The most unforgettable fashion at WNBA All-Star Weekend, from ‘orange carpet' to tunnel walks

New York Times

a day ago

INDIANAPOLIS — The narrative arc of the WNBA's explosive growth can be traced in many ways: a positive slope of rising ticket sales and prices, merchandise booms, brand partnerships, sportsbook markets, salary conversations and expansion teams.
The league's cultural impact, though, can be felt perhaps nowhere more tangibly than along the seam where fashion and sports fuse. WNBA players are style icons in their own right, with rising stars like Angel Reese gracing the covers of fashion magazines and inking million-dollar partnership deals with brands like Nike, Puma, Adidas, New Balance, Fenty or Coach.
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'In a tunnel walk, even though we're going to a game, it is work,' Dallas Wings guard DiJonai Carrington told The Athletic at AT&T All-Star Access, one of her brand events. 'When you have your meeting with your CEO and your bosses, you want to look your best. And that's how I feel every game day is: These are the CEOs, the bosses. This might be the only thing that somebody sees from you is you walking in through the tunnel, and that might be the way that you get on their radar for a deal.'
Last year in particular, the fashion world sat up and took notice of the W, acknowledging that some of the most culturally consequential styles were arriving on the nontraditional runways of tunnel walks and WNBA-inspired shoes and streetwear. Reese, A'ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark and Sabrina Ionescu aren't just WNBA All-Stars this year; they're style icons. These stars aren't just dressing to play; they're dressing to build their brands, extend their influence, connect with fans and raise the profile of their league.
And there's perhaps no bigger moment this year to experience the tidal wave of style in the league than WNBA All-Star Weekend, where the league's 'Orange Carpet' on Thursday night and the tunnel walk on Saturday before the big game flowed with couture, confidence and — there's no clearer way to say it — cool.
Here are our most unforgettable looks from Thursday's carpet and Saturday's tunnel.
Reese is perhaps the first name on people's lips when it comes to the WNBA and fashion, and she has adroitly leveraged her taste into treasure. Reese is partnered with Reebok, McDonald's and Reese's. (At the tunnel walk, sponsored by Nike, Reese positioned herself to hide the giant swoosh behind her.)
On the orange carpet, the former Vogue cover star cast a gravitational pull as cameras leaned in to get a shot of her ankle-length leopard-print coat-dress and Gianvito Rossi strappy heels in a look that she said was inspired by 'old money-new money' blends and Hollywood.
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'It's not what you wear; it's how you wear it. My confidence is through the roof,' Reese said. 'That's what I want to encourage for young women, especially tall women. It's not easy being a tall woman. It took a long time when I was younger to be myself, but I'm her.'
Her style icons? Rihanna and Teyana Taylor.
The three-time WNBA MVP and Las Vegas Aces star debuted a signature shoe with Nike earlier this year that sold out in less than five minutes. The superstar has had partnerships with brands like LEGO, Gatorade and AT&T.
She was channeling Greek goddess-core drama on the orange carpet with a draped Di Petsa-designed maroon sleeveless gown and gold Saint Laurent earrings styled by Casey Billingsley. The dress was cut to reveal her leg up to the hip — for a very specific reason.
'I see a lot of people may see my leg in a sleeve,' Wilson told The Athletic. 'So now I started to switch it up this year and take my leg out of the sleeve.'
She switched it up for her tunnel walk, wearing a motorsports-inspired fit, with a loose jersey top and black, white and red knee-high heeled leather boots. But the look was still giving … leg.
Ionescu stepped out on the orange carpet in a custom Nike dress and tights the night before clinching the 3-point contest. Ionescu and Paige Bueckers were styled by celebrity designer Brittany Hampton. Sabrina's shoes and handbag were Jimmy Choo. Her tunnel fit was also Nike, in a tenniscore monochrome ensemble emblazoned with another sparkling swoosh.
Bueckers is a massive favorite in the betting markets to win rookie of the year, but hitting fashion buckets is not new territory for the Dallas Wings star. The rookie was named the NIL Store's top-earning female athlete in 2024 and has partnered with brands like Nike, Verizon, Bose, CeraVe and Gatorade.
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Bueckers hit the orange carpet in a Marni sleeveless sweater top and pants with big, grabby graphics and colors. Her stylist, Hampton, paired the set with Prada shoes and VAVA sunglasses. Bueckers wore a check-print oversized corduroy-style button-down jacket and pants set with black loafers.
