Basketball Fashionwear That Made A Statement

The NBA has transcended its role as merely a North American sports league, to become a global cultural force that shapes trends across multiple industries. Whether that be the impact that the NBA has on music, its influence on the world of entertainment, or most significantly, on the world of fashion.

The league’s players, with the larger than life personalities and global reach, not only act as sporting idols but also, as fashion icons. That has been the case throughout the past three or four decades and has helped to create a symbiotic relationship between fashion and basketball that continues to redefine both industries.

This connection between basketball and fashion is more than just sportsmen and sportswomen being seen as stylish. It is a cultural phenomenon that is fundamentally altering how we perceive our sporting stars.

In years gone by, the pre-game hours were spent wiling away the time, checking fantasy line-ups and picking NBA lines. Pre-game is now however an event of its own, with fans tuning in for the “concrete runway”, when the players make their walk to the locker rooms dressed in their finest clothes and flaunting their best jewellery.

How did this all start though? Read on to find out…

The Evolution of Basketball Fashion

The fashion revolution in basketball began in earnest during the 1980s and 1990s, but its roots trace back to the sport’s earliest days when players first began to express their individuality within the stuffy constraints of organised team sport.

The moment that allowed individuality to gain the upper hand was when signature sneaker deals came into force, provoking a gradual relaxation of league dress codes. This allowed players to take to the court with a streak of personal flair and advance their brand.

Michael Jordan was the first to take real advantage of that, signing a five-year $2.5 million deal with Nike in 1984. That deal was pivotal in a number of ways.

Firstly it allowed Michael Jordan to advance his brand by showcasing his individuality. Secondly it successfully introduced the concept of brand partnerships with Nike generating $100 million in sneaker sales and thirdly, it showed the clear link between basketball and fashion.

Since 1984, Air Jordan’s have continued to be incredibly successfully commercially with people all over the planet owning pairs of the iconic sneakers. In the 1990s though, it was the influence of hip-hop culture that found its way into the NBA and then, following on from that, into the world of mainstream fashion.

Players were mimicking the most famous hip-hop stars of the time in wearing baggy and oversized clothing, Timberland boots and bucket hats and in turn, basketball fans were mimicking their idols by buying these clothes and accessories in their millions.

Following the turn of the millennium, the NBA dress code was introduced which initially seemed to be restrictive. The impact that the dress code had though was on forcing players to showcase their fashion choices of court.

This came at the perfect time, when individual players were able to use new forms of media to connect with their fans and build their brand and was ultimately what led to thing such as the “concrete runway”.

Luxury Brand Incorporation

The landscape of brand collaborations in the NBA has changed and evolved since the early deal between Michael Jordan and Nike. It’s not just sports brands and run of the mill fashion outlets that are collaborating with basketball stars now, it’s major luxury fashion houses too.

The Dior x Jordan collab was one such example, with originals going for tens of thousands of dollars online. Individually, a number of stars such as LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have been seen regularly attending high end fashion shows and collaborating with elite and illustrious brands.

It’s not just the high end fashion brands that are getting involved either. Mid-tier designers are increasingly incorporating basketball drip into their design plans in a bid to raise revenue from fans who look to the NBA for sartorial guidance.

This represents an almost total market coverage from basketball fashion, with every level and price bracket of the industry being influenced by the game. For individual basketball players and teams, it makes sense to avail of the commercial possibilities that fashion partnerships represent.

For fashion houses and brands, it also makes total sense to use the reach and appeal of basketball and the stars within the game to build their brand and boost their sales. Fashion and the NBA have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship that looks set to continue for decades to come.