American apparel brand Abercrombie & Fitch launched a collection co-designed with CeeDee Lamb, the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver in the NFL, on 5 November 2026. Named The CeeDee Lamb Edit, the line comprises 19 pieces and is available on the brand’s website and in select stores. The collection is being presented as a collaboration in which the athlete was not merely the face of the campaign but took a direct part in the design process.
What’s in the collection?
The line is built around the idea of a more refined, classic men’s wardrobe, spanning outerwear, knitwear, shirts, trousers and ties. Rather than streetwear or fan merchandise, the focus is on pieces with a tailored touch. Lamb said that as he has grown personally and professionally over the years, he has gravitated towards timeless, more elegant pieces, and that this collection reflects both his current style and where it is heading.
The collection’s most striking detail is a nod to the athlete’s jersey number. Lamb’s on-field number, 88, is embossed on the cardigan’s buttons and embroidered on the back pocket of the trousers. The touch creates a link to football without turning the pieces into overt fan merchandise.
Beyond online sales, the collection is also available in physical stores. According to CultureMap Dallas, the line can be found in the Dallas area at the brand’s stores in the NorthPark, Galleria Dallas and Grapevine Mills shopping centres. Lamb is also known for his on-field style, drawing attention with his wristbands, gloves and the gear combinations he changes during games, which helps explain why the brand chose him as a design partner.
An athlete at the design table
For the collection, Lamb travelled to the brand’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, and worked alongside the design team. He had a say in the colour palette, fabrics and fits. Corey Robinson, brand president of Abercrombie & Fitch, said that hosting Lamb in the design offices offered an opportunity to take the successful relationship between the two sides a step further. Robinson added that the partnership allowed the athlete to bring his own style into the creative process.
From Abercrombie & Fitch: the making of the CeeDee Lamb collection
An extension of the NFL partnership
The new collection builds on the brand’s multi-year partnership with the Dallas Cowboys. In 2025, Abercrombie & Fitch announced that it had become the official fashion partner of both the NFL and the Dallas Cowboys. CeeDee Lamb was one of the names featured in the 2025 campaign that introduced the partnership, and he continues to appear in the brand’s current NFL campaign.
According to CultureMap Dallas, even before the NFL deals, the brand was selling licensed NFL merchandise and running a styling programme with McLaren Racing that dressed athletes for events and race-day arrivals. In a statement to FashionUnited, Abercrombie & Fitch stressed that it has been intertwined with fashion, sport and culture throughout its 134-year history. Corey Robinson also said that Lamb has been a key part of the brand’s advertising since its NFL partnerships began.
Lamb’s relationship with the brand has thus progressed from campaign face to co-designer. The brand is also known to provide styling support to players in the NFL, where pre-game stadium arrival outfits have become a fashion showcase. The CeeDee Lamb Edit stands out as an example of this relationship evolving into a full apparel line bearing the athlete’s name.
Why it matters
Athletes have long appeared in fashion brands’ campaigns, but the nature of these collaborations has been changing in recent years. Brands are positioning athletes not just as faces but as style figures who influence their followers with their taste, and as design partners. The wide attention that NFL players’ pre-game stadium arrival outfits receive on social media is one of the factors accelerating this shift.
For Abercrombie & Fitch, the collaboration is a way to bring its connection between sport and fashion down to product level. The choice of pieces such as ties, knitwear and tailored trousers shows a desire to carry the link with the sporting world into classic menswear.
Seen from Turkey, the model is an interesting one too. Athletes’ relationship with the fashion world is growing ever stronger here as well, and collaborations in which stylish athletes go beyond being campaign faces and join the design process stand out as a path local brands could also consider. Those curious about what it takes to be a face in the fashion world can take a look at our guide to what it takes to become a model.
Sources
- FashionUnited: Abercrombie & Fitch and CeeDee Lamb co-designed collection
- CultureMap Dallas: The collection’s launch and details
- RetailBoss: Report on the 19-piece collection
Image: Two Abercrombie & Fitch stores at Brickell City Centre in Miami (representative image) — Phillip Pessar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0