Kareem Jackson

Kareem Jackson and his player-inspired Fly Guy line for the Houston Texans (photo: Houston Texans)

Kareem Jackson: Looking good both on and off the field.

Look out, Chloe Dao – there’s a new designer in town whose threads are being displayed at NRG Stadium. Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson recently debuted his Player-Inspired Fly Guy apparel line, which includes t-shirts and caps. On the field, the 2010 20th overall draft pick dons the exact pieces as the other 52 guys on the roster. With the NFL’s new stricter uniform policies, it’s no wonder Jackson takes pride in his extracurricular apparel, but that’s nothing new. His love for fashion dates back to middle school.

“I was one of those kids that always had to have the latest shoes and nicer clothes,” the 26-year-old says. Somewhere along the line, Jackson was dubbed best-dressed on the team and admits this could be his post-football calling. “Hopefully I’ll be playing the game a long time – as long as God will allow – but it’s something to think about. It would be interesting to design clothing, shoes or whatever the opportunity may be,” the cornerback says. Jackson says creating his line was fun and in-depth. “This was my first chance to actually design something, and it was a lot harder than I thought. So many fabrics and colors I had to narrow down, then I had to think about things the fans like and wanted to pay tribute to Houston. That was pretty much the thought process,” he explains.

Jackson may be the best-dressed, but he isn’t the only one vying for the title. “We definitely have some guys that are into fashion, but I’d like to say I’m one of the best-dressed on the team,” he says. Jackson gives the second place fashion-forward accolade to fellow cornerback Johnathan Joseph. “We have pretty similar taste and probably Andre (Johnson) next – we all think alike when it comes to clothing.” Even with The Galleria around the corner, Jackson admits he finds most of the good stuff online. “I think there’s more variety – tons of websites people may not know about. Some may be a bit exclusive. Going in the mall you’re taking a chance of somebody having the same thing. It’s the same online but chances are slimmer,” Jackson shares.

Mr. Porter (mrporter.com), FarFetch (farfetch.com) and SSENSE (ssense.com) are some of Jackson’s frequented online shops, but admits his wardrobe is diverse. He says it’s all in the shoes. Find a nice pair and you can build from there. “If I decide what shoes I want to wear, then I can get my jeans and shirt and so forth,” he says, admitting he has at least 200 pairs. He could probably give Carrie Bradshaw a run for her money, and says you can’t go wrong with Louis Vuitton shoes.

As the months get colder, Jackson finds himself getting excited about winter fashion. “That’s the time of year you get a lot of different clothing – your sweaters, jackets, pea coats, cashmere and all that stuff,” he says.

Yes, a football player well-versed in interceptions and pea coats.

WHERE TO BUY IT: NRG STADIUM

This article originally ran in the print issue of 002 Magazine, November 2014. Click here for the online version.