Lifestyle

These hiking trails are closed because of the Southern California wildfires

Published

2 years ago

September 28, 2024

These hiking trails are closed because of the Southern California wildfires

As firefighters complete the final steps to controlling three blazes around Southern California, it’s becoming clearer how and where hiking trails will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Some trails have burned in the Bridge, Line and Airport fires and will take a long time to recover. Others are closed out of an abundance of caution.

The Times has put together a comprehensive list to help you understand where you can recreate responsibly, and also, whether your favorite areas were burned in recent blazes.

In the coming months, volunteer trail crews across L.A. County and beyond will head to these areas to help with recovery efforts. They are almost always in need of more volunteers.

To put together a better picture of the damage, The Times consulted mapping tool CalTopo, cross-referencing its maps and the fire footprints and forest closure orders with lists of local hiking trails to determine which routes were in the burn area. That said, just because a trail is in the burn area doesn’t mean it was destroyed. We’ll learn more about specific conditions of each trail in the coming weeks and months, as well as when trails might start to reopen.

The Bridge fire | The Line fire | The Airport fire

The Bridge fire

A hiker takes on the Mt. Baldy Trail in May 2017.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Almost 55,000 acres in the San Gabriel Mountains and nearby towns have been burned by the Bridge fire. That includes destroying homes and buildings in Wrightwood and the Mt. Baldy community.

As of Friday, the Bridge fire was 97% contained. Firefighters have completed a control line around the majority of the fire’s perimeter. But containment does not mean that the fire that has been extinguished. Wildfires can burn for weeks after full containment is reached and even after fire personnel leave if no risk remains to embers restarting a blaze.

On Sept. 21 , Angeles National Forest issued its Bridge fire closure order, which applies to federally managed roads, trails and other amenities. It is set to remain in place until Dec. 31, 2025, although that date could change.

Last week we cross referenced CalTopo, local trail lists and the Bridge fire map to tell you which trails appear to have been burned. Below you’ll find our updated list of trails that were burned by the fire and also those closed by the forest order.

📌 East Fork and Camp Williams area

The Bridge fire was named after Cattle Canyon bridge in the East Fork of Angeles National Forest, where it started.

Although the fire got close, firefighters were able to save Camp Williams Cafe & General Store and Camp Williams Mobile Home Park from burning.

However, the hiking trails below appear to have been affected, and unless otherwise noted, are closed:

📌 Mt. Baldy area

The road to reach the mountain community of Mt. Baldy has reopened, and businesses are returning to normal operating hours.

Popular hiking trails, including Icehouse Canyon and Icehouse Saddle appear, via the fire map, to not have burned in the Bridge fire. Additionally, San Antonio Falls, Ontario Peak, Cucamonga Peak, Cedar Glen Camp, and the three T’s — Timber Mountain, Telegraph Peak and Thunder Mountain — also did not burn. Although the fire moved near Stoddard Peak’s trailhead, its trail was spared.

Here is a list of some of the popular trails that appear to have burned, according to The Times’ analysis:

Additionally, these trails and sites do not appear to have been burned in the fire but are closed, per the closure order:

📌 Wrightwood and Vincent Gap area

Although the fire got within about 500 feet of the Mt. Baden-Powell trail, it was not burned in the Bridge fire. Additionally, nearby mountains, including Mt. Burnham, Throop Peak and Mt. Hawkins, did not burn. The immediate area surrounding Jackson Lake was not burned, but multiple trails in that area did. The Grassy Hollow Visitor Center was destroyed. Mountain High ski resort survived and aims to reopen later this year for its winter season.

Additionally, these trails and sites do not appear to have been burned in the fire but are closed, per the closure order:

The Line fire

The Line fire, which is alleged to have been started Sept. 5 as an act of arson, has burned more than 39,000 acres in San Bernardino County. It damaged four structures and destroyed one. It has also injured four firefighters. As of Friday, it was 83% contained with “minimal fire activity” and favorable conditions for firefighting expected in the coming days.

