It may have been the evening of the Golden Globes, but Erin Andrews didn’t need a red carpet to deliver one of the weekend’s biggest fashion moments. Reporting from the NFL sidelines at Sunday’s 49ers–Eagles game, the longtime sportscaster, member of FOX Sports’ A-Team, founder of WEAR by Erin Andrews and co-host of Calm Down with Erin and Charissa unintentionally sparked a social-media frenzy thanks to a bold, high-fashion coat that instantly went viral.
When asked whether she knew the jacket would become such a statement, Andrews exclusively told us the reaction caught her completely off guard.
“I wanted something fun and exciting and high fashion, and I knew when my stylist, Daniela, suggested I wear it that it was something outside the box,” she says. “I forgot I was even wearing it until I heard Michael Strahan’s reaction, and I just thought, ‘oh man, this is gonna have a social media kind of buzzing.’”
“But did I think it would get such a big reaction? No, not at all. And to be honest, I’m so caught up in the game, our game was so back and forth, I really had zero clue what was happening on social media until the game was over.”
The now-viral coat was the result of Andrews’ carefully considered—yet flexible—game-day styling approach, led by longtime stylist Daniela Romero. While the look may have felt spontaneous to viewers, the process behind it is anything but.
Courtesy of Erin Andrews
“We take it week by week!” says Romero about what goes into Andrews’ game-day looks. “We have looks that are set aside for hot, rainy or cold weather. Also, depending on what teams are playing, we stay neutral on the colors she wears. Go-to brands are The Frankie Shop, altuzarra, favorite daughter, RAINS and now AUTER, the coat that went viral from Sunday!”
As the internet did what it does best, memes quickly followed, and Andrews leaned fully into the humor of it all. From playful pop-culture comparisons to exaggerated reactions, the coat took on a life of its own. The buzz didn’t stop when the game ended, either. Andrews says the reaction followed her well beyond the stadium.
“Even in the airport on the way home, I got stopped by passengers who asked about the coat. When I was traveling to the game, I was holding the coat in my arms because I didn’t want to lose it, and a guy asked me when I got on the plane if it was alive. And I looked at him and said, ‘No, but it’s going to look damn good on camera.’ And now, just seeing the reaction, I’m still laughing about it.”
Behind the viral moment was emerging outerwear brand AUTER, and for designer Rob Zangardi, seeing his piece on one of the most visible sidelines in sports was nothing short of surreal.
“Erin wearing AUTER on the sideline yesterday was completely surreal,” he says. “We’re not even three months old, and while we’ve been incredibly grateful for the support we’ve gotten so far, seeing the coat go viral during a game watched by tens of millions of people was a whole different level. The traffic and messages were nonstop. Erin is a real friend, so beyond the impact on the brand, I was just proud and genuinely excited to see her looking so incredible in it.”
