NBA Fashion Talks, E01: unpacking the outfits of Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green An interview with Toreno Winn and London Wilmot, stylists of the two NBA champions
After the mega brawl in Detroit in November 2004 also known as The Malice at The Palace, commissioner David Stern decided to introduce the "business casual" dress code, a formal regulation that prohibited players from wearing "items often associated with hip-hop culture and in particular jerseys, jeans, hats, do-rags, T-shirts, large jewelry, sneakers and timber boots and specifically Timberland-type boots" to try to keep the stylistic exuberance of some players under control.
In those years the gangsta rap fashion was a major source of inspiration for NBA players and to prevent the messages of rap culture creating again acts of violence on the court, the League decided to establish with rules that also regulated clothing off-the-court of players. After more than 15 years, those stylistic rules are only formally still in force, because the reality is completely different. The transformation of the tunnel into a catwalk is now complete and the "parade" of stars before the games has become a fixed appointment for everyone: fans, players, brands and even for the National Basketball Association itself.
The NBA is the ultimate expression of the relationship between fashion and sport, with players who have become assets of big brands and testimonials of independent brands. There are many players who today collect the legacy of the iversonian thought "I want to look in the mirror and say I did it in my way" and the attention that even the media pay to the fashion component of the League says a lot about the trend that has developed over the past 10 years.
Just looking at the photos that come across the ocean every night is just the tip of the iceberg. We decided to talk about it with those who are behind the creative and aesthetic paths, with 4 stylists who take care of the style of different NBA players. The first part is dedicated to Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green and their respective stylists: Toreno Winn e London Wilmot.
Kyle Kuzma
Kuzma is in the 4th season of the NBA and his style is inversely proportional to the performance of his stats on the court, with the former gaining value with the passage of time and with the latter suffering a physiological decline after the arrival of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But this season he's one of the new wave players who best interprets the Staples Center tunnel, a trend that for Toreno Winn has few but easily traceable founding fathers:
"If we go back in the day it was only a couple guys really getting fly for the tunnel, Dennis Rodman, Allen Iverson, Magic, MJ etc. Now everyone wants to get dressed for pregame and get a fit off haha no one wants to get caught lacking in the tunnel with a bad fit on".
Understanding NBA style from the inside helps to understand the magnitude of the phenomenon, the importance of the pre-match runway and the switch from athletes to models that makes so many players special today. The testimonies of two "supporting actors" like Toreno Winn e London Wilmot show another side of the moon, that of those who work behind the scenes and live the world of fashion at 100%.
The second part of the NBA stylist interviews will be online next Friday. Stay tuned for Game 2 of NBA stars' style.