Several hiking trails are temporarily closed under the San Bernardino National Forest’s Line fire closure order, which ropes off what The Times estimates to be about 70% of national forest land to the public and includes large swaths of the region that weren’t burned by the fire. The order includes all of the Front Country and Mountaintop Ranger districts, and trails near Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, among many others that did not burn.

The closure extends beyond the fire’s perimeter because “the fire is not completely contained,” said Sonny St. John, a patrol captain with the federal Forest Service’s Law Enforcement and Investigations unit on the San Bernardino National Forest. “We want to limit using resources on other parts of the forest where incidents could also occur.”

You can find a list of every trail and road closed here. In short, any trail in the San Bernardino National Forest that’s outside of the San Jacinto Ranger District — which sits south of the 10 Freeway and includes the Idyllwild area — is closed.

St. John said the order could be adjusted in scope and size, or terminated, as conditions allow. In the interim, it’s best to call ahead before visiting the area to determine whether the hiking area you’d like to visit is open.

Below you’ll find a list of trails that, based on The Times analysis, were burned by the fire.

Note: Just because a trail is listed doesn’t mean it was destroyed. There aren’t data available yet to discern how severely burned each trail was. This is a preliminary list, based on the Line fire burn map.

Shelton Trail
Plunge Creek Truck Trail: The first half-mile was not burned, but the rest was.
Highland Natural Parkland Trail
Exploration Trail: About 1.3 miles of the middle section burned
Keller Peak Road and Keller Peak Fire Lookout: The last mile of the road leading to the peak, south of Keller Peak yellow post No. 9, appears to have burned; the 98-year-old lookout tower at the peak was destroyed
Mill Peak Trail: The majority of the trail did not burn, but the fire got close to the peak; about a quarter-mile of trail burned, depending on the exact route you take.
The Redlands R: An unofficial trail off City Creek Road to the iconic letter on the mountainside; the fire map shows the R, estimated to be 415 feet tall by 275 feet wide, in the burn area
Santa Ana Divide Trail to Alder Creek Fire Road
Alder Creek Trail 2W18
Lower Santa Ana River Trail: The first mile does not appear to have burned. Just after the first mile, the fire burned the trail until just after Morton Peak, where there is a 1.8-mile stretch northeast of Morton Peak that wasn’t burned. There’s then another stretch, just under five miles, that’s burned until the trail nears Constance Peak, where the burn area ends north of Angelus Oaks. The remaining 23 miles from near Angelus Oaks east to the Pacific Crest Trail was not burned.
Siberia Creek Trail: The most popular section of this trail — starting near the Bluff Lake Reserve and heading west to Gun Sight Rock — did not burn. But 1.5 miles southwest of Gun Sight Rock, the trail is burned for about three miles until it ends near Bear Creek. This section of the trail, per the forest service, has not beenmaintained for many years.
Camp Creek National Recreation Trail: The last half-mile appears to be in or near the burn area, where it ends at Bear Creek.
Constance Peak Trail: Although not an official forest service trail, hikers may trek about two miles from Angelus Oaks along Thomas Hunting Grounds Road (1N12), which did not burn, before heading off trail to Constance Peak. The off-trail route that hikers have previously taken might have burned, as there is a burned section west of the peak.

Popular attractions, including the Trail of the Phoenix in the National Children’s Forest, Little Green Valley Trail and climbing spot Dinosaur Rocks, did not burn. The Shady Cove Group Campground in the Children’s Forest was also spared. And the fire got close but did not destroy the Bluff Lake Reserve, where firefighters have quickly extinguished spot fires threatening the 80-acre reserve. The Morton Peak Fire Lookout suffered some damage but was not destroyed, per a Southern California Mountains Foundation representative.

The Airport fire

A pair of hikers crossed over the creek on their way into Holy Jim Canyon.

The Airport fire, unintentionally started by workers using heavy machinery to move boulders, has burned almost 24,000 acres since it began Sept. 9 near Trabuco Canyon in Orange County. It destroyed 160 structures, including several homes in El Cariso Village, and damaged 34 others. An estimated 22 people, including firefighters, have been injured. As of Friday, the fire was 95% contained.

