Did the Super Bowl live up to the hype? The jury is out (no Biebs was a hard pill to swallow) but, like any major cultural event that involves droves of celebrities and millions of dollars in sponsor money, there were bound to be some marquee moments…at least, sartorial speaking. Paul Rudd doing his best suburban dad impression, Hermes bags being cradled down the player tunnel — the menswear magic was flowing in Las Vegas. Naturally, we’ve rounded up the best and worst of it for you. Read on.
Good — Jay-Z’s Custom Las Vegas Bomber
While we would be remiss not to bring up the fact that the announcement of new music from Beyonce is undoubtedly the biggest output from the Carters this weekend, it’s worth pointing out that Jay-Z had himself a Super Bowl, too. Dripped out in a leather bomber jacket purportedly designed by Bottega muse (oh, and rapper) A$AP Rocky and a pair of hall-of-fame Reebok collab sneakers, the king of New York pulled off arguably the best celebrity ‘fit of the night in very low-key fashion. Bonus points for twinning with the kids.
Better — A Victory for Double-Breasted Jackets
We’ve long been preaching the good gospel of double-breasted suiting, but there’s nothing like a bunch of 300-pound linebackers wearing Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren to prove a point. It’s a testament to the suit style’s generous and flattering fit, and an indication that the NFL’s style at large — long second fiddle to the NBA’s tunnel-fit-fueled drip — is slowing coming into its own.
Best — Usher
Yeah, man. Juiced up on decades of OMG clout and rollerblade endorphins, Usher delivered (perhaps surprisingly) a halftime performance to remember, complete with a bedazzled blue jumpsuit courtesy of Virgil Abloh-founded Off-White. The end result of a reported 50-page inspo deck from Big Ush himself, the sparkly roller rink look delivered on the patented Ursher promise of a sexually-confusing, energy-charged, incredibly catchy show, and felt just the right amount of showy-sexy-silly that an event like the Super Bowl requires. Go off, king.
Bad — Travis Kelce’s Style
Beyond some mild Taylor-induced bemusement, we have nothing against Travis Kelce. He is a GOATed tight end, didn’t blow his SNL episode and seems like a perfectly likable, albeit possibly concussed, guy. We do, however, have a bone to pick with the notion that this dude can dress. Despite what semi-reputable sources might have you think, an odd Jil Sander set and cursed KidSuper jacket does not make Kelce a ‘fit god, especially considering the fact that there is no way in hell this guy knows his A.P.C. from his ABCs. Even a perfectly fitting, totally respectable Amiri get-up is not enough to make us think otherwise.
Worse —White and Red Vs. Red and White
Despite its slow start, Super Bowl LVIIII delivered a thoroughly enjoyable game, complete with fumbles, insane field goals, Christian McCaffrey and an overtime coin toss heard around the USA. Less enjoyable, however, was the scramble of color between the two team’s similarly-hued unis. There was just enough contrast to avoid any actual confusion, but just enough for some squinting and vague annoyance. Red and white teams need to stop being so good at football, we guess.
Lose The Super Bowl — Brock Purdy’s Pre-Game Outfit
Look, we love an underdog, but if young buck Brock Purdy is going to pull up to the biggest game of his life in a pair of no-show socks that you can see, he deserves to lose. Dressed in what we can only describe as middle-management-banker-meets-Zara-circa-214, the 49er’s QB blew it, plain and simple. Someone clearly doesn’t read InsideHook’s top-notch style reporting.
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