Kevin Love Is Having a Very Well-Dressed Offseason

If you needed any indicator as to exactly when NBA All-Star Kevin Love began to rise through the ranks of fashion’s elite, look no further than early 2016 in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room. Love, who was traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Cavs back in 2014, began playing alongside LeBron James in 2016 when James opted out of his Miami Heat contract to return home in hopes of bringing the city a long-awaited NBA championship. 

James—who is, without question, one of the best-dressed players in the league—walked into somewhat of a style onslaught given his teammates: Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, Kyrie Irving and JR Smith. Love’s style was a bit left of his counterparts. Certainly not worse, just...well, more conservative. There was nothing flashy about it. To his credit, Love was extravagantly classic. And when the team began taking postgame photos in the locker room showing off their nightly fits, Love initially wasn’t in them. 

Following some playful back-and-forth on Instagram demanding that Love be included, soon enough he would be, beaming from ear to ear while his teammates gave their best ice grill to the camera. It was a comedic matrimony. And, ironically, it was indicative of just how well-dressed Love was—in a completely different way than his teammates.

The UCLA alum’s style is aspirational yet far from overt. It’s this unique blend of old Hollywood meets modern Americana. Love’s long, bulky frame wears everything well. He combines multiple sections of fashion by just wearing what he deems appropriate at the moment. Be it sweats and a tee or a tailored Ralph Lauren suit, Love appears immaculately groomed, whether he’s trying to be or he’s just simply being himself.

Without pause, this summer has been Love’s most daring offseason. The confidence he exudes with each look is palpable. Take his summer trip with girlfriend Kate Bock to Jackson Hole, the gaping Wyoming mountain range now frequented by Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and just about everyone else who wants to stunt by going to the one place their friend group hasn’t been yet. Love fully embraced the "Old Town Road" lifestyle surrounding him, donning wide-brim hats, an abundance of flannel and enough denim to make even the truest Canadian jealous. Big belt buckles were also a thing, be they ever so embellished. Even bigger than Love’s buckle was his killer mustache. Maybe it was the horses and stables or the hats and boots, but his larger-than-life ‘stache never felt more at home than on this range in Jackson Hole.

Some NBA stars very publicly spend their summers on the Fashion Week circuit. From New York to Paris and Milan, you can find a few of the league’s brightest stars sitting front row at shows where even fashion industry insiders have a hard time getting seats. Love is often among those near seven-footers in the front row fabulously obstructing everyone’s view. And as a longtime fan of Ralph Lauren, the famed designer’s presentation was one Love had to attend. He wore custom-fitted Ralph Lauren, continuing a long tradition of designers gifting their personal guests unreleased or out-of-season garments for the show. 

Love wears a decadent white dinner jacket coupled with a timeless black bowtie and matching tuxedo trousers. See, Love originally became enamored with fashion through classic cinema. Bond flicks, Hitchcock films, westerns and just about anything starring Cary Grant. His Ralph Lauren look taps into his heroes from the silver screen. Love also claims to have every Polo bear sweater—because of course he does.

Whether doing his best Doc Holliday impersonation at Jackson Hole or besting Ralph Lauren himself at his own show, Love has a versatility that places him high above many of his peers. He has an ability to do something only Kevin Love would do and have it be great, like earlier this summer when he cut the sleeves off his neon “Shoot Hoops, Not People” tee that he wore with Off-White x Nike Prestos. At its core, this was a workout fit, but it bellowed at a much higher volume.

If nothing else, Love is proof that good style comes largely from dressing for how you feel.

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