Cleveland National Forest — where much of the fire has burned — issued a closure order that bars the public from entering the 138,971 acres of the Trabuco Ranger District, an area far larger than the fire’s footprint. All trails in the district are closed to the public. A list of closed trails and roads is available here. The order is set to expire Sept. 17, 2025.

Below you’ll find a list of trails that, based on The Times analysis, were burned by the fire.

Again, just because a trail is listed doesn’t mean it was destroyed. This is a preliminary list, based on the Airport fire burn map.

Modjeska and Santiago Peak via Maple Springs and Main Divide Loop: The first half-mile did not burn, but the trails leading to both peaks did.
Falls Canyon, off the Trabuco Creek Falls Canyon Trail.
Holy Jim trail to Holy Jim Falls.
Holy Jim trail to North Main Divide road: The majority of this trail was burned.
West Horsethief Trail: Although the first half-mile near the trailhead was burned, the rest of the trail heading to North Main Divide Road was spared.
Trabuco Peak via Trabuco Creek, West Horsethief and North Main Divide Road: Starting at the end of Trabuco Creek Road, the first half-mile along Trabuco Creek Trail is burned. The rest of Trabuco Creek Trail, and West Horsethief to North Main Divide Road to Trabuco Peak was not burned.
Trabuco Canyon Trail: The area immediately around the Trabuco Canyon trailhead at Munhall Saddle was burned, but the 2.5 miles of the Trabuco Canyon Trail leading northwest to an intersection of the Trabuco Creek Trail and West Horsethief Trail did not burn. Heading west, the first 1.2 miles of Trabuco Creek Trail did not burn while the last half-mile (nearing where the fire is believed to have started) did.
Upper Hot Spring Canyon to Falls Trail.
Falcon Trail
San Juan Trail: Starting at its upper trailhead near Blue Jay Campground, this trail is burned from its start to just past both Sugarloaf peaks. A 4.5-mile section of it due south of Sugarloaf Peak to its lower trailhead on Hot Spring Canyon is not burned.
Chiquito Trail: Starting near the Ortega Oaks 74 Candy Store and Goods, the trail is not burned for four miles, until it reaches near Chiquito Falls, which appears to be in the burn area. The rest of the trail is burned.
San Juan Trail to Sugarloaf Peaks: Starting at the trailhead just south of the Lazy W Ranch Camp off Hot Spring Canyon Road, this trail takes hikers northeast to Sugarloaf and New Sugarloaf Peaks. The first 4.5 miles did not burn, but the area surrounding both summits did.
San Juan Trail to Los Pinos Trail Loop: Its trailhead just south of Lazy W Ranch Camp, the majority of this 21.6-mile loop was burned. It is not burned for 4.5 miles of the San Juan Trail at its start, or finish, and about 2 miles of the Los Pinos Trail in the same area.
Los Pinos Peak via Bell View Trail: The majority of this trail — also called Bell Ridge on maps — burned, including near the peak. The first mile from the trailhead appears not to have burned.
El Cariso Nature Trail
El Cariso Truck Trail: The final mile of this trail is burned.

The Airport fire did not reach the Ortega Oaks 74 Candy Store and Goods, a popular stop for hikers headed to nearby trails, including Sitton Peak, which did not burn. Ortega Falls also appears to have been spared, sitting only about 240 feet south of the fire’s eastern flank. The fire remained far from the popular Black Star Canyon waterfall. Additionally, the popular Bedford Peak trail was not burned.

Did we miss a trail? Or do you have a question about your favorite spot? Please email Times outdoors reporter Jaclyn Cosgrove, who can update the list accordingly.

Lifestyle

Make Way for the Investment Bank Influencers

Published

6 hours ago

April 25, 2026

Press Room

Make Way for the Investment Bank Influencers

It’s 5:30 a.m. Allison Sheehan switches on the light in the bathroom of her New York City apartment and stretches in front of the mirror. “Welcome back to another morning in the life of an ‘investment baker,’ which means someone who works at an investment bank but also makes cakes,” she says at the beginning of the video, which she uploaded to TikTok in early 2025.

Tying an apron over her pajamas, Ms. Sheehan, now 26, proceeds to pipe lilac buttercream ruffles on a heart-shaped funfetti cake she had baked the night before.

