What happened?
It’s game on for Off-White. The Milan-based brand has seized the WNBA’s newfound fashion star, cementing its own US play with a New York Liberty partnership.
Off-White and New York Liberty are embarking on a multi-year deal under which Off-White will serve as the team’s “official style and culture curator”, the brands announced Friday. It’s Off-White’s first ever US sports team partnership. (The brand is now in the third year of its partnership with football team AC Milan, under which it’s created uniforms and for-sale capsule collections.)
The first product, a custom varsity jacket designed by Off-White creative director Ib Kamara, will debut on Sunday, 22 September, at the team’s first 2024 playoff game at Barclays Center. A limited number of these jackets will be available for fans to customise and pre-order at Barclays Center on Sunday, and during select future playoff games.
“Off-White is a catalyst force for change, creating platforms and giving voice to a community of young radicals, groundbreaking talents and unique cultural forces,” Off-White CEO Cristiano Fagnani said in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with this inspiring team.”
Looking ahead, the brands will release fashion capsules each season, launch community programming initiatives and partner with Liberty players to celebrate tentpole moments including Women’s History Month, Black History Month and Pride.
Why does it matter?
The partnership is a major step for both parties, and the mutual benefits come at a key time for both Liberty and Off-White.
It’s already been a big year for WNBA fashion. Beauty brands had already anticipated the WNBA’s rise in the wider cultural zeitgeist, with brands including Glossier and Nyx investing in players partnerships and campaigns in 2023. But things really kicked off this year, when star Indiana Fever player – and then-draft favourite – Caitlin Clark rocked up to the draft in a light-pink Prada two piece. Days earlier, Chicago Sky player Angel Reese had announced her intent to enter the draft in Vogue. She later attended the Met Gala. Since, Glossier, Skims and New Balance have all signed major WNBA deals.
New York Liberty has leaned into this style evolution more than most teams. In May, the team’s mascot, Ellie the Elephant, stepped out with a Telfar x Ugg suede bag. Last year, the team inked a deal with womenswear brand M.M.LaFleur; the first capsule collection launched in April 2024. But partnering with a major luxury player like Off-White signals a step forward for women’s basketball’s place in luxury fashion: it’s here to stay.
“WNBA players are being seen as style icons like never before, while also driving culture in previously unimagined ways,” New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said in the release. “This recent shift presents an optimal moment for the New York Liberty and Off-White to come together to push boundaries even further and create new experiences that blend sport, fashion and culture in authentic ways that transcend the basketball court.”
Leaning into fashion has helped drive attention to the WNBA, Clarke tells Vogue Business – and it’s a strategy the team plans to lean into. “Leading with a fashion-forward approach has also opened up doors for teams and players to engage with non-traditional sports fans and capitalise on the momentum to sustain the immense growth we’re experiencing across the league,” she says.
Off-White is also having a moment in the sun, off the back of its first New York Fashion Week show in Brooklyn — which took place on a riverside basketball court. It was the brand’s first show with Kamara as the brand’s official creative director (he’s been designing the brand’s collections since 2022, without the title). At the show, the basketball splices were heavy: it was held on the courts of Brooklyn Bridge Park, and UConn Huskies star and WNBA draft pick favourite Paige Bueckers sat front row (as did tennis star Frances Tiafoe). Former basketball players John Amaechi and Sheryl Swoopes were also in attendance.
At the helm, Kamara is bringing Off-White back to its American roots. “V really wanted to show here for a very long time,” he told Vogue Business after the show, speaking of founder Virgil Abloh. “Now that I’m looking at the brand, I feel it’s also my responsibility to honour that vision and bring it to New York and hopefully keep showing it here.”
By partnering with the WNBA, Off-White is cementing itself in New York’s wider cultural context, of which basketball plays a key role. This year, the WNBA’s arguably generated more buzz than the men’s teams – certainly in the fashion context.
Even so, being the brand’s first US sports team partnership, that it’s with a women’s team is notable. “The New York Liberty are leading the change in the world of sports, demanding attention and being bold,” Off-White’s Fagnani said. “Sport is evolving and women are making history by owning it.”
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