Abercrombie, for instance, hosted a presentation, rather than a runway. “We were inspired by the Tunnel Walk, which has become a new runway; athletes are now as influential off the field as they are on it,” Krug says. At the GQ Bowl, Thom Browne opted for a more traditional runway format to show his SS26 collection — and debut a surprise Asics collaboration.
“The A&F show was a really well curated presentation that struck just the right tone. It didn’t take itself too seriously, heavily incorporated NFL players and their partners into the runway casting and kept things super small and intimate,” Miller says. “It wasn’t a typical full blown fashion show, more of a showcase of A&F’s new positioning at the heart of the NFL’s marketing engine, and I think it worked.”
The only downside for brands showing up ahead of Sunday’s game is that, though there’s plenty of buzz across the weekend, no viewership numbers come close to measuring up to the Bowl itself. Plus, the week leading up to the Super Bowl is already crowded with events, Hill cautions. “If brands want to stand out they will need to eventize the show to match the energy ahead of game day,” she says. The GQ Bowl model is a embodies this ethos: it’s not just the runway — there’s a red carpet beforehand, and a party to follow.
Smart brands will be paying attention to these buzzy events like GQ Bowl, Miller says: it offers a platform for brands to tap in without having to plan a whole event from scratch themselves. Instead, they can tap into existing, fashion-friendly infrastructure.
In San Francisco this weekend, the appetite for fashion in and around Super Bowl weekend is strong, Miller says. “This has been the most fashion-integrated Super Bowl to-date, and speaking to people on the ground there is appetite in future years for even more of a presence from the fashion industry.”
Smith is expecting next year’s LA edition to be even bigger, given how entrenched fashion already is in the city and how many brands are LA-built. “So many brands are going to be watching this year to see the success of how the brands here are activating, and how they can be even bigger for next year.”
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