Talkin' Suits With Eagles Star (and Tunnel Fit King) DeVonta Smith

Photographs: Devonta Smith, Getty Images; Collage: Gabe Conte

Being the most stylish dude in the NFL doesn’t just happen overnight. DeVonta Smith, the Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver, understands that. Fashion has been a lifelong endeavor, even when he was ballin’ on a budget and getting dressed up for church in his tight-knit hometown of Amite, Louisiana. Those pews were his first runways, and the dapper gameday policies at his alma mater—the University of Alabama, guided by the no-nonsense hand of coach Nick Saban—gave him opportunities to show off his first tunnel fits.

Now three years into his NFL career, Smith has a reputation for being one of the slipperiest receivers on the field and one of its most consistent head-turners off of it. His closet stays stocked with elaborate, detailed suits, each one meticulously made for his liking. With the Birds on a bye last week, Smith (keeping it casual in a loose-fitting hoodie) had time to explain all of this to us, from his suit strategy, to some favorite looks from his sprouting career, and the fashion choices from others in the Eagles’ organization that make him laugh.

When did you start to put real effort into your game day fits? Were you getting dressed up in college?

Yeah, it was required! We had to wear a suit and tie on game days. That’s something that Coach Saban has been doing for a minute. Even back in high school we had to wear a tie. And growing up in the church, we always had to dress up, Sunday best.

It was like Remember the Titans? Couldn’t get on the bus without a shirt and tie?

Oh yeah, for sure!

So was getting to the league your moment to be like, “I’ve got money now, I can really elevate my suit game?”

Uhh, I’ve always been like that. It’ll either be a suit or a sweatsuit—that’s pretty much all I wear. I don’t really wear jeans or stuff like that too much. Suit or sweatsuit.

The jacket you wore for the Heisman ceremony put you on a lot of people’s radar as a fashion guy. How much planning went into that? Did you have a stylist?

I got that from a guy—not the guy that I use now—and it was kind of last minute, all over the place. I was scrambling trying to find something. The guy’s name is Tom, he came through for me! He sent me some ideas and I just had to pick from what he had. He had something ready for me, got it shipped to me, and we went from there.

Tell me about your stylist now, Brian Lunsford. How did he get on your radar initially?

My receiver coach at Alabama [Holmon Wiggins] and him are both from D.C. Coach introduced me to him—in college, I got my suits from him—we’ve just been locked in ever since! We have similar body types, so he knew exactly how I wanted the suits to fit and stuff like that. He just made it easy for me. I trusted him from the beginning. If Coach is rocking with you then I know I’m good!

Why do you feel like it’s important for you to be so particular about your suits?

I feel like that’s my way of expressing myself. I’m kind of a quiet guy, but one way I do express myself is in the way I dress.

Does the thought of buying a suit off the rack now make you cringe?

For sure! I used to go to the K&G to get my suits, but yeah, them days are over with. For prom, that was still K&G, so I was a little limited in what I had! That was kind of laid back.

On game day, how different would it feel for you to not get dressed up?

Well, I didn’t wear a suit last week. Sometimes I feel like wearing it, sometimes I don’t. It depends on how it’s going. My best friend has his own little clothing line, so usually he’ll send me a sweatsuit that he dropped and I’ll wear that. It’s called Spirich Clothing.

Shai Gilegous-Alexander told us if it’s an “outside city” he’ll bring a bigger fit than he would for a game in Utah or something.

Yeah, definitely for primetime I’mma dress up!

What is your favorite look from your career?

I would say either the last suit I wore—the green with the gold stripes—or the brown one with the hat. But I do got one in the closet that’s probably going to top all those. I ain’t gonna tell you what it is. You just gotta wait and see!

Brian had been trying to get me to wear the [collar] bar for a minute. He’d usually give it to me and I wouldn’t wear it. But I said “I’mma go ahead and rock with it this time!” That was the first time. You gotta have something on the lapels, whether it’s that or a flower.

I want to show you some of your outfits and get your reactions to them now. Let’s start with this one from your rookie year, in 2021.

Every year I pick one trench coat that I gotta wear. I liked how it had the gray with the red on there. The details, they’re subtle.

What about this one, with the Eagles green and the hat? How do you pick out the hats?

Brian made me one hat, but usually I’m just on Google looking around. The green is a nice little vest.

And then last one, you went pretty bold here with the pink shorts!

People are waiting to see what I’m gonna wear! It’s funny, [Eagles’ cornerback Darius] Slay and I talk about this all the time. He’ll be wanting to wear his suits, but he’s like “I refuse to wear a suit when you’re wearing a suit. So you might have to let me know when you’re not wearing one so I can wear mine!” The guys are always excited to see what I’m wearing for the day.

Do you have any rules for your suits? Is there anything that you can definitively say you’ll never wear?

I’m pretty flexible. I ain’t scared to step outside the box. But it has to fit right. If it doesn’t fit right, I send it back and say we need to do this or we need to do that. I want to look like someone painted it on me!

Do you think the baggy suit will ever come back? Will we see guys dressing like the 2003 draft class ever again?

Nah, you won’t see that from me.

During your time in the league, how have you seen NFL fashion evolve? Do you feel like guys are taking it more seriously?

I feel like a lot of guys try to put on their best, whether it is suits or streetwear. A lot of guys try to look good! I have a couple guys ask me about who I get my suits from, and some of those are guys on other teams.

Who do you think are some of the other best-dressed players in the league?

I like the way that [teammate James] Bradberry dresses. Travis Kelce, Stefon Diggs…those are probably my top three.

I think we’re going to see a lot more people working with stylists now, too.

Nothing wrong with a stylist!

Who are some Eagles that could use a little work, fashion-wise?

I don’t think we have anybody that’s just terrible. When they dress you’re like, Okay, that’s alright. Maybe I’ll say [Jason] Kelce, just because he don’t dress up! Our offensive linemen all dress real country. I think Kelce is probably the only one that refuses to put something on. Everyone else, real country, boots and overalls or something like that.

What about your coach, Nick Sirianni?

He always got a shirt with somebody on it! That’s the only thing I ever see him wear, a shirt with a player on it. Every time I see him!

We hear, “Look good, feel good, play good” all the time. Can you describe that feeling of walking into the stadium in an outfit you love, knowing you play for one of the best teams in the league?

It’s just kind of like—getting ready makes me feel like I’m finna go do something productive, instead of just getting out of bed. On game day, okay, I’m getting ready for something. The rush of getting up, picking an outfit, things like that, it’s not necessarily just to look good.

Do you think you’re the best dressed athlete right now?

Me? I would say yes. But I feel like you have to do more. You have to be able to switch it up. If it’s not a suit or a sweatsuit, I’m not going to wear it. My problem is my clothes don’t ever fit right, because I'm so skinny. So, it’s kind of like, I have to do more to be that best dressed. But, I would say myself, yeah.

Are there people you look to as fashion inspiration?

Nah.

Originally Appeared on GQ