Colin Kaepernick wears many hats. He’s not only the quarterback for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, but he’s also a philanthropist, shoe enthusiast (he owns 500 pairs) and animal lover. He can now add fashion designer to this lengthy list given that he’s designed his first capsule collection for New Era. The three-piece Pinnacle CK7 collection—named in honor of his initials and his 49ers jersey number—showcases hats made of leather in scarlet, white and olive green with suede that incorporate gold metal and fabric to create a gilded look in honor of the Superbowl’s 50th anniversary, which will kick off on September 10th. The hats will be available this fall. The 27-year-old NFL star sat down with Haute Living while he was in town shooting a video to promote the collection to discuss playing fashion designer, his fashion tips and how he seamlessly blends his on-field and off-field loves.
How long have you and New Era worked together? This is my second season shooting with New Era, and this will be the first year I am designing my own collection.
How is this collection different from anything New Era has done before? Well for starters, it’s mine! I am putting a lot of my own inspiration into this collection and It’s really a reflection of me and my aesthetic. You will see clean whites to represent a new season and a clean slate. I took inspiration from the Military and the phrase “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” Additionally there are rich red leathers that drawn on classic boxing gloves. Gold is a common theme too as the NFL is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the super bowl this year, and so everything NFL will be gold-themed this year.
What is it like to be in the role of a designer? It was an amazing experience. I got to put different aspects of my life into the hats. New Era gave me a great opportunity to portray my life the way I wanted through these hats.
What was the design process like for you? It’s great to be able to own it. I also have help from my stylist, Rachel Johnson, which I definitely appreciate.
How would you describe your sense of style? For the most part I am pretty clean and pretty simple with most of the things I wear but I do like to have an edge to what I wear. If I wear something, chances are it will be something similar to what someone else is wearing, but there is always going to be that edge that makes it stand out.
What is your one fashion tip or advice? My one piece of fashion advice is to be confident. That’s the biggest thing. Someone can wear something that’s really nice, but if they don’t look confident, then it’s a waste. If you’re not confident, it takes away from the look.
How do you juggle training and preparing for the season while doing these special projects? It’s something I’ve gotten better at. I always take care of my training first, and my downtime that comes after that is when I can work on projects and shoots like this. I do try to put extra time into my projects to make sure that they will have an impact.
What’s your personal mantra? The one I’m using right now is, “I don’t get tired.”
CHECK OUT COLIN’S NEW COLLECTION BELOW