At 6:50, she heads to the gym, filming herself doing crunches before heading home to shower, put on makeup and pick out an outfit. By 8:20, Ms. Sheehan heads to her wealth management job, at Goldman Sachs (she didn’t reveal the name of the bank in her videos while employed there).

In 2023, Ms. Sheehan, who has since made cakes for brands including Goop and LoveShackFancy as well as the model Gigi Hadid, was posting on social media as “The Investment Baker,” a persona she created for her custom-cake business, Alleycat.

On her Investment Baker Instagram and TikTok pages, Ms. Sheehan posted familiar influencer content like “What I eat in a week” and day-in-the-life videos, along with breakdowns of her corporate wardrobe. At the time, her DMs were inundated both with cake orders and with young women seeking advice on how to break into finance.

The finance industry remains one of the most sought-after sectors for college graduates. In 2025, Goldman Sachs saw 360,000 students competing for just 2,600 internships — up 15 percent from the previous year. It has also historically insisted that employees maintain a low profile on the internet. Ms. Sheehan was careful never to disclose the bank at which she worked in her videos, and she never filmed herself in the office, per her employer’s rules. In fact, she never discussed finance much at all. Still, the tension between the “two worlds of baking and being a financier was the whole allure,” Ms. Sheehan said.

Yet Ms. Sheehan was informed that her baking content was seen as a “reputational risk” for the firm. She was instructed to delete every post on her TikTok and Instagram and to change her handle so that it made no reference to the word “investment.” When Ms. Sheehan drew comparisons to the firm’s chief executive, David Solomon, who moonlights as a D.J., she was told she could not compare herself to him. She pushed back, saying that the firm’s policy should apply to everyone. “It doesn’t work like that,” she said she was told.

Like Ms. Sheehan, Sahilee Waitman, 28, used the fact of her employment at an investment bank as a hook for her TikTok videos. Ms. Waitman moved to New York City from Amsterdam to work in compliance at an investment bank in 2023. She soon started posting day-in-the-life content, detailing everything from her workouts to what she ate for lunch, with the goal of building financial autonomy outside her corporate role. Both women were clear that while they worked at investment banks, they were not investment bankers, often a point of contention or confusion in the comments section.

The New York Times reached out to many of the investment bank employees on TikTok, but they declined to comment for this article, fearing the risk to their reputation. The New York Times also reached out to 14 different banks, among them Goldman Sachs, but none responded to requests for comment regarding the matter of social media use among employees.

Despite these fears, investment banking content is going viral across social media. Nearly 60,400 videos tagged #investmentbanking have appeared on TikTok in recent years. Time-stamped 100-hour work weeks and late-night keyboard A.S.M.R. regularly draw hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok. Part of the appeal is that influencers offer a more realistic depiction of the world of work than can be gleaned from shows like “Industry” on HBO or from actual recruitment events.

Ms. Sheehan was determined to show that even bankers could have a life outside work. In October 2024, a year after posting her first video, a meeting with her manager appeared unexpectedly on Ms. Sheehan’s calendar. At first, she thought it might be good news. But the excitement was short-lived when she was greeted by three compliance officers. “We see you have an online persona called ‘The Investment Baker,’” she recalled them saying.

At present, there is no widely agreed-upon policy regarding employees’ personal social media use. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest independent regulator for brokerage firms in the United States, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, a government agency that regulates the entire U.S. securities industry, have rules and guidance dictating that employees cannot share any information that is deemed confidential or in any way sensitive. But how firms apply their own internal policy is at their discretion.

Hannah Awonuga, the former head of colleague engagement at Barclays U.K. and a cultural transformation and inclusion consultant, sees both parties as at risk. Employees might find themselves on the wrong side of human resources. For employers, “once you allow staff to post freely,” she said, “you run the risk that they might express an opinion on a Saturday that goes against your values.”

For decades, “workism” — the belief that work is central to one’s identity — has infiltrated the American ethos, particularly for many city dwellers, whose hobbies and leisure activities can fall by the wayside. Increasingly, younger workers are pushing back, demanding a healthier work-life balance and actively working to decouple their identity from their careers.

