Six months ago, Ty Christian got a message from Taylor Richardson asking him to create a custom outfit. And when he found out who the client was, Christian knew that he had to make it special
According to Christian, Richardson is George and Claire Kittle's "personal stylist," and she wanted a custom one-of-a-kind outfit. So Richardson immediately called Christian.
"She's always been a big fan of my artwork. We've always talked about doing something together," Christian told A to Z Sports. "I've kind of always dabbled around in creating my own custom clothes at home, that people have always been very fond of."
From there, he was determined to make a statement through his art.
"She called me and she hit me with the opportunity. Of course I was floored about it and very excited because I'm a huge fan of the guy," Christian explained. "Then we just started kind of honing in on exactly what we would want to put on the outfit and then it goes from there."
Kittle has detailed tattoos, so Christian sought to draw inspiration from those.
"Everything decision-wise came from him and his personal life," Christian said. "He's obviously a fan of movies, pop culture. He's not a shy guy... We wanted to create something that was artistic and respected artistically, but also just fun, loud and represents the energy that he brings to the table."
So that's why the Joker, Calvin and Hobbes, Master Chief from Halo, and even Godzilla were on the outfit. They are all tattoos that he has.
And when Richardson sent him the original idea, he admitted that it was "very out there," but also added that he knew they could "really elevate it."
He began by creating a mock up digitally, finding the coolest and most interesting photo for each of the topics he wanted. The more complex the photo, the better.
While it took time for him to create the digital design, it was worth it. When he sent that to Richardson, she was instantly enamored by it and in Christian's words, "flipped out."
So then he just went for it.
While all of the designs were so impressive and intricate, there was one part that stood out on the outfit. And that was the numbers that decorated the top of the jacket, painted in white.
Since Christian was creating an identical outfit for Kittle's wife, he wanted to honor her and their special relationship in the perfect way. So on one side, it's their engagement date, while the other is their wedding date.
And the back also included a special design, highlighting a painted women with a flower head.
So what's the significance?
"He always buys his wife huge bouquets of flowers, like all the time," Christian explained. "And so that actually represents her and that is her body with her tattoos on the bottom of the jacket."
Christian wasn't there when Kittle first saw the outfit, but he did receive a video. With so much to look at, the 49ers tight end took it all in.
"I mean, in one of my favorite parts of the video, he was kind of just speechless at first and then he just dropped the jacket to his knees and looked at the camera and he was like, 'there's a lot going on here guys,' with the biggest smile on his face," he said. "I think he could understand and appreciate just how much it was representing him and who he was on it."
And Claire felt the same way.
Nothing was stopping him
Along with bringing in Christian, Richardson had teamed up with Levi's as well. And they were providing the matching denim outfits.
Yet, while the discussions began six months ago, Christian didn't receive the actual denim until over four a half months later.
And while he loves art, he also works a full time job at a restaurant in Sarasota, Florida. So he had to lock in and create the one-of-a-kind outfits despite not having a ton of time.
But that wasn't going to stop him.
"In the last three days until those outfits were due, I painted 48 hours in three days to get it all finished," Christian said. "It was a grind, but it paid off."
A passion for fashion
Art was always something that Christian has been drawn to. He taught himself, having never gotten official training, and used that to his advantage.
It first began with more realistic drawings before he transitioned into painting, looking to incorporate color into his designs. Christian made some money selling canvas paintings, but he then started learning from street artists in Nashville.
"I decided to dive headfirst into learning how to use spray paint and things to make large format painting more efficient with time and stuff like that," he said.
That included one piece that captured everyone's attention, titled "Harmony," aiming to send the message of "unity and equality and one love."
And that put him on the map in Nashville.
However, his passion for fashion was too hard to ignore. So he started creating some of his own jackets. And that's how he caught the eye of country artist Jimmy Allen.
And getting the opportunity to design for Kittle was another feather in his cap.
"I think that those kind of situations (where) I was extremely excited of course because he's a massive star, but I've always just kind of flourished in tricky situations," Christian said. "But this outfit for George Kittle was by far, I think, my coolest work in the fashion realm so far just because of the opportunity and the extreme that Taylor (Richardson) wanted me to go. She was just like, I want you to just blow this thing out of the water from top to bottom."
While some of his past designs had one main design as the focus, this one had them all.
"When a stylist or someone gives you full creative freedom to really express yourself as an artist, you really want to take advantage of that opportunity."
With his recent success, Christian's next steps are clear: "I do have full plans of diving headfirst into the custom clothing line stuff."
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