WNBA fashion has gained momentum in recent years thanks to fashion-forward trendsetters A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Skylar Diggins-Smith. It’s a big change from the late ’90s and early 2000s, when female players and coaches almost exclusively wore traditional workwear, often equated with masculine style (male NBA players had their own fashion crisis around that time, according to SB Nation).
Now, walking through the tunnels of the WNBA (the sports term for the entrances to the stadiums where the games are played), elegant looks inspired by menswear mix with microminis, six-inch heels and leather trench coats.
Fashion bible Vogue has gotten in on the event, designating the WNBA tunnel as a new runway, and Saturday night’s All-Star Game has the makings of a pregame fashion show.
The April 2024 draft kicked off with No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark sporting a structured satin Prada shirt and crystal-studded crop top. Prior to her season-ending ACL injury, No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink sported a sleek, ultra-modern one-shoulder black dress with cutouts, while No. 7 Angel Reese wore a glittery, awards-show-worthy metallic hooded dress from Australian brand Bronx and Banco.
WNBA players earn a fraction of what their male counterparts do. Fashion (and the lucrative brand endorsements that come with it) could boost the earning potential of the league’s female players.
The promise of new sponsorships for female athletes and increased attention to the WNBA in general prompted Christopher Ruff to create the WNBA League Fits social media account. Ruff has been a fan of the WNBA since watching Los Angeles Sparks player Lisa Leslie two decades ago and in 2021 He began to think about how he could help attract more fans to the league.
“Fashion can be used as the first step to get people to look and pay more attention to the actual product, which is the game,” Ruff said.
A player’s attire can communicate his personality and creativity, which can resonate with those who don’t normally watch basketball. Tunnel fashion is individual glamour before conformity with game attire.
But many athletes don’t have the luxury of having big fashion houses knocking on their door, so they’re turning to creativity. WNBA stylists are rushing to source Italian fabrics and put together looks for players who don’t have big-brand sponsorships, said fashion publicist Velissa Vaughn, who runs an Instagram account focused on WNBA tunnel looks.
“They just want to really embrace their creativity, their self-expression,” Vaughn told The Post.
Some, like Napheesa Collier, prioritize emerging brands that are women- or Black-owned, or sold in local boutiques, rather than sourcing the same style from big-box retailers.
The growing popularity is good for emerging designers, Vaughn said, and for fashion-forward athletes.
“To see what it is like now, the respect and admiration from pop culture and society is very gratifying,” Vaughn said, “because these players are really killing it in so many different ways, not just on the court.”