The world of high finance is one of the last sectors to catch up. “Once you work in these industries,” Ms. Waitman said, “you’re essentially taught to choose one lane.” You are either a “serious professional,” she said, or a “creative.” “I just don’t believe those things are mutually exclusive,” she added.

Ms. Waitman, who is Black, hoped that by posting on TikTok, she would be promoting diversity in the industry. She received the occasional negative comment, insisting she must be a “secretary,” but a majority of her messages were positive, she said, and came from other women seeking her advice about pursuing careers in finance.

At the time, Ms. Waitman did not receive pushback from her employer on her videos, though she made sure to declare any outside business activity to compliance and her director. “I think firms are just now catching on to this,” Ms. Waitman said. “Once they find out, you have compliance on your neck.”

A recent glossy fashion spread in Interview Magazine entitled “Meet the Finest Boys in Finance” highlighted what can happen when young finance professionals attract the wrong kind of publicity. The designer-heavy photo shoot was mocked and meme-ified online for violating Wall Street’s sacrosanct rule against flashiness.

Across social media, some women were quick to point out the double standard at play. “But women get fired from Goldman for being influencers …” read one comment left on a TikTok video about the spread.

In fact, many of the people posting influencer-like content are young women, which is at odds with the traditionally male-dominated world of high finance.

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs told Bloomberg that the interviews in Interview Magazine were not approved by the firm.

After the compliance meeting, Ms. Sheehan did as she was instructed and archived all her social media posts. Three months later, though, she put them back up. “I didn’t see my posts as a violation of the bylaws,” she said. Immediately, another meeting with compliance landed on her calendar. This time, her cake business was taking off, and Ms. Sheehan decided to hand in her resignation. (Goldman Sachs did not respond to requests for comment.)

As banks are forced to iron out their policies in an ever more online world, workers sharing the minutiae of their days is likely to become an increasing headache for compliance. “If you have five followers, there’s no need to make anyone aware,” Ms. Awonuga said. But, she added, “as more Gen Z’s come into the workplace and grow in their roles, I just don’t know how feasible it becomes to say you’re not allowed a social media presence.”

Ms. Sheehan, meanwhile, has no regrets. “I cannot believe,” she said, “that they were concerned about me making pink cakes when people are insider trading.”

Lifestyle

She’s the so-called Womb Witch of L.A. Here’s why her clients keep returning

Published

7 hours ago

April 25, 2026

Press Room

She’s the so-called Womb Witch of L.A. Here’s why her clients keep returning

Leigh McDaniel always knew she was destined to become a witch. Growing up in Hawaii, she came from a long line of “kitchen witches,” she explains — women who intuited measurements, spices and when a cake was done from the next room. “There was always a part of me that was like: Yeah, I’m a witch,” says McDaniel from her California sun-soaked studio.

Today, McDaniel — who calls herself a “womb witch”— practices a different kind of magic: pelvic care bodywork. Based in a bright studio in Glendale, McDaniel serves clients of all genders. Before each session, McDaniel invites clients to share their personal histories, and then McDaniel performs bodywork through touch as sage smoke curls in the air.

“A person who left today had their first session and was like, ‘I’m so much lighter in my body,’” McDaniel says.

McDaniel’s work is rooted in holistic pelvic health and touch therapy, which she discovered after giving birth to her second child at age 46. Before her daughter was born, McDaniel says she met her in a dream. The child introduced herself as “Luna.” The name stuck. After her birth, McDaniel theorized that her daughter had “reorganized her pelvic bowl.” When she sought out answers from her midwife and OB-GYN, they were dismissive; the experience prompted her to explore alternative care.

“It sent me down a few rabbit holes,” McDaniel says. “Previously, I had studied naturopathy with the intention of going to a naturopathic school — herbalism, Reiki and light touch therapy.”

Leigh McDaniel says that after one session her clients often feel an immediate shift in their bodies.

(Dania Maxwell / For The Times)

While body wisdom and alternative healing are framed as part of the Goop-conscious modern wellness movement, McDaniel explains that these practices are not new. She cites Ubuntu, a South African philosophy that informs her healing approach. “Indigenous practices knew how to hold people in trauma,” she says. “We’re only just beginning to figure it out.”

