How NBA and WNBA Stars Are Redefining Off-Court Fashion
The once disparate worlds of basketball and high fashion have finally intertwined thanks to stylish players with ambitions beyond the game and to rising global interest in both the NBA and WNBA.
A decade into her career, six-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith is on the frontline of the league’s fashion revolution. Diggins-Smith jokes that when she entered the WNBA in 2013, players dressed like "accountants." Interest in fashion was a far cry from today: The league has reached record attendance and television viewership, and its players routinely make nearly as many headlines for what they wear before and after tip-off as as they do for their on-court performances. "It was hard, hard, hard business-core when we first came into the league," Diggins-Smith says. "People had individual styles, but obviously the [pre-game] tunnel has evolved as far as displaying your fashion. And the league has evolved, technology and TV [have evolved]."
There’s not much accountant chic left in WNBA fashion. Even the boxy button-downs are designer now. The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game, for example, was awash in Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and high-end custom looks. Players are sporting futuristic outerwear, as if straight from Blade Runner; coveted pieces of streetwear, and ensembles that ignore the sartorial standards of the feminine-masculine binary. Today’s woman basketball players are bona fide style superstars, from established names like Diggins-Smith, Jackie Young, and Natasha Cloud to newcomers like Nika Mühl, Angel Reese, and Caitlin Clark.
There’s not much accountant chic left in WNBA fashion; even the boxy button-downs are designer now.
Men's basketball has had an impact on mainstream fashion for decades, from the stunning suits of Walt “Clyde” Frazier in the 1970s to Dennis Rodman's gender-bending fashion in the ‘90s to the Y2K-defining streetwear of Allen Iverson to the hipster menswear worn by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul in the 2010s. But now, the NBA—thanks to a massive social media footprint and growing global fanbase—has an unprecedented connection with high fashion. Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry makes news for supporting independent Black designers in the NBA Finals; Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum is a Coach ambassador; and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dominates Instagram with his pre- and post-game outfits. Even Utah Jazz sixth man Jordan Clarkson walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week, and Los Angeles Lakers backup Jarred Vanderbilt has built a cult following for his Rick Owens and Marni-rich wardrobe.
Former MVP Russell Westbrook has seen the shift firsthand, from entering the league at the end of the 2000s to causing online stirs with his technicolor shirts, gender-blurring sartorial choices, and, of course, lensless glasses. He’s seen not only the players’ relationship to fashion change, but also the league and high-end houses realizing the opportunities they have to push their products.
“Now they see it from both sides, whether it's the high-fashion designers or the NBA [and] WNBA. They understand that one look can go viral based on social media and the different niches that we have,” Westbrook says. “Times are a lot different than they were in 2008, 2009.”
From the players’ perspective, Vanderbilt puts it even more simply: “You already have to go to press conferences, so you might as well take advantage of it and do something extra.”
Times are a lot different than they were in 2008, 2009.
If Westbrook's freshman class entered the NBA at a fashion inflection point, the WNBA’s latest round of rookies joined the league midway through its fashion revolution. Whether the 2024 rookies are the league’s best dressed is entirely subjective, but they’ve certainly generated more headlines for their fashion sense than any freshman class before them, as outlets like Vogue, Elle, and Esquire that cover prestige brands have gone all in on following chic sharpshooters and dapper dribblers. Clark was the first basketball player dressed by Prada for the league’s draft, Reese wore a custom look by couture label 16 Arlington to the Met Gala, and Mühl was named “the WNBA’s best-dressed rookie” by GQ. It’s a whirlwind for Mühl, who describes fashion as her “other passion" and grew up humbly in Zagreb, Croatia. She played much of her college career before the 2021 NIL deal that college athletes to earn money and endorsements. “To this day, I call my mom every single time I wear something to ask her if it looks good,” she says.
For players like Mühl and Destanni Henderson, who are still finding their niche in a league with precious few roster spots, fashion does sometimes have to be on the back burner. Henderson, a fiery point guard who has already been on one-third of the league’s teams since being drafted in 2022, has put her Clothing by HP line—which offered graphic T-shirts, sweatpants, jackets, and tracksuits—on pause while she works to find a permanent basketball home. Vanderbilt, now a valuable player but a little-used reserve in his first three seasons, remembers the feeling well. "I was always into fashion, but I wasn't as invested in it," he says. "The main priority is to establish yourself in the league, establish a role, and get acclimated." Now solidified with the Lakers and on a new contract, he says he's able to gain access to brands and pieces that he never could have when he was scraping and clawing.
You already have to go to press conferences, so you might as well take advantage of it and do something extra.
None of that has been a problem for Jayson Tatum, who was the face of the NBA’s most prestigious franchise by age 21. The cherry on top of a historic 2024 that included his first championship, a spot on the USA Men’s Basketball Olympic roster, and an unending stream of sponsorships, Tatum was named a Coach Global Ambassador in March as part of the brand’s “Courage to Be Real” campaign. A handsome, soft-spoken superstar who has embraced modern menswear staples like wider pants and camp collar shirts alongside more traditional athlete garb, he was the perfect NBA player for the high fashion world.
"His inspiring story of perseverance and following one’s dreams is something that feels deeply rooted in the spirit of optimism and possibility at the heart of Coach," says Coach Creative Director Stuart Vevers. Coach hasn’t worked with many basketball players, save for Jeremy Lin a few years back, but Vevers says they're open to bringing in more ballers, and recognizes that a U.S.-born brand partnering with a U.S.-born sport (albeit created by a Canadian) is both logical and meaningful. "As an American heritage house, there is a symbolism in working alongside someone part of such an iconic American sport," says Vevers.
From a marketing standpoint, athletes have always been sought after for their reach, visibility, and oft-revered status among young people. But there’s a difference between having your image and status levied and having true involvement and representation—particularly when it comes to predominantly Black athletes immersing themselves in an industry that has frequently been accused of racism and classism. Though it seems to be trending positively—look at Milan’s latest Fall/Winter Fashion Week—all of this is why it’s especially notable that these athletes are starting their own lines, like Westbrook’s Honor The Gift, which offers streetwear for men and women and supports important Black designers like Grace Wales Bonner and Heron Preston. WNBA stars like Alyssa Thomas and Arike Ogunbowale have also worn Westbrook’s line during pre-game tunnel walks.
Alongside players becoming fashion stars, there's a burgeoning world of A-list stylists who specialize in dressing hoopers, including Brittany Hampton, who frequently dresses Westbrook. Mühl, another client, calls her "my auntie." Though imperceptible when scrolling through League Fits or the increasing number of weekly basketball fashion recaps, there is a divide between self-styled players and those who work with pros. Mühl does a bit of both and answers democratically when asked about any noticeable gap between the two camps. "I definitely have a lot of respect for people who dress themselves and dress on point every time. That takes time and effort. It takes a lot of research too," she says. "I don't think people understand how much you got to match the textures, the color scheme. Just knowing how to reuse some stuff, that's [all] a talent."
Even though high fashion is notoriously fickle, it presents an opportunity for basketball players to sustain themselves after they’ve laced up for the last time. Diggins-Smith’s former teammate Kristine Anigwe has become an in-demand stylist for current players while building her own clothing line. Honor the Gift shows no signs of slowing down, and young players like Vanderbilt and Mühl show interest in both developing their own lines and continuing to deepen their ties to the marquee houses, albeit in that classic athlete-speak that shrewdly sidesteps specifics. "I always like to keep basketball the main thing, but this is also a huge passion and a huge love," Mühl says. "Who knows, maybe one day after basketball it will be the main thing for me."
