I have enough time to prepare because I want to have something that I’m really proud of every week. When you don’t have enough time, and you just feel like you need to get something out, that is when you can fall short of that.
When you signed a licensing deal with the NFL, I saw a lot of excitement about how you organically provide more fashionable, cool options for women. Traditionally, the NFL’s apparel options for women have left much to be desired. As a woman around sports, do you feel especially motivated to empower women with what you’re making?
It all happens so organically, which is what I just want to continue to put out there. I wanted to bring in everyday silhouettes that you or I wear in our everyday that we feel confident in. Because, for me, that’s what fashion is — something that we can put on and we feel confident in. That’s why you choose to wear the blouse or the shirt or the pants that you’re wearing because you feel good. They say, ‘Feel good, play good.’
I wanted to really make sure I continue to take these everyday silhouettes and bring them into sports merchandise. I wanted to have the silhouettes that women are wearing in their everyday life that also represent their favorite teams. I mean, there’s never been [a better] time than now, with all the focus on women’s sports. The woman fan is not just an afterthought anymore. Women are 100% just as much of a thought as the male fan. That’s not to dog on the male fan at all. There’s also so much opportunity for more apparel for the male fan as well.
What has been the biggest challenge in scaling from customs only to making enough stock for the general population?
The whole thing is challenging. I don’t know if I can pinpoint a single thing. My goal is always just to be able to dress the fans. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. I’ve been so blessed to be able to have dressed the people that I have, and it almost just kind of happened, but I will say that my head is down, and I’m really trying to just put it out there so that the fans are able to purchase it, too.
Why has dressing the fans always been your goal?
Because I’m a fan. That’s what I was, and I still am. I mean, Kyle has been so fortunate to be in league for going on 12 years, and I go to every single game. I’m in that stadium, and I know exactly what the fans want because I’m a fan, and that’s what I want. I think there’s nothing worse than when you go into a store, and the female section is the one-16th of the store, and there’s not a lot of options for you. I just think there needs to be more options for everybody.
Of course, your designs are not limited to the NFL. How did designing an American-themed matching set for Livvy Dunne to wear at the Olympics come about?
It’s always such an honor to be able to broaden my skillset. Working with Livvy, it was really fun to do something that was a little bit more challenging, especially because they’re in Paris. I wanted to have a Parisian flair to it. And I kind of feel like I’m starting to get known as the jacket girl, which I absolutely love, but I do want to show other people that I have so many more designs in my mind and ideas that I want to do. So, it was really fun to be able to do something that is more unique and nothing that I’ve ever put out there before.
I saw the video of Livvy’s outfit, and somebody commented that Cher from Clueless would be so proud. It reminded me of what you’re talking about in terms of, yes, it is happening in sports, but the fashion isn’t pigeonholed to sports. It’s cross-sectional.
Yeah, one hundred percent. And I feel like that’s kind of the definition of Kyle’s and my relationship. I mean, I personally didn’t grow up in a huge sport household, and I only became obviously extremely interested in it when I met my husband, and it became part of my life as well. So, having my just love for fashion crossbreeding into sports, it’s become this really happy spot for me. But I love fashion in general, so it’s [about] finding the happy medium for everything.
You mention yours and Kyle’s relationship, and I do think that a byproduct of your designs and your clothes being everywhere has been that it kind of made it cool to just shamelessly support your partner. Have you found that as maybe even a reward that you didn’t know could be possible?
Hey, at any moment, if you can support other couples or encourage other couples to support each other, that’s a huge win. I feel like it’s just good for the world to see. Kyle is really the ultimate role model. To be honest, he’s been my role model ever since I met him. But he really is such an amazing role model for children. I think it’s really important for kids to see that you can be a dog on the field, and you can be at the top of your craft, but you can also be an incredible human, an incredible husband, an incredible dad, an incredible friend.
It’s so funny to me. That’s just Kyle. When he was doing [commenting on posts about my clothes] and tweeting everything, I didn’t think anything of it. I was like, ‘He’s just telling everyone that I made it.’ And it was crazy to see the world’s response to it. But I just think that shows that it’s not out there enough — showing how couples [support each other]. I just think it’s really important for people to see that publicly.
Speaking of which, now that Jonathan Owens left the Packers to sign with the Bears, are you making Simone Biles a new Bears-themed jacket?
Oh, I would love to make Simone a new one. I may have to embroider all her medals into it.
Which sport or avenue would you like to design more within?
I never want to pigeonhole myself to one sports league. I feel like fans throughout every league deserves this type of merchandise. That was kind of my goal this offseason — to be able to expand that. We did something with IndyCar 500, and we did something with the NHL, so that was really fun. But hopefully, [I can] continue to work with other leagues and see where it takes me. It would be really fun to do some stuff with the NCAA. I’ve never done anything with college, and that would also be really exciting.