Kyler Gordon, Teven Jenkins take on annual Bears Care Gala *Story by Gabby Hajduk, Photographs by Jacob Funk and MaryKate Drews*
Each May, current Bears players, alumni and front office staff attend the annual Bears Care Gala to help raise critically needed funds for innovative breast and ovarian cancer research efforts in Chicago. Players often wear personalized suits for the event as a way to show off their personality. ChicagoBears.com documented the process of cornerback Kyler Gordon and offensive lineman Teven Jenkins' custom suits, from the initial consultation to their orange carpet appearances.
For the 27th Bears Care Gala Saturday night at Soldier Field, two of the 23 current Bears put a special twist on the event with their outfit choices. Cornerback Kyler Gordon and offensive lineman Teven Jenkins worked with designer Ge Wang, founder and owner of ESQ Clothing in Chicago, to create custom suits for the Gala – which raised over $1.15 million, a new record.
On April 15, Wang and ESQ assistant manager Abby Toerner came up to Halas Hall to conduct a first consultation with Gordon, who was planning to attend his first Bears Care Gala. As a fashion guru, Gordon wanted to ensure he would stand out at the event and have a custom design that highlights his personality. Seeing Wang's previous work, specifically with other Bears players, Gordon knew ESQ would help him achieve his goal.
At the consultation, Toerner first sifted through a book filled with different suit fabrics to help Gordon find the right one for him. Wang first pictured Gordon rocking a black velvet suit, but the cornerback was almost immediately drawn to a teal velvet.
Because Gordon wanted to use his suit as a way to express himself, he and Wang decided to go with a Spider-Man themed lining to pay homage to the nickname coach Matt Eberflus gave him during his rookie season in Chicago.
"My nickname started here, so to put that piece in for all the people here that are at the Gala, all the coaches," Gordon said. "Just my little touch on the suit. It's part of me and part of what I've become here at the Bears organization."
After deciding on the outer and inner suit designs, Wang took Gordon's measurements to ensure the fit would be perfect. Gordon disclosed to Wang that the first time he had a custom suit made was for the NFL Draft in 2022, when he hugged commissioner Roger Goodell on stage, a piece of the stitching in his shoulder ripped open.
The consultation, which typically occurs 4-5 weeks before the suit is finished, made Gordon eager for the Gala so his vision for the suit could come to life.
"I'm excited to be able to represent that suit, talk about it, where it came from, the ideas about it," Gordon said during the consultation. "I love dressing, I love fashion, so just getting cleaned up and looking good and presenting yourself in a certain matter is one of my favorite things to do. The highlight is just getting it on, just getting out the car and just walking down the runway. That's probably the best part of it. So I'm excited for that."
For Jenkins, he and Wang met earlier in April to discuss the design for his suit. Wang, who made Jenkins' suit for the Gala in 2023, traveled to the offensive lineman's house for the initial consultation. Jenkins decided on a light pink jacket but gave Wang creative freedom for the lining.
"Ge came to my house. We were sitting there going through different materials," Jenkins said. "He gave me various options. He does a lot of great work. He does such a good job at it, I ended up grabbing three more suits from him because I'm like 'I'm going to need this in the future.' He does such an amazing job and he does take care of me. I'm looking forward to the finished product."
Just under a week before the Gala, Wang and Toerner came back to Lake Forest to deliver the suits to Gordon and Jenkins.
Wang revealed Jenkins' suit first, showing off a custom lining that features three drawings of Jenkins in his Bears uniform along with pink breast cancer awareness ribbons to pay tribute to his late mother, who passed away from breast cancer. The drawings were done by Vicky Hallberg, a local sports and pop culture artist. Her work can be found on Instagram @vickydrawthis.
Jenkins was in awe of the jacket and its details, which also included his signature on the lining. Having running back Khalil Herbert, one of Jenkins' closest friends on the team, incorporated into the design was a highlight for him. Jenkins FaceTimed Herbert while viewing the jacket to show off the artwork.
"I have a special place in my heart for big guys," Wang said. "With guys like Teven, we want him to really stand out and to make something that's going to really fit a unique build. That's really a specialty of ours. Also getting some creative freedom, stuff like that is really cool."
While the drawings were a pleasant surprise, the most important parts of the jacket to Jenkins were the pink color and ribbons.
"It's very important to me," Jenkins said. "The pink symbolizes breast cancer awareness and that's a big part of Bears Care and what they stand for. What matters to me is I represent my mother, who passed away from breast cancer. I try to tribute her any time I can, any way I can. This suit is really a big tribute to her and the battle she went through."
Gordon came through next to check out his Spidey-inspired suit, which featured a webbed design on the lining along with red spiders and the cornerback's personal logo.
"We just looked at Kyler's lining and that was really cool," Toerner said. "He was open to a lot of ideas for fabric decisions so we kind of played around with different things. He went with a really cool velvet teal. For his lining, that's where I think he's showing more of his personality and he'll have fun and get a kick out of showing it off. I loved getting to do that and create that for him."
Gordon loved the suit and its details that are unique to him and his personality. He felt the jacket fit perfectly and the lining came out even better than he imagined, making him even more excited for Saturday night to come around.
"Everyone is gonna be dressed great," Gordon said. "Everyone is gonna have a nice fit on, representing themselves well. I have some good teammates that know how to dress, so it's gonna be a good Bears Care Gala. You're definitely gonna see me there dressed. I'm excited to do it."
Bears players began arriving at the gala at 6 p.m to walk the orange carpet, which was hosted by team reporter Lauren Screeden and alum Anthony "Spice" Adams.
Along with Jenkins and Gordon, other Bears in attendance included linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, receiver DJ Moore, linebacker Jack Sanborn and offensive lineman Darnell Wright. President & CEO Kevin Warren, chairman George H. McCaskey, general manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus all attended as well.
Jenkins and his wife were one of the first to step out on the orange carpet. Jenkins sported the jacket and opened it up to show off the personalized lining, along with black pants and a black bowtie.
Gordon showed up shortly after and also sported black pants and a black bowtie to complement his jacket from ESQ. He made sure to hit a few Spider-Man poses on the orange carpet to tie the entire outfit together.
"I love fashion," Gordon said at the Gala. "I love dressing up so one of my favorite things to do is come here and stunt a little bit. Put on a good outfit, show off what I'm wearing, see what other people are wearing, compliment each other and see everyone's sense of style. It's interesting to see everyone's personality expressed through their clothes."
After everyone walked the orange carpet, attendees gathered around the Soldier Field colonnades for cocktail hour before taking their seats for the live auction – which was hosted by radio play-by-play broadcaster Jeff Joniak – and dinner. Jenkins attempted to place a bid on a Weber Grill package, but ultimately lost out on the prize.
In the middle of the live auction, all five of the Bears' 2024 draft picks made a special appearance. Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Kiran Amegadjie, Tory Taylor and Austin Booker all provided a message to the attendees and signed a Bears helmet to be auctioned off.
Gordon, Jenkins and Wang hung out throughout the night, making sure to pose for a photo together in their custom suits.
"It's always fun to come back to the Gala and have the chance to show off my suit from Ge," Jenkins said. "He and his team did such a great job and it was cool to show it off to everyone tonight. I got to sit with Ge for dinner too and just chop it up with him all night. Bears Care puts on such a great event every year to raise awareness for breast cancer and it was really fun being a part of it again."
