Florida swamps & high-end fashion? Here’s how Travis Kelce’s GQ cover happened
Travis Kelce, known for his charisma and swag on and off the field, stepped into a new lane this week of high-end fashion working with GQ and iconic celebrity stylist Law Roach.
“America’s Sweetheart” reads the September issue cover featuring the NFL star.
The photos show the NFL star holding alligators, standing in the middle of the swamp with the rare Hermès HAC 60, posing with a snake and more. Many shots feature luxury fashion existing in natural Floridian scenes.
Roach, a celebrity stylist best-known for his work with actress Zendaya and singer Céline Dion, collaborated with GQ as the lead stylist for Kelce on this September issue.
Though fashion has always been intertwined with sports, it has more recently been at the forefront of teams’ and athletes’ personal brands.
The photo shoot, released online Tuesday, came as the New Heights podcast also broke the internet with Taylor Swift joining the show as their next guest alongside her boyfriend Travis Kelce.
After the photos went viral, Miles Pope, global fashion director of GQ and menswear director at Vanity Fair, shared more about the vision and background for his recent shoot with the Chiefs’ tight end.
Pope — who has worked with many high-profile entertainers and athletes such as Pharrell, Brad Pitt, Beyoncé, and The Rock — worked directly with Kelce to bring the high-end fashion photoshoot to life. He mentioned how Travis Kelce was a great collaborator for the project and very open to bringing the eclectic GQ style to life.
“He is such an amazing collaborator. … He just really leaned into it.” Pope shared.
The nature-driven scenic photos raised a lot of buzz on social media. With the photo shoot coming the same week as Taylor Swift’s viral “New Heights” announcement, comments said, like “Taylor and Trav breaking the internet every few hours.”
Many wondered about the inspiration behind the swamp and alligator theme. Previously, Kelce was known for laid-back fashion in elevated streetwear with a dash of Midwestern charm.
“We just wanted to make it as interesting as possible, so we just kind of went really literally and then figuratively into the deep end,” Brauna Marks, a visuals editor at GQ, said of the project.
Since Kelce was spending his offseason in Florida, the GQ team drew inspiration from the environment he was already training in — with the goal of not only elevating his look, but also giving him a character to inhabit in the Everglades.
The team worked with Mack’s Fish Camp, a local family-owned business that offers airboat tours of the Everglades, to help guide their team and Kelce throughout the shoot. Those involved said working with the fish camp helped give the story and photos a nature driven feel.
Roach was a huge reason for the eye-catching details of the photo shoot.
When I asked Pope about one of the covers where Kelce is wearing the Etro hat, he remarked: “Why not?”
“What inspired that? I think what’s the twist? You’re in the Everglades. So yeah, you need to be wearing this furry hat. Why not, it’s fun? … That’s the fashion moment.” Pope said.
He also detailed Roach’s approach to storytelling and creating a “moment” truly pushed this Kelce shoot to become the distinct cover it came to life as.
“The way Law works is really about storytelling and building a true character. … You saw (Kelce) in the swamp, on the boat, on the ATV, but there with the Prada on, (Roach) really just maps everything out.”
One of the most eye-catching photos was a photo of Kelce in the swamp with a photo credited as “Stylist’s own bag by Hermès.”
Pope detailed what it took to help bring that look to life for Kelce. Roach flew in his assistant from L.A. to Florida to deliver his own personal Hermès bag, making the already visually aesthetic photos even more striking.
Marks also shared the same sentiments as Pope about working with Kelce.
“You want the talent to just embrace the creative direction completely and that’s exactly what Travis did,” Marks said. “He was really just down for everything, and he was willing to push the limit and just create some really cool, some really epic visuals and it happened because he was so willing to collaborate and trust us.”
Up next for Pope? With the recent news of Swift’s upcoming album and her viral “New Heights” podcast with the Kelce brothers, he hinted that he would love to do a couples shoot.
As for other athletes, Pope’s open to that as well.
“Let’s shoot the whole (Chiefs) team. I think there’s a moment for that,” he said. “And I think when I look at GQ and our sports lane, everyone belongs in that space because sports are so important.”
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 5:59 PM.
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