colin kaepernick asked to wear only female designers/designers of color for gq cover shoot

Activism has to go beyond showy camera-ready statements to have real affect, and Colin Kaepernick has exemplified that throughout the year long protest that got him blacklisted from the NFL. Though his bold statement landed him the GQ Man Of The Year cover story, Kaepernick refused to be interviewed for the story, allowing the magazine to others who know the athlete, like rapper J.Cole, director Ava DuVernay, activist Harry Belafonte, and Women’s March co-organizer Linda Sarsour to highlight the message behind the protest.

But one thing that these interviews didn’t touch on is another powerful silent statement the footballer made. According to a Refinery 29 interview with Rachel Johnson, the athlete’s longtime stylist, Kaepernick not only wanted the clothes to pay homage to activists of the past, but he requested to only wear designers of color and/or designers who were women.

“He wanted to give an opportunity for designers to be featured in the magazine who wouldn’t normally be, especially for a cover shoot of this magnitude,” Johnson explained. “That was was the direction that he gave to [GQ’s creative director] Jim Moore and I.”

@gq #citizenoftheyear #manoftheyear physical copies out tomorrow

A post shared by colin kaepernick (@kaepernick7) on Nov 13, 2017 at 4:52pm PST

One label was Harlem Haberdashery, who created the leather blazer the athlete wears on the cover that is reminiscent of the Black Panther Party.

“There are not a huge pool of Black designers to choose from honestly, you know, it didn’t take very long to put our list together,” Johnson told Refinery 29.

I’m honored to be @gq Man of the Year! Thank you to @e_reid35 @nessnitty @ava @realcoleworld @msladyjustice1 @lsarsour @tamikadmallory @cfpetrella Ameer Loggins, and Mr. Harry Belafonte for being a part of this moment!

A post shared by colin kaepernick (@kaepernick7) on Nov 13, 2017 at 7:01am PST

Another was Kerby Jean-Raymond, the designer behind New York-label Pyer Moss, who created the “Even More Names” T-Shirt.

@gq #citizenoftheyear #manoftheyear physical copies out tomorrow

A post shared by colin kaepernick (@kaepernick7) on Nov 13, 2017 at 4:51pm PST

“It was amazing how it all came together. It feels surreal. I’m proud of how it’s being received,” Johnson said. “I’m thrilled we were able to feature designers who would have never gotten this look before. There were designers [that] when I told them they made the book, they cried over the phone. I’m like damn, I guess I should go buy [the magazine] right now and actually look at it.”

@gq #citizenoftheyear #manoftheyear physical copies out tomorrow

A post shared by colin kaepernick (@kaepernick7) on Nov 13, 2017 at 4:53pm PST

@gq #citizenoftheyear #manoftheyear physical copies out tomorrow

A post shared by colin kaepernick (@kaepernick7) on Nov 13, 2017 at 4:52pm PST