Meet David August, the man who dresses Conor McGregor for success

(This story first published over at usatoday.com.)

COSTA MESA, Calif. — Inside a nondescript building that contains some of the finest fabrics in the world, a team of designers, seamstresses and tailors are working on something almost as secret as the details of Conor McGregor’s strategy for his fight against Floyd Mayweather.

That would be McGregor’s boxing robe.

Even the UFC lightweight champion himself will not see it until he’s in his dressing room at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night, said David August Heil, the man responsible for the garment.

“When his hands are taped, he’ll say, ‘Well, what am I wearing?’ ” Heil told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week. “I’ll put the robe on him and push him out the door.”

McGregor, nicknamed “The Notorious” and known as a notorious clothes horse, trusts he’ll look like a champ. Heil provides tailor-made suits and casual wear to the rich and famous. His clients have included Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush and, more recently and infamously, the bombastic Irish fighter squaring off with Mayweather.

McGregor’s collection of Heil’s three-piece suits numbers in the hundreds. The prized creation is wool and pinstriped. McGregor wore it to the press stop in Los Angeles last month and proudly showed off the pinstripes, which read “F*CK YOU.’’

Heil, wearing a matching suit and mischievous grin that day, said he’d been searching since January for someone willing to weave profanity into the fabric. He said it was a surprise for McGregor — and countless people who have since viewed photos of the suit online.

“It could have been really bad or really fantastic,’’ Heil said. “And it turned out to be a grand slam.’’

David August and Conor McGregor. (David August Inc.)

Working together, Heil and McGregor tend to swing for the fences, recently experimenting with floral prints and never sparing expense. Heil estimated the fighter each year spends more than $1 million on clothes. A good chunk of that money ends up with Heil, who said McGregor spends $5,500 to $8,500 per suit, $4,500 to $10,000 per sport coat and $565 to $895 for dress shirts when he’s ordering from Heil.

For the buildup to the “The Money Fight’’ this week, Heil said, he has produced seven special outfits for McGregor — and has been tasked with helping McGregor win the wardrobe war.

“Conor’s definitely got the edge, in a big way,’’ Heil, 56, said this week. “And I know that Floyd knows that too.

“I think (Mayweather) is looking for flash, and flash is not what you want. You want elegance and you need a beautiful finish on your garment. That’s what Conor has, and Floyd definitely does not have that.’’

On Wednesday, Mayweather fired back.

“I don’t get paid to dress,” he said. “I get paid to kick ass.”

Heil, 56, gets paid to design and select clothes, but he knows more about McGregor’s wardrobe. Having been in contact with McGregor every day for two months, Heil said, he has gleaned insight on the fight preparations.

The other day, Heil said, McGregor weighed 166 pounds, meaning the fighter would have to drop 12 pounds to make the 154-pound light middleweight limit by Friday’s weigh-in.

On Tuesday, McGregor snapped angrily when Mayweather said he heard McGregor was struggling to make weight. Of a recent visit with McGregor, Heil recalled, “I said, ‘God, you look a little thin.’ He said, ‘Man, I’ve got to go down 12 pounds.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding.’ He said, ‘Yeah, I hate it.’ ”

It’s extra pressure for Heil, too, with one of his assistants tracking McGregor’s weight so they could make last-minute alterations.

Apparently Mayweather once wanted Heil in his corner too.

Conor McGregor in is “F*CK YOU” suit during the May-Mac world tour in Los Angeles. (USA TODAY Sports)

In 2010, Heil said, he got a call from Mayweather’s team in hopes Heil would outfit Mayweather before Mayweather’s fight against Shane Mosley. Turned out Heil was already working with Mosley.

“It was a little awkward,’’ Heil said, “but you’ve got to be loyal and we’re very loyal.’’

He said his relationship with McGregor dates back about three years, when UFC president Dana White and Lorenzo Fertita, then co-owner of UFC, ushered McGregor into an office with a promise of new clothes.

“Is this the tailor?” Heil recalled McGregor asking, and Heil added, “We got to educate him a little on that. Hey, Conor, guess what? I meant to tell you this, but I’m not a tailor.’’

He’s more painter, with fabrics his palette. Heil recalled a phone conversation with McGregor last month when the fighter was in New York for a promotional stop for the fight.

“He actually FaceTimed me from Gucci that day and said, ‘Hey, listen, I want to wear this fur,’ ” Heil said. “And I said, ‘Oh, my God, don’t do it.’

“I said, ‘You’ve been talking up you’re an elegant dresser and (Mayweather) should dress his age and now you’re going to come out in a fur? I think it’s a bad idea. But, I know Conor, and once he has something in his mind …”

Bare-chested, McGregor arrived for that press conference wearing the white fur coat, although at Heil’s behest he also wore loafers rather than going barefoot.

“I’m just a young man enjoying myself,’’ McGregor said that day as he paraded past a line of reporters.

Things could get even more flamboyant this week.

Although the seven outfits included two tasteful plaid suits, Heil refused to divulge details about the after-fight party outfit that he called “crazy’’ and “over the top.’’ McGregor’s love for fashion dates to his childhood in Ireland, according to Heil, who said he recently outfitted McGregor’s baby boy for two suits and will be making clothes for McGregor’s father this week.

“He always told me that his father was a big advocate of wearing a nice hand-tailored suit,’’ Heil said. “I think what we’ve done is taken him to a completely different level.

“Conor loves clothing and he loves to push the envelope. What’s kind of fun about dealing with someone like that and working with someone like Conor is I love doing the same thing, and it’s all about owning what you’re wearing.’’

For more on “The Money Fight: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor,” check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.