All eyes were on LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels Saturday night as he accepted the 2023 Heisman Trophy, an honor he called “a dream come true” in his acceptance speech.
In the form of the gray three-piece suit that Daniels wore to the Heisman Trophy ceremony, all eyes were also on the work of Baton Rouge designer Nathan Pearce.
Pearce is the founder and CEO of Pearce Bespoke Franchising and the owner of Pearce Bespoke Baton Rouge, a locally born tailoring business with a twist. Catering primarily to young professionals, the company touts its status as an innovative “mobile” suiting experience, meaning that its tailors travel to meet their clients where they are—a departure from the industry’s traditional brick-and-mortar model. Pearce has been outfitting much of the LSU football coaching staff and roster—including Daniels—for the entirety of the 2023 season.
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“What started with making custom clothing for a couple of the coaches just kind of snowballed,” Pearce says. “Now, I’ve been making suits for the LSU football players for the entire year. At almost every home game this season, the majority of the players have been wearing my custom clothing.”
According to Pearce, the style of the suit that Daniels wore to the Heisman Trophy ceremony was determined almost entirely by the quarterback himself, right down to the cuffs on his trousers and the wide-peak lapels reminiscent of ’40s and ’50s fashion.
“He had a very good idea of what he was looking for,” Pearce says. “One of the things that I think is really cool about Jayden and his style is that he’s a very humble guy. He’s not very flashy, but he likes to have a little bit of flair. What he chose is very similar to how I like to dress: taking an old-school style and making it modern.”
The one feature of the suit that Pearce takes full credit for is the image printed on its inside lining, which depicts Daniels striking the Heisman pose—something Pearce calls “a subtle flex to all the haters throughout his life who didn’t believe in him.”
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Looking forward, Pearce believes that his business will likely benefit from all of the attention it has been getting in recent days.
“We’ve already been reached out to by a lot of local and national publications,” Pearce says. “I think it’ll affect (the business) positively.”
This story originally appeared in a Dec. 12 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.