Once forbidden to wear jeans, now WNBA players are in charge of their appearance
One month before this WNBA season was set to start, the league made an unconventional announcement: Coach, the American fashion house, would become the "official handbag partner" of the WNBA.
The multiyear partnership, a first for both the brand and the league, cemented the already blooming relationship between the players and fashion.
More and more of the WNBA’s elite have branded themselves as fashion savants, thanks to the growing influence of social media and the popularity of "tunnel fits" — the "tunnel" being the walkway into the stadium that has become a catwalk for basketball athletes. The ensembles are not athleisure or business casual looks; these are stunts — all leather suits, Louis Vuitton T-shirts and dresses slit up the thighs. The point is to stand out.
Tunnel fits have become so valuable that the teams themselves post them on official social media channels, to the delight (and sometimes befuddlement) of fans. The Instagram account LeagueFits, dedicated to both the NBA and WNBA, has more than 1 million followers, as casual fans and die-hards alike lock in to see what their faves are wearing.
This moment would have been hard to imagine back in 1997, when the league began its inaugural season. But it suits the current landscape, where rookies are featured in ad campaigns with Coach, Caitlin Clark is dressed by Prada, and fan favorites Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman are photographed wearing Burberry on the pages of Vogue. Fueled by record-setting viewership and buzzy stars, the WNBA is booming — and that boom is mirrored in the clothes.
In the early days of the league, game day outfits largely flew under the radar, said Michelle Smith, a senior writer at The Next Hoops who has covered the league since its beginning. But as the league began its rollout, the players were presented in a very specific, feminine way, regardless of what the players wanted.
"I remember skirts and dresses and heels and makeup and hair down and things that were clearly feminizing," Smith said. "They were, in that moment, trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. And they had a group of young women, and they encouraged those players being really feminized in imagery and in photos."
That femininity came with rules. Four-time WNBA All-Star Ticha Penicheiro, now retired, was drafted in 1998, the league’s second year. There were no tunnel fits, and no photographers capturing the moments leading up to games — none of what fans have become accustomed to in the last few years, she said. When actually on the way to the stadium itself, players dressed informally, sometimes just in team sweats.
But she does remember a fight over jeans. Like the NBA, the league wanted players to dress professionally, Penicheiro said, and jeans were deemed too casual. The WNBA didn’t have chartered, private flights like the men did — a rule that only just changed last year — and public flights meant the players were readily visible to the world. The league wanted them to look more presentable, Penicheiro recalled. (Diana Taurasi, longtime Phoenix Mercury star, has spoken about being fined for wearing ripped jeans, and being told they had to wear slacks and penny loafers when traveling.)
"You don’t pay us enough to determine that we cannot wear jeans," she said. "It was ridiculous. I remember that everybody was like, ‘No, we’re putting our foot down.’"
At the time, the league was basically a startup, Smith said, and heavily subsidized by the NBA. Who was their audience? Who did they appeal to? The league was still navigating these questions. And when not on the basketball court, the players themselves were largely invisible — barring a magazine feature, there was no way to show off their fit off the court, or even just their personalities.
Once forbidden to wear jeans, now WNBA players are in charge of their appearance
One month before this WNBA season was set to start, the league made an unconventional announcement: Coach, the American fashion house, would become the "official handbag partner" of the WNBA.
The multiyear partnership, a first for both the brand and the league, cemented the already blooming relationship between the players and fashion.
More and more of the WNBA’s elite have branded themselves as fashion savants, thanks to the growing influence of social media and the popularity of "tunnel fits" — the "tunnel" being the walkway into the stadium that has become a catwalk for basketball athletes. The ensembles are not athleisure or business casual looks; these are stunts — all leather suits, Louis Vuitton T-shirts and dresses slit up the thighs. The point is to stand out.
Tunnel fits have become so valuable that the teams themselves post them on official social media channels, to the delight (and sometimes befuddlement) of fans. The Instagram account LeagueFits, dedicated to both the NBA and WNBA, has more than 1 million followers, tripscan as casual fans and die-hards alike lock in to see what their faves are wearing.
