<!–>
When Brittney Griner became the first WNBA player to attend the Met Gala in 2023, just months after being released from a Russian prison in a high-profile prisoner swap, she looked effortlessly cool and chic in a custom-made champagne-colored Calvin Klein suit.
Behind the look was celebrity stylist Courtney Mays, who has dressed some of sports’ biggest stars for more than a decade. Putting together a glamorous gala look for any celebrity is a tall task, but, when working with the unique proportions of professional athletes — Griner is 6-foot-9 — the job becomes much more complicated.
Couple that with working under the constraints put forth by Vogue editor Anna Wintour: the Met Gala chair provides a list of designers she envisions the guest in — then it’s up to the stylist to put together a look within those parameters.
“It was a learning experience for me,” Mays said. “I had a voice in that world, in a way, but also when Anna says: ‘I want you to wear this,’ you kind of have to go along with it.”
ADVERTISEMENT
–>
Mays and the team pulled Griner’s look together in three weeks, flying to Phoenix once a week for “long and intense” fittings with several tailors. Then Mays tapped Los Angeles shoemaker George Esquivel, who had previously made shoes for NBA stars Kevin Love and DeAndre Jordan, to craft a custom men’s size 18 pair for Griner.
Athletes at the Met
Over the last few years, more and more athletes have received coveted invites to the annual fundraiser. This year, sports are at the forefront of the gala with Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton as a co-chair, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as an honorary chair and several other athletes on the host committee.
Earlier this year, the Met announced it would revive a host committee for the evening, which will include Chicago Sky star Angel Reese and Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles and Sha’Carri Richardson.
[Related: Sky’s Angel Reese has a rousing return to Baton Rouge in exhibition vs. Brazil]
“It’s amazing working with Anna [Wintour] and her team,” Hamilton said Thursday. “It [had] been a privilege to be able to continue to do stuff with fashion. It’s fun. … The work has been in drips over the past like two years already with us, so, yeah, excited for people to see it.”
Wintour told “Good Morning America” on Friday that she “still doesn’t know what Lewis is wearing” but trusts him.
Monday’s Met Gala kicks off this year’s Metropolitan Museum of Art spring costume exhibit, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” and the accompanying dress code is “Tailored For You.” Mays has long pushed for increased representation of athletes, especially those who are Black, in luxury fashion spaces.
“I’m hoping that this sort of turns a leaf in the way that fashion respects the Black community, but also just underrepresented people, because you’re going to see so many people at the Met that are going to champion Black designers,” she said. “I’m hoping that you see people that you haven’t seen before. I’m hoping that it sort of opens up the conversation so that we’re not having to fight so hard to get approval from the luxury space, that we’re supposed to be here.”
Tunnel fits and basketball style
Though styling Griner was her first experience with the Met Gala, Mays’ work has long been a mainstay of professional basketball’s unofficial runway known as tunnel fits.
NBA players started the trend, arriving at the arena dressed to the nines and being photographed walking through the tunnel to the locker room. In recent years, WNBA stars have followed suit, with their style getting much more attention.
Mays, who has styled Love, Jordan and 20-year NBA veteran Chris Paul, also has a heavy imprint on WNBA style. She has dressed the New York Liberty‘s Breanna Stewart, the Connecticut Sun‘s Tina Charles and retired star Sue Bird.
“What she does best is she makes it so that I feel my best in the clothes that I’m wearing,” Stewart said. “And really, that’s the biggest thing behind it because when you see all these tunnel fits and people walking, you want them to portray who they are and feel their best.”
Mays sees her work with WNBA players as a perfect way to showcase her passion for championing diversity and inclusion.
“As the media starts to lock into tunnel fits and what the girls are wearing, I hope we get to see more of a wider lens cast on some of the style sensibility,” she said. “We locked really heavily into women that men think are attractive, if I’m just being honest, and I hope that we’re able to see some of the women that are masculine-presenting, some of the women that are dressing more gender-fluid. There’s such a vast, wide spectrum of different styles, and I think that’s what’s so cool about the tunnel fits, is that you see such a diversity and style sensibility.”
Mays is participating in the Met Gala again this year, and says to expect “a visual attempt to show that diversity in style when you see women in sports.”