After an explanation of the nervous system, consent and the pelvic floor, her sessions begin with McDaniel burning sage or mugwort while the client is on the table. She asks for consent before touching the client and offers a prayer or blessing. McDaniel explains she’s feeling for energy before moving on to the abdomen, where she applies various levels of pressure. She compares it to a guided meditation as she incorporates breathwork while asking clients to breathe into her fingers. She emphasizes that the client controls the pace and asks for consent at each step.

“I think consent and boundaries are so critical to taking care of your body,” she says.

The intimate nature of McDaniel’s practice has garnered attention — and occasional skepticism. Comedian Ali Macofsky, for example, says with a smile, “I go in person to this womb witch,” on “The Endless Honeymoon” podcast. The hosts are baffled and intrigued. Macofsky adds, “It feels very old school the way women have to go through things.”

Macofsky discovered Leigh through actor and comedian Syd Steinberg who highly recommended her work. “I went to help with some CPTSD [complex post-traumatic stress disorder] and TMJ [temporomandibular joint] pain and she helped,” says Steinberg. “She really is a miracle worker.”

Macofsky was intrigued by the whimsical title of “Womb Witch.” “I was like, I’ll make an appointment and see what happens.” After a phone call, McDaniel explained that she helped clients with physical intimacy and sexual trauma through bodywork. The comedian was hooked.

Macofsky notes that in a culture where female pleasure is not prioritized, it’s hard to know where to seek advice. After a session with Leigh where she discussed advocating for oneself sexually, Macofsky began to see the results take hold in surprising ways. “It’s helping me in other areas where normally I’d be uncomfortable to advocate for myself or speak up about what I want.”

Clients seek out the womb witch for a variety of reasons. Some report physical discomfort during sexual encounters, while others come after experiencing sexual assault, abuse or consent violation. At other times, clients may experience stiffness or pain that McDaniel believes may be a reaction to trauma.

Her session also focuses on sexual health. McDaniel gives her clients a tutorial on pleasure anatomy and consent, most recently teaching sexual health lessons to a gathering in Silver Lake. “I like to show a lot about the pleasure anatomy, the mobility of the uterus, and where the cervix is at different times of the month,” she explains.

McDaniel argues that pleasure is an important part of daily life. “Female pleasure is finally being noticed,” she says. “Pleasure is a birthright. There’s pleasure and there’s grief. To be full-spectrum humans, we need to be feeling pleasure.” McDaniel cites that recent studies claim the clitoris has 10,000 nerve endings.

Leigh McDaniel holds a bowl of coconut and castor oil that she often uses with clients.

McDaniel says that everyday stress — including sexual harassment and misogyny — manifests in the body, often leading to chronic pain. “In patriarchy, the comments land in your body, and you find yourself bracing every time you pass them,” she says. “They can seem so small and harmless, but even those little things add up. They’re felt. It’s part of feeling unsafe in the world.”

Though many people struggle to navigate the American healthcare system, more Americans are turning to a spiritual wellness approach. The National Institutes of Health reports that holistic care methods such as meditation, acupuncture and yoga have grown significantly in recent years. Ancient Chinese medicine techniques have gone viral on TikTok, capturing the attention of Gen Z. “People are more willing to look outside the Western medicine model,” McDaniel explains. “I have people that come here to see me because of medical trauma too.”

Dr. Tanaz R. Ferzandi, director of urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery at Keck Medicine of USC, believes that holistic medicine can be a potent adjunct to more traditional remedies. She has recommended acupuncture to her patients who have experienced sexual trauma. “The whole idea of acupuncture is you’re lying there, and coming to peace with yourself and your body,” she explains. “It’s a forced therapy where you can be alone with yourself and shut out the rest of the world.”

Simultaneously, Ferzandi believes a healthy amount of skepticism is good. “We have to stay scientific — what’s the evidence behind it? As long as women understand that we don’t know if there’s data to support some of the things they’re doing,” she says. “I’m very cautious about touting certain things that are somehow going to be a panacea.”