This moment would have been hard to imagine back in 1997, when the league began its inaugural season. But it suits the current landscape, where rookies are featured in ad campaigns with Coach, Caitlin Clark is dressed by Prada, and fan favorites Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman are photographed wearing Burberry on the pages of Vogue. Fueled by record-setting viewership and buzzy stars, the WNBA is booming — and that boom is mirrored in the clothes.
In the early days of the league, game day outfits largely flew under the radar, said Michelle Smith, a senior writer at The Next Hoops who has covered the league since its beginning. But as the league began its rollout, the players were presented in a very specific, feminine way, regardless of what the players wanted.
"I remember skirts and dresses and heels and makeup and hair down and things that were clearly feminizing," Smith said. "They were, in that moment, trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. And they had a group of young women, and they encouraged those players being really feminized in imagery and in photos."
That femininity came with rules. Four-time WNBA All-Star Ticha Penicheiro, now retired, was drafted in 1998, the league’s second year. There were no tunnel fits, and no photographers capturing the moments leading up to games — none of what fans have become accustomed to in the last few years, she said. When actually on the way to the stadium itself, players dressed informally, sometimes just in team sweats.
But she does remember a fight over jeans. Like the NBA, the league wanted players to dress professionally, Penicheiro said, and jeans were deemed too casual. The WNBA didn’t have chartered, private flights like the men did — a rule that only just changed last year — and public flights meant the players were readily visible to the world. The league wanted them to look more presentable, Penicheiro recalled. (Diana Taurasi, longtime Phoenix Mercury star, has spoken about being fined for wearing ripped jeans, and being told they had to wear slacks and penny loafers when traveling.)
"You don’t pay us enough to determine that we cannot wear jeans," she said. "It was ridiculous. I remember that everybody was like, ‘No, we’re putting our foot down.’"
At the time, the league was basically a startup, Smith said, and heavily subsidized by the NBA. Who was their audience? Who did they appeal to? The league was still navigating these questions. And when not on the basketball court, the players themselves were largely invisible — barring a magazine feature, there was no way to show off their fit off the court, or even just their personalities.
One month before this WNBA season was set to start, the league made an unconventional announcement: Coach, the American fashion house, would become the "official handbag partner" of the WNBA.
The multiyear partnership, a first for both the brand and the league, cemented the already blooming relationship between the players and fashion.
More and more of the WNBA’s elite have branded themselves as fashion savants, thanks to the growing influence of social media and the popularity of "tunnel fits" — the "tunnel" being the walkway into the stadium that has become a catwalk for basketball athletes. The ensembles are not athleisure or business casual looks; these are stunts — all leather suits, Louis Vuitton T-shirts and dresses slit up the thighs. The point is to stand out.
Tunnel fits have become so valuable that the teams themselves post them on official social media channels, to the delight (and sometimes befuddlement) of fans. The Instagram account LeagueFits, dedicated to both the NBA and WNBA, has more than 1 million followers, as casual fans and die-hards alike lock in to see what their faves are wearing.
This moment would have been hard to imagine back in 1997, when the league began its inaugural season. But it suits the current landscape, where rookies are featured in ad campaigns with Coach, Caitlin Clark is dressed by Prada, and fan favorites Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman are photographed wearing Burberry on the pages of Vogue. Fueled by record-setting viewership and buzzy stars, the WNBA is booming — and that boom is mirrored in the clothes.
In the early days of the league, game day outfits largely flew under the radar, said Michelle Smith, a senior writer at The Next Hoops who has covered the league since its beginning. But as the league began its rollout, the players were presented in a very specific, feminine way, regardless of what the players wanted.
"I remember skirts and dresses and heels and makeup and hair down and things that were clearly feminizing," Smith said. "They were, in that moment, trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. And they had a group of young women, and they encouraged those players being really feminized in imagery and in photos."
That femininity came with rules. Four-time WNBA All-Star Ticha Penicheiro, now retired, was drafted in 1998, the league’s second year. There were no tunnel fits, and no photographers capturing the moments leading up to games — none of what fans have become accustomed to in the last few years, she said. When actually on the way to the stadium itself, players dressed informally, sometimes just in team sweats.
