The CFDA and NFL team up on bespoke footballs for Super Bowl 50

By

Obi Anyanwu

Published
Jan 21, 2016

The CFDA and the National Football League have joined forces once again in the spirit of football and giving. The two parties collaborated on 50 Bespoke Designer Footballs created by CFDA members, and they are up for auction in support of Super Bowl 50 and the NFL Foundation from January 20 through February 14 on the NFL website.

The Designer Footballs will be displayed around Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco in the week leading up to Super Bowl 50, on February 7th. The balls will be featured in the NFL Shop at Super Bowl, NFL Experience and the Super Bowl 50 restaurant On The Fifty among others. Many designers and brands lent their hands in creating the Bespoke Footballs, including Kenneth Cole, Prabal Gurung, Rachel Zoe, Rebecca Minkoff, Betsey Johnson, Tanya Taylor, Siki Im, Alice & Olivia, Rag & Bone, Billy Reid, Robert Geller, Mark McNairy, Michael Bastian, and Shinola among others.
 
“We are pleased to partner with the NFL once again on this creative endeavor, which highlights CFDA Members unique talents and passion for creativity while giving back to youth and important fundraising initiatives,” said Adam Roth, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the CFDA. “With our collaboration, the NFL offers a unique take on the iconic football, particularly for women who care about fashion and also love the game.”  

The footballs can be best described as huge productions. Some designers customized the texture of the footballs, swapping out leather for wool, and others built on top of the football with pearls, chains, metals and other materials. Alice & Olivia managed to replicate a face and top-knot bun on its football, David Hart transformed his ball into a classic football board game from the mid-20th Century, the Illesteva football went incognito by disguising itself to look like legendary football coach, Vince Lombardi, who is the namesake for the NFL Championship trophy, Veronica Beard and Orley dressed their footballs in a sweater, Nicole Miller created a flowery football reminiscent of the Dia De Los Muertos skull and Siki Im created a mini satellite out of Lego blocks.
 
The CFDA and the NFL first partnered in 2014 on football helmets in honor of the Super Bowl VLVIII, which was held in New York City. In partnership with Bloomingdale’s, CFDA designers and brands created forty-eight helmets that were unveiled at Bloomingdale’s and auctioned in the weeks leading up to the big game.
 
The auction has begun and can be found on the NFL website.