“If You Know, You Know”: No. 1 Pick Caleb Williams Breaks Down His Custom Chrome Hearts Draft Suit
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When it came time to decide what he’d wear to the NFL Draft, newly-minted Chicago Bear Caleb Williams had two goals. He wanted to “be unique, be one of a kind,” he told me a few days before being drafted first overall. This was no surprise: since he was a kid, Williams has prepared diligently—perhaps obsessively—to become a quarterback the likes of which football has never before seen. And in his two seasons at USC, he was particularly unafraid to show off the qualities (from his game-breaking talent to his willingness to show his emotions to his habit of painting his nails) that make him Caleb Williams, one of one—and that seem to reliably trigger crusty NFL scouts and old-fashioned pundits.
His second desire was to signal his respect for the event, and perhaps more broadly his willingness to play by the NFL’s seemingly ironclad rules. “I'm here to be classy," he said. “To be the first draft pick.”
To square that circle, he turned to his new friends at Chrome Hearts, the Los Angeles-based label perhaps best known for its silver-studded, cross-laden leather goods. This was the sort of choice very few prospective NFL draftees are able to make. But during his time in LA, Williams got to know founders Richard and Laurie Lynn Stark, along with their son Kristian; eventually, they all hit upon the idea of working together. “I like to do things in those ways, where it's exclusive, it's nice, it's classy, it's unique,” Williams said. “And who else better to do it with other than Laurie, Rich, and Chrome Hearts?” (While “getting to know the Chrome Hearts founders” is maybe not the whole reason you might transfer from Oklahoma to USC, it was certainly one of the many perks Williams found when he walked into Heritage Hall.)
Chrome Hearts, of course, isn’t exactly known for its (non-leather) tailoring—it’s not like you can walk into one of the brand’s stores and leave with a suit. But for custom clients, such things are possible—like the navy-and-silver double-breasted suit Williams and the Starks dreamed up, and designed over the course of a number of meetings, design sessions, and fittings this year.
And while Williams’ suit is definitely a suit, he and the Chrome Hearts squad found a few ways to push the envelope. Instead of traditional buttons, the suit uses a silver zipper closure, and a crop of silver Chrome Hearts crosses peek out of the chest pocket. Williams planned to finish the look with Gucci boots, while Chrome Hearts was set to dress his girlfriend in a matching silver dress.
Williams particularly liked the zipper. “Because I don't think I've ever seen it,” he said, “the double-breasted being actually a zip-up. I've never seen anybody wear it.” Even better than any specific detail, of course, was the bare fact of the suit itself—a Pro Bowl fashion flex from a guy yet to take his first professional snap. “Just the fact that I've been lucky enough, blessed enough, to have the relationships and connection to be able to have a suit be Chrome Hearts.”
There was, he told me, a certain synchronicity between the way he’s carried himself through the pre-draft process and the way the Starks run their business. “Chrome Hearts is unique in how they do it,” he said. “They don't really care about what other people are doing or think. It's not really about all the other stuff. Just be who you are and stay true to that.”
I suggested that, no matter how classy his look, a crusty columnist might still find something to complain about—such is the nature of draft season. Williams disagreed. “No, I actually don't think there's going to be much said by someone like that, a grouchy, old guy, like you said,” he explained. “Because I did want to keep it fitting and classy. But if you know, you know, and it's one of a kind. It's unique, and that's how I wanted it to be.”
Originally Appeared on GQ