“My ethos has always been how can we converge sport and style in a way that’s authentic and in a way that feels diverse,” she said. “And what was really interesting to me is, with the Met’s chairpeople, to see two athletes a part of the conversation — I think that opens the door for other athletes to participate.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Women’s National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
Formula 1
<!–>
Get more from Women’s National Basketball Association Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
–>
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
Gregg Popovich praises Mitch Johnson in introductory press conference, embraces new role: ‘I’m no longer Coach, I’m El Jefe’
Gregg Popovich is officially embracing his new role with the San Antonio Spurs.Popovich, the winningest coach in NBA history, stepped down as the team's head coach last week after a series of health problems throughout the season. The Spurs quickly promoted Mitch Johnson, who served as interim coach in Popovich's absence, to take over at head coach, while Popovich will transition to be full-time team president.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn Monday, Popovich officially passed the baton to Johnson in an introductory press conference. Popovich praised Johnson, noting that the coach took over this season and "did a fantastic job in circumstances that was very difficult.""We saw him in action, and he was brilliant. Players respect him, he'll hold them accountable, and I couldn't be more thrilled for him and his family and friends," Popovich said.Popovich, 76, suffered a small stroke in November and stepped […]
What to watch in sports this week: NBA and NHL second rounds, Champions League semifinals, NCAA softball
Like last week’s and the one before that, the forthcoming TV slate is loaded with worthwhile offerings. The NBA and NHL postseasons both up the stakes to second-round action. The Champions League semifinals boast four of the world’s most prestigious clubs. Major League Baseball rolls forward as the temperature rises, while college softball narrows into conference championship play. Even the preseason WNBA previews are looking sublime.Advertisement“I watch sports, man, that’s what I’m into,” Lil Wayne told us in 2006. “Sports, sports, sports. Every sport.” Has a chart-topping artist ever been so relatable to our readership?Here is our weekly abridged look at the national sports schedule. First, a few questions to guide us:Does this cover every big game coming up? Nope, just a light survey of the top-line stuff.Should you take it personally if your favorite sport is omitted? Never, but […]
‘It was all just a joke to them,’ E.M. testifies in Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont. – E.M., the woman at the center of the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, told jurors on Monday about the hours she spent inside a London hotel room in which she said she was “degraded” and “humiliated,” as players spit on her, slapped her, and encouraged her to insert golf balls and golf clubs into her vagina.AdvertisementShe said players put down a bed sheet and were “towering over her” prompting her to feel fearful and like she had didn’t have “any other option” than to perform the sexual acts they were encouraging. She said that she dissociated and felt as if she was watching the events unfold from above. She said she tried to leave the hotel room at multiple points, but each time she was coaxed to stay; one player put his arm around her shoulder and […]
Texas & Ohio State in Joel Klatt’s Post-Spring top 5 teams | Joel Klatt Show
the joel klatt show Video Details Joel Klatt revealed his Post-Spring top 5 teams. He explained why the Oregon Ducks cracked the top 5 in his list. Joel examined why the Texas Longhorns have an advantage over the Ohio State Buckeyes and explained why the Longhorns with Arch Manning could be contenders to compete for a national championship. 2 MINS AGO・the joel klatt show・12:22
Vedení Los Angeles reaguje na další neúspěšnou sezonu. Končí generální manažer Blake
Blake v dubnu 2017 nahradil ve funkci Deana Lombardiho, který s Los Angeles dvakrát získal Stanley Cup. Od té doby Kings ve vyřazovacích bojích nikdy nepřešli přes první kolo.Pětapadesátiletý člen Síně slávy NHL Blake strávil jako hráč v Los Angeles 12 sezon, než přestoupil do Colorada, se kterým hned vyhrál Stanley Cup. Později se olympijský vítěz ze Salt Lake City a dvojnásobný mistr světa ke Kings vrátil, v klubovém vedení působil od roku 2013.
