Inside GQ Bowl 2026, Where Thom Browne Wowed Teyana Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, and More in San Francisco
Cruz wasn’t the only former Super Bowl champ who pulled up on the star-studded gray carpet. Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith didn’t bring his ring, but he did arrive in one of the designer’s signature slim coats. Aspiring champs Sauce Gardner and Damar Hamlin might have missed showtime this season, but they were in high spirits as they dapped each other up and swapped notes on their respective fits. 49ers captain Christian McCaffrey charmed his front row seatmates Teyana Taylor and Queen Latifa while observing the scene from behind oversized aviator sunglasses.
What’s it like to have fashion finally come to San Francisco? I asked.
“It’s so cool, man. I mean, it’s such a fashionable city in its own right,” McCaffrey said. In reply to my skeptical look, the running back clarified that he was talking about the city’s character more than its clothes. “I mean the architecture of it, the history of it, the uniqueness of it, the hills, the houses, the Bay,” he said. “To add real fashion to the mix, it feels right.”
Once the cross-section of athletes, actors, and movers-and-shakers who populate this uniquely American weekend settled in, the lights went down. What followed was a Thom Browne tour de force that wove together his love of art, theatre, and athletics. Anchoring it all was Wonder Man himself, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who sat at a midcentury desk at the head of the catwalk beneath a monumental cast of Rodin’s devilish “The Three Shades” sculpture.
As the actor’s smoky baritone chanted lines from Dante’s Inferno, out came a co-ed cast draped in the full spectrum of Thom Browne’s twisted tailoring. Jefferson wasn’t the only surprise face in the lineup. When football style MVP DeAndre Hopkins hit the catwalk dressed in a charcoal gray bomber and matching pleated skirt, every player in the house raised their phones. Like his fellow receiver, Jefferson—diamonds blazing—hit his marks perfectly, as did Marcus Allen, who retired from the Steelers and is now training for his next career as, yes, an up-and-coming runway model.
By the time Browne came out for his bow, the San Francisco crowd had been making noise for nearly five minutes, as if their team had just hit a game-winning field goal. (Don’t believe me? Watch the full show here and you’ll see why.)
Even the NFL novices in the front row recognized that fashion looked stronger with a little football in it. On her way to the afterparty, Myha’la expressed delight at the “sports people” who had just rocked Browne’s shrunken blazers and pleated skirts with such self-possession. “They were great. They were sexy,” the Industry star declared. “It’s such a cool brand to intersect with football players because they were busting out of the tailoring, which is hot!”
See how it all went down at GQ Bowl here.
