Travis Kelce and American Eagle are teaming up, fresh off the heels of his engagement to Taylor Swift and the brand’s controversial ad with Sydney Sweeney.
On Wednesday, American Eagle said it was launching AE x Tru Kolors by Travis Kelce, a collaboration with the NFL tight end’s sportswear and lifestyle brand.
The line, which launches August 27, is set to include 90 pieces, from tees to cashmere sets over two drops. Some items, like the carpenter pants and varsity jacket, are already low in stock on the retailer’s website.
Kelce launched Tru Kolors in 2019, predominantly selling casual clothing, with hoodies and tees among its best-selling items. Since partnering with Swift in 2023, Kelce’s style has been increasingly headline-grabbing, transitioning from more typical streetwear to bolder, designer looks.
American Eagle’s campaign promoting the collection with Kelce also features other athletes, like college football star Jeremiah Smith and gymnast Suni Lee. The brand has also collaborated with athletes like tennis star Coco Gauff and leagues like the NFL before.
The new collection comes a day after Kelce and Swift announced their engagement in an Instagram post that garnered nearly 30 million likes in under 24 hours. The timing could turbo-charge the attention on his partnership with American Eagle.
The brand was already in the limelight, given its July campaign with Sweeney. The messaging of the ad, which emphasizes the blonde-haired, blue-eyed actor’s “good genes,” was criticized by some who saw it as promoting eugenics. Some others said critics were reading too much into it. It garnered enough attention to earn a public response from American Eagle, which stood by Sweeney and her good jeans.
Some critics of the Sweeney ad haven’t forgotten.
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“Travis is trying to save the brand,” one Instagram comment on the Instagram post announcing the collab reads.
While the Sweeney campaign — and praise from Donald Trump — recently led to a brief uptick in American Eagle’s share price, some analysts don’t think it will last. The stock is still down 25% year-to-date. On Wednesday morning, shares were trading up around 5% after the Kelce collab was announced.
Kelce has long been open about ambitions outside football, and his clothing line is far from his only play off the field.
“New Heights,” the podcast he hosts with his brother, Jason Kelce, signed a three-year distribution and ad sales deal with Wondery last year that Variety reported is worth over $100 million. He’s also had several TV gigs, most recently hosting the Amazon Prime show “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?”.
His relationship with Swift has been good for business.
Swift’s presence on the sidelines of Chiefs’ games helped boost the NFL’s popularity with demographics such as teenage girls. Sales of Kelce’s jersey climbed 400% on Fanatics’ sites in September 2023 after Swift attended her first game to cheer him on, the AP reported. Her episode of the “New Heights” podcast, which now has more than 20 million views on YouTube, broke records.
The American Eagle partnership will be the next phase to see how far the Kelce-Swift media merger can go — and how far Swift will go for her soon-to-be husband. If she decides to throw on an AE x TK hoodie or sweater polo, no doubt it would sell out.