Thunder vs. Nuggets: Key matchups, schedule and prediction for epic battle featuring MVP finalists
The Western Conference’s top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14) will face the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets (50-32) in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The two franchises have not met in the playoffs since the opening round in 2011, when Kevin Durant's Thunder made quick work of the Nuggets.What we know about Oklahoma CityThe Thunder were unbelievable all season, submitting the second-best net rating (12.8) in NBA history and becoming the seventh team ever to win 68 games during the regular season. Four of the six other teams to do it — won the championship in the same season. The other two won a title within a year. It makes sense, then, that Oklahoma City is the betting favorite to win this year's crown, per BetMGM.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey are led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is also the favorite to win this year's […]
Related
Gregg Popovich praises Mitch Johnson in introductory press conference, embraces new role: ‘I’m no longer Coach, I’m El Jefe’
Gregg Popovich is officially embracing his new role with the San Antonio Spurs.Popovich, the winningest coach in NBA history, stepped down as the team's head coach last week after a series of health problems throughout the season. The Spurs quickly promoted Mitch Johnson, who served as interim coach in Popovich's absence, to take over at head coach, while Popovich will transition to be full-time team president.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn Monday, Popovich officially passed the baton to Johnson in an introductory press conference. Popovich praised Johnson, noting that the coach took over this season and "did a fantastic job in circumstances that was very difficult.""We saw him in action, and he was brilliant. Players respect him, he'll hold them accountable, and I couldn't be more thrilled for him and his family and friends," Popovich said.Popovich, 76, suffered a small stroke in November and stepped […]
What to watch in sports this week: NBA and NHL second rounds, Champions League semifinals, NCAA softball
Like last week’s and the one before that, the forthcoming TV slate is loaded with worthwhile offerings. The NBA and NHL postseasons both up the stakes to second-round action. The Champions League semifinals boast four of the world’s most prestigious clubs. Major League Baseball rolls forward as the temperature rises, while college softball narrows into conference championship play. Even the preseason WNBA previews are looking sublime.Advertisement“I watch sports, man, that’s what I’m into,” Lil Wayne told us in 2006. “Sports, sports, sports. Every sport.” Has a chart-topping artist ever been so relatable to our readership?Here is our weekly abridged look at the national sports schedule. First, a few questions to guide us:Does this cover every big game coming up? Nope, just a light survey of the top-line stuff.Should you take it personally if your favorite sport is omitted? Never, but […]
‘It was all just a joke to them,’ E.M. testifies in Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont. – E.M., the woman at the center of the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, told jurors on Monday about the hours she spent inside a London hotel room in which she said she was “degraded” and “humiliated,” as players spit on her, slapped her, and encouraged her to insert golf balls and golf clubs into her vagina.AdvertisementShe said players put down a bed sheet and were “towering over her” prompting her to feel fearful and like she had didn’t have “any other option” than to perform the sexual acts they were encouraging. She said that she dissociated and felt as if she was watching the events unfold from above. She said she tried to leave the hotel room at multiple points, but each time she was coaxed to stay; one player put his arm around her shoulder and […]
Texas & Ohio State in Joel Klatt’s Post-Spring top 5 teams | Joel Klatt Show
the joel klatt show Video Details Joel Klatt revealed his Post-Spring top 5 teams. He explained why the Oregon Ducks cracked the top 5 in his list. Joel examined why the Texas Longhorns have an advantage over the Ohio State Buckeyes and explained why the Longhorns with Arch Manning could be contenders to compete for a national championship. 2 MINS AGO・the joel klatt show・12:22
Vedení Los Angeles reaguje na další neúspěšnou sezonu. Končí generální manažer Blake
Blake v dubnu 2017 nahradil ve funkci Deana Lombardiho, který s Los Angeles dvakrát získal Stanley Cup. Od té doby Kings ve vyřazovacích bojích nikdy nepřešli přes první kolo.Pětapadesátiletý člen Síně slávy NHL Blake strávil jako hráč v Los Angeles 12 sezon, než přestoupil do Colorada, se kterým hned vyhrál Stanley Cup. Později se olympijský vítěz ze Salt Lake City a dvojnásobný mistr světa ke Kings vrátil, v klubovém vedení působil od roku 2013.
Thunder vs. Nuggets: Key matchups, schedule and prediction for epic battle featuring MVP finalists
The Western Conference’s top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14) will face the fourth-seeded Denver Nuggets (50-32) in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. The two franchises have not met in the playoffs since the opening round in 2011, when Kevin Durant's Thunder made quick work of the Nuggets.What we know about Oklahoma CityThe Thunder were unbelievable all season, submitting the second-best net rating (12.8) in NBA history and becoming the seventh team ever to win 68 games during the regular season. Four of the six other teams to do it — won the championship in the same season. The other two won a title within a year. It makes sense, then, that Oklahoma City is the betting favorite to win this year's crown, per BetMGM.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey are led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is also the favorite to win this year's […]
Be the first to leave a comment