Kristin Juszczyk Is Bringing Style To The Stadium

The first time Kristin Juszczyk used a sewing machine was for a Halloween emergency. The wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk was determined to recreate the iconic Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake AMA moment from 2001, but couldn’t find anything she liked on the market. Hence, the sewing machine.

After successfully teaching herself to sew (the denim costumes went viral), Jusczyzk started deconstructing, designing and sewing outfits to wear to her husband’s football games. Her millions of followers started asking where they could buy her designs — which led to the ideation of her sporty-cool label, Off Season.

“The merch stores in stadiums aren’t representative of the fan community, and there is usually only a small section in the back for women,” Juszczyk explains. “The options are so limited, yet the crowd is nearly fifty percent female.” Her fellow WAGs Taylor Swift, Simone Biles and Brittany Mahomes started rocking her custom puffers game after game, and Juszczyk realized the white space in the market. She cold-connected with fashion entrepreneur and Skims chief product officer Emme Grede on taking her designs to the next level, and soon, Off Season was born.

Ahead, NYLON chats with Kristin Juszczyk about sporty fashion, becoming a female-founder in the sports industry, and how she lives her life by design.

How has female fashion in sports evolved from your perspective as a partner to a professional NFL player?

Now more than ever, fashion is playing a huge role across the league for both women and men. The tunnel walk has become a moment in itself, and channeling that “look good, feel good, play good” mentality has made its way from players to fans. Women’s sports are also making such an impact right now, so it’s fun to see how fashion is showing up there as well.

Your style is so unique — everyone knows a custom Kristin jacket when they see one. How would you define the brand in your own words?

To me, Off Season is all about creating fan apparel that is comfortable, versatile, and above all else, high quality. We wanted to make pieces that fans will be excited to wear year-round and not only on game days.

What are your styling tips for women headed to support their partner, or their team, on the field?

For me, practicality comes first, which is actually where I got the idea for the puffer jackets and vests. I hate not being dressed for the right temperature when sitting through a long game. I would always see fans wearing jerseys over these huge jackets, so I figured why not combine the two!

As a female founder, do you draw inspiration from other women-driven brands?

Of course! The first one that comes to mind is Stacy’s Pita Chips — that’s why I was so excited to partner with them at Super Bowl this year. They have actively supported female founders through grants, mentorship and networking opportunities. I know firsthand how impactful that kind of support can be.

What advice would you give to someone looking to turn their passion into a business?

You can’t be afraid to hear “no” and need to continue to put yourself out there. My friend asked me, “If you knew it would take one-hundred ‘nos’ to get your ‘yes,’ wouldn’t you be so excited to get your first ‘no’?”. That really resonated with me. It takes a lot of hard work and a little luck, but you need to be prepared for when the luck strikes.