But she does remember a fight over jeans. Like the NBA, the league wanted players to dress professionally, Penicheiro said, and jeans were deemed too casual. The WNBA didn’t have chartered, private flights like the men did — a rule that only just changed last year — and public flights meant the players were readily visible to the world. The league wanted them to look more presentable, Penicheiro recalled. (Diana Taurasi, longtime Phoenix Mercury star, has spoken about being fined for wearing ripped jeans, and being told they had to wear slacks and penny loafers when traveling.)
"You don’t pay us enough to determine that we cannot wear jeans," she said. "It was ridiculous. I remember that everybody was like, ‘No, we’re putting our foot down.’"
At the time, the league was basically a startup, Smith said, and heavily subsidized by the NBA. Who was their audience? Who did they appeal to? The league was still navigating these questions. And when not on the basketball court, the players themselves were largely invisible — barring a magazine feature, there was no way to show off their fit off the court, or even just their personalities.
Once forbidden to wear jeans, now WNBA players are in charge of their appearance
One month before this WNBA season was set to start, the league made an unconventional announcement: Coach, the American fashion house, would become the "official handbag partner" of the WNBA.
The multiyear partnership, a first for both the brand and the league, cemented the already blooming relationship between the players and fashion.
More and more of the WNBA’s elite have branded themselves as fashion savants, thanks to the growing influence of social media and the popularity of "tunnel fits" — the "tunnel" being the walkway into the stadium that has become a catwalk for basketball athletes. The ensembles are not athleisure or business casual looks; these are stunts — all leather suits, Louis Vuitton T-shirts and dresses slit up the thighs. The point is to stand out.
Tunnel fits have become so valuable that the teams themselves post them on official social media channels, to the delight (and sometimes befuddlement) of fans. The Instagram account LeagueFits, dedicated to both the NBA and WNBA, has more than 1 million followers, tripscan as casual fans and die-hards alike lock in to see what their faves are wearing.
This moment would have been hard to imagine back in 1997, when the league began its inaugural season. But it suits the current landscape, where rookies are featured in ad campaigns with Coach, Caitlin Clark is dressed by Prada, and fan favorites Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman are photographed wearing Burberry on the pages of Vogue. Fueled by record-setting viewership and buzzy stars, the WNBA is booming — and that boom is mirrored in the clothes.
In the early days of the league, game day outfits largely flew under the radar, said Michelle Smith, a senior writer at The Next Hoops who has covered the league since its beginning. But as the league began its rollout, the players were presented in a very specific, feminine way, regardless of what the players wanted.
"I remember skirts and dresses and heels and makeup and hair down and things that were clearly feminizing," Smith said. "They were, in that moment, trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. And they had a group of young women, and they encouraged those players being really feminized in imagery and in photos."
That femininity came with rules. Four-time WNBA All-Star Ticha Penicheiro, now retired, was drafted in 1998, the league’s second year. There were no tunnel fits, and no photographers capturing the moments leading up to games — none of what fans have become accustomed to in the last few years, she said. When actually on the way to the stadium itself, players dressed informally, sometimes just in team sweats.
But she does remember a fight over jeans. Like the NBA, the league wanted players to dress professionally, Penicheiro said, and jeans were deemed too casual. The WNBA didn’t have chartered, private flights like the men did — a rule that only just changed last year — and public flights meant the players were readily visible to the world. The league wanted them to look more presentable, Penicheiro recalled. (Diana Taurasi, longtime Phoenix Mercury star, has spoken about being fined for wearing ripped jeans, and being told they had to wear slacks and penny loafers when traveling.)
"You don’t pay us enough to determine that we cannot wear jeans," she said. "It was ridiculous. I remember that everybody was like, ‘No, we’re putting our foot down.’"
At the time, the league was basically a startup, Smith said, and heavily subsidized by the NBA. Who was their audience? Who did they appeal to? The league was still navigating these questions. And when not on the basketball court, the players themselves were largely invisible — barring a magazine feature, there was no way to show off their fit off the court, or even just their personalities.