Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and three-time Super Bowl champion, stars in “Only in New York,” Tommy Hilfiger’s new Fall 2026 campaign, set in one of New York’s most iconic locations: the Plaza Hotel. This location is particularly dear to the designer, who lived there for over ten years with his wife Dee and considers it a perfect embodiment of the city’s energy and spirit. It is no coincidence, then, that Hilfiger chose the Plaza to present his Spring 2027 collection on September 10. Appointed as Tommy Hilfiger’s global brand ambassador last March, Kelce thus makes his debut in the brand’s first campaign featuring him as the star. This choice is anything but random: both on and off the field, the Kansas City Chiefs star has now established himself as a true fashion personality—in addition, of course, to being loved and known as Taylor Swift’s husband. Over time, his pre-game looks have become part of the show, turning every arrival at the stadium into an opportunity to showcase his personal relationship with fashion. In the brand’s press release and the Q&A with Hilfiger about the collection, Travis is described as follows: “Confident. Charismatic. Superstar.”
It’s no surprise, then, that the ambassador’s energy and enthusiasm permeate the entire campaign. As he himself says, “Fashion has always been something I’ve enjoyed. I personally choose and put together my own looks, so what you see on game days is authentic. Many outfits reflect my mood that week or the image I want to convey. It’s become a ritual I’ve loved ever since I joined the NFL.” From hosting “Saturday Night Live” to creating “New Heights”—the podcast he produced with his brother Jason Kelce, which became the most-listened-to sports podcast on Spotify in 2025—his popularity continues to grow. Added to this are business ventures, television appearances, and numerous commercial collaborations. “Travis connects with people far beyond football,” Hilfiger explained. “He’s part of entertainment, fashion, business, and pop culture, and that allows him to speak to an extremely broad audience. He has won over both longtime fans who respect his legacy and younger generations who consider him one of the greatest of all time. He brings a new energy to our American preppy aesthetic.”
For Kelce, his connection with Tommy Hilfiger began long before their professional collaboration. In fact, the football player has been a fan of the designer since high school. Among his fondest memories is the famous sailing jacket: “I remember begging my mom to buy me one. The color-blocking was iconic, and it had incredible personality. I’d still wear it today.” Even the theme of the Fall 2026 collection, “Prep Made Current,” seems to speak directly to his approach to fashion: taking classic elements and reinterpreting them through a personal sensibility.
The collaboration with Hilfiger, after all, won’t end with the campaign. Kelce has also been brought on as a creative collaborator and is working with the designer on a Spring 2027 capsule collection. As he said: “We’ve been working on the collection for a while. Tommy took me through his archives and showed me some of his favorite pieces from the last 40 years. It was incredible,” he said. “For our collection, we’ve reinterpreted some of those iconic pieces with a contemporary twist, trying to reflect my personal style. We’ve played with colors, fabrics, and unexpected proportions—all elements that breathe new life into the pieces.” For Kelce, the collaboration also represents a return to the roots of his aesthetic vision. “My style is deeply influenced by nostalgia for the ’90s, and Tommy Hilfiger was an important part of that decade. It’s a brand I’ve truly worn and loved over the years, so this shared history makes the collaboration particularly authentic for me.” Lachlan Bailey photographed the campaign at the Plaza. Appearing alongside Kelce are Tommy and Dee Hilfiger, Gigi Hadid, brand ambassador Jisoo, singer-songwriter Peggy Gou, tennis star Frances Tiafoe, and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony.
On this subject, Tommy puts it clearly: “‘Only in New York’ is about possibilities. It’s a place where you never know who you might meet, and where unforgettable moments happen when you least expect them. It’s a spirit that has been with me ever since I arrived in the city in the ’80s. With this campaign, we wanted to bring that spirit to life by bringing together people from different worlds and generations. Seeing old friends like Gigi Hadid—the last true Tommy Girl—return alongside current Brand Ambassador JISOO seemed to me like the perfect way to embody this spirit: a celebration of the connections and cultural exchanges that can only happen here.” And for Hilfiger, the Plaza itself is a fundamental element of the story. “It’s one of New York’s great icons,” he explained. “For over a century, it has been a meeting place for diverse personalities, artists, and innovators. You never know who might walk through those doors. If those walls could talk, they would tell incredible stories of writers, musicians, actors, and designers—even members of the royal family.” Throughout its history, the hotel has, in fact, hosted some of the most famous figures from the worlds of entertainment and culture, from Marilyn Monroe to Frank Sinatra, to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Among the pieces in the fall collection, Kelce has a particular fondness for rugby shirts. “They perfectly embody that blend of sports, style, and culture that Tommy is known for. They can be sporty or more sophisticated, depending on how you wear them.” For Hilfiger, on the other hand, Kelce is the perfect ambassador for the collection precisely because “he looks good in anything he wears, from a relaxed sweatshirt to a tailored suit.” The campaign features some of the fall wardrobe essentials: tailored coats, cable-knit turtlenecks, clean-lined pants, and varsity jackets. The partnership will continue through campaigns, social media content, and pop culture moments. “We want to let his personality shine through and offer people a more personal glimpse of Travis in the Tommy world,” said Hilfiger. “The collaboration works precisely because it’s authentic and allows him to bring his own perspective to our storytelling.”
When it comes to his wardrobe, Kelce talks to WWD about his relationship with different pieces of clothing and how it has evolved over time. “As a kid, I loved sportswear, and I think I only had one pair of dress pants, which I wore on special occasions. I was always wanting a headband for games or a specific pair of shoes. I was heavily influenced by the sports icons of the ’90s, and I liked expressing myself through what I wore.” Today, his style continues to evolve. “Lately, I’ve been having fun experimenting with tailoring and proportions, playing around with statement pieces. And I still love accessories.” Among his must-have items are vintage caps. “I change my look so often that it’s hard to pick a favorite piece, but I always come back to a vintage cap with a big, old-school ’90s logo from my favorite teams when I was a kid. It’s definitely a staple in my wardrobe.” His relationship with jeans, on the other hand, is more complicated. “In the past, I struggled to find the right fit. For a couple of years, I practically avoided jeans altogether. I imagine many football players have the same problem, given the leg strength required to play. Today, when I think back on my skinny-jeans phase, it makes me laugh, so I tend to avoid slim-fit styles. But if they go well with the rest of the outfit, I’m not too picky.” As for his personal touch on the campaign, Kelce emphasizes above all the strength of the cast. “We had an incredible cast, so I think everyone brought their own energy to the set. I love the fact that fashion brings people from different worlds together. And this Tommy campaign demonstrates that perfectly. New York is special—you never know who or what you’ll find around the corner.”
[📷 Courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger]