McDaniel’s explains its rare she encounters skeptics at her practice. “I never try to convince anyone to come in for a session,” she says. “There are scientific studies on the efficacy of different types of work that are adjacent to, or similar to what I do, but nothing exact.”

She acknowledges elements of her work are difficult to quantify. “There is also a mysterious space between bodies, the client and myself, where something happens that I cannot really explain, but it feels magical,” she says. “I don’t think any of this would convince anyone who is inherently skeptical though.”

McDaniel views her daughter Luna’s birth as the inciting incident into her true calling — becoming the “Womb Witch.” “Everything that happened to my own body after her birth, it was a calling to do this,” she says. “I’ve done so many things, and this is the first time I really feel settled in what I do.”

Lifestyle

N.F.L. Style Will Never Beat N.B.A. Style

Published

18 hours ago

April 24, 2026

Press Room

N.F.L. Style Will Never Beat N.B.A. Style

You want to see some real fashion ingenuity? Watch the N.F.L. draft.

I’m not saying it’s all good, but where else are you going to see someone in a double-breasted suit made by a company better known for making yoga pants? Or an Abercrombie & Fitch suit jacket so short that it exposes the belt loops on the pants beneath?

On the whole, the style on display at the N.F.L. draft last night was very overeager senior formal: a lot of suits in colors beyond basic blue. The quarterback Ty Simpson wore a custom suit by the athleisure label Alo, which, I have to say, looked better than I would have envisioned had you said the words “Alo Yoga suit” to me.

I thought it might have been from Suitsupply, but the conspicuous “Alo” pin on his right lapel put that idea to rest. Simpson, smartly, unfastened that beacon before appearing onstage as the 13th pick to the Los Angeles Rams. He had, perhaps, satisfied his contractual obligations by that point.

Earlier in the evening, as the wide receiver Carnell Tate threw up his arms in exaltation after being picked fourth by the Tennessee Titans, his cropped Abercrombie & Fitch jacket revealed a swatch of rib cage. He looked like a mâitre d’ who had just hit the Mega Millions.

During the N.B.A.’s extended fashion awakening, its draft has become a sandbox for luxury brands to cozy up to would-be endorsers. The Frenchman Victor Wembanyama broke a kind of cashmere ceiling when he wore Louis Vuitton to go first overall in the 2023 N.B.A. draft.

The N.F.L. draft has none of that. The brands you see are often not brands at all, but custom tailors that reach the league’s neophytes through a whisper network among players. The draft is also a platform to raise the curtain on longer-term brand deals that better suit these rookies. We may, for instance, never see Simpson in a suit again. Nearly every photo from his time at Alabama shows him in a T-shirt or hoodie. It makes sense for him to sign with Alo.

Football is the most mainstream of American cultural entities. And it’s one that still hasn’t, in spite of the league’s best efforts, taken off overseas. Few players, save some quarterbacks and a tight end who happens to be engaged to a pop star, feel bigger than the game itself. If you’re a new-to-the-league linebacker, you’ll most likely never harness the star power to grab the attention of Armani, but you might have just the right pull for Abercrombie.

The N.F.L. draft is therefore one of the few red carpets where the brands worn by the athletes may also be worn by those watching at home. How many people watching the Oscars will ever own clothes from Louis Vuitton or Chanel? People may comment online about Lady Gaga wearing Matières Fécales to the Grammys, but how many of those fans and viewers could afford to buy clothes from it?

The Japanese designers changing fashion

Yesterday, I published a deep dive into how a newish crop of Japanese designers are soaking up all the attention in men’s fashion right now. This was a piece I was writing in my head long before I sat down and finally started typing. I remember sitting at a fashion show in Paris over a year ago — I believe it was Dior — and being asked by my seatmate if I’d made it over to a showroom in the Marais to check out A.Presse. That Tokyo-based brand is now part of a vanguard of Japanese labels that, on many days, seems to be all anyone in fashion wants to talk about. I spent months talking with designers, store owners and big-time shoppers to make sense of why these brands have kicked up so much buzz and, more than that, what makes their clothes so great. You can read the story here.