Kahleah Copper, Sophie Cunningham and Natasha Cloud showcase their pregame styles before the Phoenix Mercury’s matchup on June 18. (Photos courtesy of Phoenix Mercury)
PHOENIX – Jocelyn Hu grew up in Arizona, watching basketball games with her dad. Sports was a passion, but so, too, was fashion, and by the time she was a teenager, she was attempting to make her own clothes. Although her design career didn’t begin until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Corona del Sol High School graduate soon merged her love for sports and apparel by creating sports-related streetwear.
Fast forward to this year, the sports fashion designer partnered with Mitchell & Ness to create handmade puffer jackets for the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend, which may lead to another fashion collaboration with the clothing company for the upcoming WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix.
As the WNBA ramps up efforts to market its players on and off the court and women’s basketball fans propel the sport into a new stratosphere, Hu’s All-Star opportunities continue to arise. Fans are not only thrilled about the upcoming All-Star game, but they’re also eagerly anticipating the looks that will debut on the iconic orange carpet in July.
“Fashion is a good starting point to get to know who these players are or how they want to present themselves,” Hu said.
Designer Jocelyn Hu models her knit sweater honoring Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner’s resilience during her detainment in Russia. (Photo courtesy of Jocelyn Hu)
The relationship between fashion and sports has always existed. The bold fits from basketball legends like NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman are still referenced today. And as the WNBA’s popularity continues to grow, so do the conversations regarding pregame fits and who is wearing what designer brands.
According to the league, more then half of its games this season have sold out and fan attendance has increased by 156% from last year.
With more eyes on the WNBA, clothing labels from Gucci to Louis Vuitton are recruiting players and coaches to wear their designs. Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark wore Prada from head to toe at this year’s WNBA draft. It was the first time the Italian fashion house had ever dressed a player for any professional basketball draft, including the WNBA and NBA.
WNBA teams, like the Phoenix Mercury, are embracing the fashion frenzy and promoting tunnel fits donned by their players.
During the second quarter of the Mercury’s home game on June 2 against the Los Angeles Sparks, an outfit montage appeared on the jumbotron, featuring outfits from Mercury guards Sophie Cunningham and Sug Sutton. Cunningham wore a black cutout dress paired with heels and sunglasses, while Sutton opted for a pair of black Bermuda cargo shorts, a yellow and brown flannel, and a black Von Dutch trucker hat to top off her look.
Sutton, who describes her style as tomboyish streetwear, noted that she likes to plan her tunnel outfits a few days before a game.
“I love fashion. It’s my second love. So I just go with whatever fits me and try to express myself in a way,” Sutton said.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper rocks a trendy puffer jacket at the 2023 WNBA All-Star Weekend. (Photo by Denise Truscello/Getty Images for adidas Basketball )
The WNBA has also poured more resources into highlighting player expression and the league’s latest fashion fads with the blog The W in Designer featured on the WNBA’s website. The blog began in 2021 and has since taken off, particularly this season, with posts showing off the styles of the league’s trendiest stars.
Kirsten Chen, a fashion writer and creative strategist for the culture magazine Hypebeast, writes for the blog, where she breaks down the fashion brands and styles worn by players. In Chen’s third season writing the W in Designer, she has seen fan engagement continue to grow. The increased exposure has led to more opportunities for the league and its athletes such as brand deals and sponsorships.
“The WNBA always prides itself on being extremely inclusive, whether you’re wearing something that’s a little more traditionally feminine or masculine, or somewhere in between,” Chen said.
Chen will be covering all the outfits from this year’s WNBA All-Star weekend at Footprint Center. She says fans can expect to see players step up their looks for the orange carpet.
“I just feel like people are going to come with hot summer energy for this year’s All-Star Game,” Chen said.
Phoenix Mercury legend Diana Taurasi sports a custom triple-layered hoodie crafted by Arizona designer Jocelyn Hu. (Photo courtesy of Jocelyn Hu)
Through her designs, Hu has been able to encapsulate the uniqueness of different athletes and use their stories as inspiration. In February 2022, when Mercury center Brittney Griner was detained in Russia, she wanted to create a design that encapsulated the feelings and conversations surrounding Griner’s arrest.
Hu sewed a purple and orange ribbed sweater with 21 detachable sections on each sleeve. The 42 total sections represented the number of weeks Griner was detained. Griner’s jersey number was sewn on the front of the sweater and outlined with rainbow thread to represent and celebrate the basketball star’s LGBTQ+ identity.
Hu posted the sweater on social media, which caught the attention of fans and Mercury team officials. The team then asked Hu to create a collection of pieces for the Mercury team. Players wore their custom designs during the team’s media day last season.
“Every player came up with an individual concept that highlights who they are outside of the uniform,” Hu said.
The designer has gone on to work with sports style icons Spike Lee and Allen Iverson following her collaboration with Mitchell & Ness. Hu, alongside pro stylist Ian Pierno, teamed up with Google Pixel and the NBA to design a fit for Milwaukee Bucks small forward Thanasis Antetokounmpo for this year’s playoffs.
“I want to incorporate storylines that kind of emote different feelings or different sources of inspiration. So when people see (the designs) and when they see them, there’s a sense of nostalgia or some kind of pride that goes along with it.”