The New York Liberty star is no stranger to brand partnerships, having signed a signature shoe deal with Puma and serving as a brand ambassador for the Unrivaled league, which she co-founded with Napheesa Collier. 'Stewie' wore a silky, oversized double-breasted black Simkhai suit on the orange carpet that looked as comfy as a set of pajamas. She paired it with Prada eyewear and Marc Nolan shoes.
'I just want to be comfortable but look great,' Stewart said.
Napheesa Collier is one of the league's most influential figures right now. She is the co-founder of Unrivaled, a key voice on players' current contract negotiations as a member of the Women's National Basketball Players Association executive committee — oh, and she's a huge favorite to win league MVP this year. So you could say she's good at the game.
Collier clearly understood the leadership assignment in fashion this week, too. On the orange carpet, she stepped out in a jaw-dropping ensemble of sheer black lace that showed off her physique with long sheer pants under a cropped top. In an elite show of 'slideshow dressing,' where ensembles coordinate over various events, she wore a sheer black top over a black bra, menswear-inspired shorts and heels.
The Athletic asked players on the carpet to name their WNBA style icon. The most frequent responses were Skylar Diggins and Sydney Colson.
On the orange carpet, Diggins wore a Cucculelli Shaheen jet-black jacket with intricate beaded embroidery and a long lace train with Nickho Rey jewelry. She followed it up with another monochrome workwear-inspired ensemble in the tunnel. (For the uninitiated, monochrome is one of the best ways in fashion to make sure you stand out in a crowd.) The light-colored trench coat and slacks were embellished with dripping pearls. Underneath, the most traditional workwear staple: a button-down.
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'If I had to describe my style in three words, it'd be: What I like,' Diggins said. 'I got two little ones, so I'm always moving around. I love silhouettes, textures, layering. And then I wanted to be shiny. It's like levels to it, you know?'
The Seattle Storm forward and president of the WNBPA wears her confident leadership in the way she styles herself, too.
'My style is like my music, it's like my food,' Ogwumike said. 'I choose based off of what I feel like eating, what I feel like listening to, what I feel like consuming when it comes to shows, movies, reading books and podcasts. That's how I feel with my style. I'm very comfortable in my body. I love my body, and I just try my best to be versatile in how I wear my things.'
She wore a bright print dress on the orange carpet that mirrored many traditional Nigerian styles and then mixed it up with animal-print patterns in the tunnel.
The Los Angeles Sparks' Burrell brought a serrated take on Hollywood glam in a shiny maroon trench with a faux fur collar and cuffs. A perfectly matching leather imitation bralette and woven print slacks completed the look with white heels.
The real scene-stealer? Thrifting.
'I actually thrifted these pants a few years ago,' Burrell said. 'I put it on with the coat, and I was like, 'Oh, perfect.''
Colson is a style icon to her peers and a comedy icon on the internet. 'The Syd + TP Show' with Colson and Theresa Plaisance is a buddy comedy with hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. Colson performed a standup comedy act during the WNBA All-Star events. She was also one of the most-mentioned style icons by her peers on the orange carpet.
Colson wore a leather ensemble over a green snakeskin zip-up and white collared shirt, and she kept everyone on the orange carpet laughing through a long night.
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The Atlanta Dream guard wore a loose leather black suit with an outline of scarlet flames curling up the sides. It was somewhat reminiscent of a race car driver's fire suit, just oversized. Howard is an outspoken LEGO fan and has TikToks of unboxing LEGO Speed Champions series cars. WNBA celebrity stylist Golden put the look together.
'The piece is one-of-one,' Howard said, 'straight off the runway. It's really comfortable, and you're not gonna see this from anybody else, I can comfortably say.'
Thomas isn't just a forward for the Phoenix Mercury; she was also voted the league's best trash-talker in The Athletic's anonymous player poll. But when it comes to fashion? Smooth is the name of the game.
'I like smooth,' Thomas said. 'Old-school smooth.' She wore a gray wool menswear suit with matching sneakers, her hair pulled back and a set of orange-lensed frames.
(Top photo of Angel Reese: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)