How Noah Lyles Is Bringing High Fashion to Track and Field

Olympic bronze medalist Noah Lyles is one of the many athletes to watch during the Paris Summer Olympics, both for his athleticism on the track and his coveted style.

The American track and field athlete has been making impressions in the fashion world for several years now, making his Met Gala debut following the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021 wearing custom Pyer Moss and partnering with brands such as Omega and Adidas. 

With help from his stylist and close friend Kwasi Kessie, who he’s worked with since 2022, Lyles has brought a dose of high fashion to track and field with an array of luxury-meets-streetwear looks at his recent appearances leading up to the Summer Games. 

“He is just stylish,” Kessie said. “What I mean by that is that he doesn’t have one [style] like, ‘I’m going to be a rock star or I’m going to wear streetwear.’ It’s depending on the intention for the outfit and his energy that he wants to portray. For me, he’s just overall stylish. He doesn’t check one box. He has a keen knack for fashion and for style.” 

Most recently, Lyles has been taking a page from the NBA Tunnel and NFL Tunnel by sporting high-fashion looks for his arrival at his track meets. At last month’s USATF New York Grand Prix event, Kessie styled Lyles in an embellished vest by L’Enchanteur and distressed jeans from Who Decides War. 

Kessie explained his styling strategy is rooted in collaboration with Lyles. The Olympian regularly comes to his meetings with Kessie with his own ideas and accessories that he’d like to incorporate into his looks. 

For instance, because Lyles recently adorned his hair with pearls, Kessie used the detail as the inspiration for the athlete’s look for the premiere of Netflix’s docuseries, “Sprint” in June. Lyles attended the event wearing a tweed and sequin-detailed jacket by Amiri over a pearl-embellished Simone Rocha dress shirt, paired with Bode dress pants. 

“Clothes are a form of communication,” Kessie said. “When you have on clothes and you feel like you can do anything and you feel like your most superhero self, that’s the energy that I always want to give Noah as a client because he’s performing at the highest level humanly possible. I feel like it translates directly to the track because of his intention with these fashion walk-ins. He wants to bring more eyes and attention to track and field, so if you have the fashion people excited about track and field, that’s a great thing.” 

Lyles has been able to bring his love of fashion over to the track through his use of accessories. During the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last month, Lyles accessorized his uniform on several days with either a chain link necklace or pearl necklace. 

“They are the added touch that take the look over the top,” Kessie said about Lyles’ accessories. “It just adds layers to the story and talking points to the look. It’s something that separates an average look from an amazing, incredible look.”

Kessie believes that Lyles’ style has been resonating with fans because of the way the athlete reflects his personality through his fashion.

“He just has a keen eye for fashion and an understanding of how he wants to be represented, how he wants to be portrayed and how he wants to look,” Kessie said. “Fans just understand it’s a breath of fresh air for track and field. It’s fun, it’s good energy and it’s just showing off his personality, so I think fans just really resonate with that.” 

The stylist said he’s working with Lyles on several looks during the Paris Olympics, stating the duo will “have some surprises coming up.”