Fashion has drawn inspiration from sports dating all the way back to golf in the 1920s. In honor of the NBA finals playing out over the past week, let’s look back at the impact that NBA players have had on the fashion world. Many star players like Magic Johnson and Dennis Rodman came before him, but Michael Jordan was simply in a league of his own. Jordan put basketball on the map worldwide in the ‘80s and ‘90s as a feat of athleticism like no one had ever seen before. Widely regarded as the greatest of all time, he became a role model, and everyone wanted to be just like him, including Bow Wow in the 2002 film “Like Mike.” Now, everyone refers to their twenty-third birthday as their ‘Jordan year.’ He starred in films like “Space Jam,” created a line of Air Jordan sneakers with Nike, and even more recently, inspired an Air Jordan Bitmoji collection.
From there, people looked to the Allen Iversons, Kevin Garnetts and Dwyane Wades of the world for fashion inspiration on and off the court. Jerseys and basketball shorts came into trend in the ‘90s and 2000s with street style taking off. And so began the era of sneakerheads and hypebeasts that permeated the late 2000s and 2010s, from which we saw a lot of denim jeans, fleece sweats, hooded sweatshirts and lots of Air Force 1s, Air Jordans and Converse. This sneaker craze paved the way for the Yeezys, Balenciaga Speed, bejeweled Gucci and chunky Prada platform sneakers that we see in high-end couture today.
Earlier this year, the entire world shut down and the NBA (in the midst of basketball season) went with it, giving an entirely new meaning to March Madness. The NBA returned to the playoff season in August, and, after suffering years of losses and an even greater loss in the form of Kobe Bryant, The Los Angeles Lakers delivered a stellar athletic performance to secure a memorable season ending for NBA history. The Lakers made the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and won the NBA Championship for the first time since 2010.
The team was led by captain and NBA superstar, LeBron James. James is currently the most famous active NBA player, and with that fame comes public interest in what a person is saying, doing and, of course, wearing. You could call James a bit of a sneakerhead himself, so it’s no surprise that he has his own collection of sneakers in collaboration with Nike. With the assistance of celebrity wardrobe stylist Rachel Johnson, James dons sporty chic attire that captures attention wherever he goes in his spare time. His personal style reflects in his cofounded label, UNKNWN, a retail destination where you can purchase the likes of Maison Margiela, Commes des Garçon and Fear of God among many others. This brand is the intersection of streetwear and luxury, providing its consumers with the ability to access both comfort and style.
The NBA has been known to produce high-caliber athletes sporting these comfortable, sporty looks and sleek formalwear for professional and red carpet events. Over the years we’ve seen NBA player collaborations with Acne Studios, Giuseppe Zanotti, Dior, etc. Now, Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton creative director, has released his LVxNBA collaboration, the organization’s first ever luxe collaboration. “This collection celebrates the cultural contribution of basketball and its diverse characters, and the idea of relatability as a force of unity today,” Abloh says. The collection showcases designs that accommodate for players’ travels, game arrivals and press conferences. The collection shows us an NBA logo patterned suit, a blue leather hooded jacket with an embossed basketball across the front, a cardigan displaying an LV on the back designed to look like a basketball play diagram, a leather canvas bag with basketball netting, and a varying set of designer shoes that are made to include elements of sneakers. The inspired ensembles bring a luxury look to casual wear and is enough to make even the least sporty people take an interest in basketball. This is Louis Vuitton’s first menswear capsule collection and could garner some attention from the male demographic. The collection could give rise to increased men’s interest in designer fashion, which could encourage designers to take a proportional interest in designing menswear.