How Paige Bueckers' stylist prepared the No.1 WNBA Draft pick for her big moment

New York Times

13-05-2025

Paige Bueckers was a lock to go No. 1 in the 2025 WNBA Draft — and as one of the most high-profile prospects in recent memory, all eyes would be on her when the moment arrived.
Naturally, she needed a look that matched the occasion she'd been dreaming of since first picking up a basketball. Enter stylist and fashion designer Brittany Hampton, who delivered two standout fits for Bueckers' big night.
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On the latest episode of 'No Offseason,' Zena Keita sat down with Hampton to talk about the creative process behind Bueckers' draft-day fashion, and what makes her off-court style just as distinct as her game on the court. Watch the full interview below.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on the 'No Offseason' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Keita: I want to talk a little bit more about the WNBA Draft. That was a moment, as I mentioned earlier, that was watched more this year than other drafts of 'bigger leagues' or the male leagues. There's also this theme between the Met Gala and the WNBA Draft, which is about suits on women. You talked about power, tailoring and how important the fit of things is, and you've said in some of your other interviews that when you put clothes on athletes, you do have to mind the tailoring. But what I loved about Paige's looks — and I say 'looks' because she did a change — was just how feminine and masculine they were, and there was this androgynous energy throughout her look and her vibe. You've talked about Paige being swaggy before, others will even call it rizz.
Hampton: The young kids call it rizz nowadays (laughs) …
Keita: Exactly (laughs). So how did you tap into that? Knowing that she's already this swaggy person, and she's got this style about her already in a basketball aspect, how did you pull out the swag she has on the court into these looks?
Hampton: I challenge her, I definitely do (laughs), and I talk to people a lot about the challenges that we have. But she believes in me, which she tells me a lot. When she says it, I'm like, I don't know if this is another challenge that I'm supposed to kind of play on. But with that being said, I feel like I do my part in finding out what she envisions first. So when it came down to the WNBA Draft, which we all know she was projected as going No. 1 overall, we knew that she wanted to embody an opulence that was, in her mind, rhinestone. She wanted literally cascades of rhinestones and pearls, and she wanted that moment that was going to be like, I want to be the star, but I don't want to do too much. And she's very much (an) I-don't-need-to-be-an-over-the-top type of person.
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So I was like, 'Don't worry, girl, I got you. Because my job is to turn you into a pop star.' That's the job, and that's going to be my moment to be able to be like, I know what you're capable of. And that was through every single detail, from her hair to her smoky eye to putting extensions in her hair, even though Paige was like, 'I don't want extensions in my hair, I don't have time for that.' No one even noticed that she definitely ripped them out by the time the after-party happened.
Keita: That's crazy because I was thinking her hair looked a little thinner than it was on the orange carpet. But that's hilarious because it was definitely less full.
Hampton: But even in those moments, hair is a representation of who you are, and that speaks power, along with being in a power suit like she was.
I also got to team up with Coach for this, so Coach designed her first look, which was the look on the orange carpet. And Coach is obviously now in partnership with the WNBA, so we're excited to be a part of it. But they took their time to allow me to come in and design a suit for Paige as she was going into the championship. So we only had about a week to do this, and so when it came down to fabrications, she had to trust me. She had to know that I was going to nail it, from the fit of it to everything that we talked about. She liked the oversized kind of baggy moment, but she still wanted it to feel cool. So I was like, 'OK, I think I have a moment that's really going to kill it.' And for Coach to sit there and be like, OK, we can get this embellished plaid that's going to have (countless) Swarovski crystals on it just showed they knew exactly what they were going to be able to do, and they executed it. And honestly, I kept telling her all day, 'You look like Paris Jackson.' And she was like, 'Who's Paris Jackson?'
Keita: Oh no. She didn't know?
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Hampton: I know. (laughs) … But she really did give off those vibes.
Keita: Girl, we're old now. (Laughs)
Hampton: I know I had to pull it back (laughs). She was able to reference her as the actress, not Michael Jackson's daughter.
But I felt it; that's the energy that we need. Every single detail of it. She picked her nail color. I was like, 'I think we should do your nails. I think you should do something fun.' She did the cat eyes, a smoky kind of grey nail. We included the jewelry, the Kay Jewels. So from Coach to Kay Jewels to making sure that every single moment was her, and also represented what she could be and that character that she wanted to be in that moment. She just sold it. She owns that cool confidence about herself that I truly believe makes every little girl feel like there's a little bit of them in her, and that's who the essence of Paige is. The pulled-back hair, slick hair that just wants to go to the game and play, she's also edgy and that's her. But then when she gets dolled up, she is a whole other girl.
You can listen to full episodes of No Offseason for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and watch on YouTube.
(Photo of Paige Bueckers: Cindy Ord / Getty Images)