SGG Weekly: The Total Eclipse of Aesthetics and Athletics
Angel Reese in Vogue, Skims in Slam and so much more.
Hi friends and strangers,
Happy Eclipse Day to those celebrating along the path of totality. Originally, I wish that I had gotten my act together sooner so I could have watched it with my immediate family in Quebec today. But I am happy that here in New York, we got to the 90% mark and quite honestly, it ended up being such a warm, communal event. It felt like a truly glowing reminder that we need to take more time out for nature to connect more and revel in the beauty of our planet, despite our near-constant destruction of it.
One of the great things about living in such a massive metropolitan city is that for any large event like an eclipse - there are a plethora of interesting events at places like botanical gardens, cemeteries and skyscrapers. The bad news - is that in a city of main characters - tickets go quickly, but there was so much joy in taking back public spaces in the middle of the day for free. Lately, the city has been feeling a little too akin to its oft-movie role as the flash point for disasters - an earthquake, constant rains, a giant thunderstorm in April - I was half expecting Captain America to make a triumphant return to Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty to fall.
Regardless, natural disasters and personal and professional juggling have given me plenty of excuses to avoid writing, yet still seemingly ample time to jaw on social media. So I’m back! Let’s dive into the cool, the fun and the slightly dull news from around the world of sports, style and sustainability.
Angel Reese Declares for the WNBA in Vogue
Over the last few decades, we’ve seen athletes move into mainstream pop culture and politics - like Arnold Schwarzenegger going from bodybuilder to leading man and then, announcing his run for governor on The Tonight Show. The fashion world has been not quite as open, and sometimes the intersection of sports and fashion can go swimmingly - like certain editions of the Ralph Lauren and Team USA Olympic gear or the Miami Heat going Thom Browne head to toe - and occasionally, there seems to be a lack of nuance and understanding, like that disastrous LeBron James Vogue cover. In the past decade, and especially in the last few years, it feels like both fashion editors and sports stars (and the appropriate publicists for both) are understanding and embracing the natural collaboration.
The latest example is LSU superstar Angel Reese declaring for the WNBA Draft and forgoing her final year of college eligibility in the pages of Vogue. This is the first athlete to declare that they’re going pro in a major fashion publication, not sports - and Angel is paying homage as well to Serena Williams, who announced her retirement in the same Conde Nast publication. Williams, who can be seen as the blueprint of the modern athlete, has employed a stylist for years and is sure to be at the right shows, and events as well as in the right magazines so editors understand both her influence and rightful place in the fashion world.
The shoot itself is one of the better Vogue spreads as of late, Reese is wearing a mix of contemporary, black designers like Wales Bonner mixed with trendy, youth-focussed brands like Diesel. She looks like herself and is ready for the next level, without feeling like she’s been stripped of her identity or personal style. Reese has done an excellent job at ensuring she’s making the most of her college experience, both winning a National Championship last year and signing a plethora of brand deals that make sense for her. After all, she was nicknamed the Bayou Barbie not just because she’s tall, and wears long nails but because she pays attention to and loves fashion. Reese belongs to this next generation of athletes that grew up with players like D’Wayne Wade, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook who made sure to decree that they are “more than athletes” and let fashion be such a huge part of their on-court personas, brand partnerships and even businesses. Now, finally, women’s basketball is getting its due both on the professional and college level - we are seeing athletes like Reese get the opportunities that their male colleagues were afforded first.
At first, I rolled my eyes at Vanessa Friedman saying that the announcement was “the latest expression of the blossoming love affair between fashion and sports […] that will reach new heights with the Paris Olympics.” As someone who has covered and worked within the intersection of sports and style, I will loudly declare that it’s been a coordinated combined effort for years. But realistically, on a global stage - it’s still new. To many in the fashion world and those on the periphery of both - it probably seems like there are ripples - that the sports influence in fashion is either more on-off in styling, in brand ethos like Lacoste or collaboration like F1 legend Lewis Hamilton’s buying a Meta Gala today to ensure that black designers had a seat at the table. I hope that current and future athletes continue to explore fashion, style and design if they love it and it feels organic to them as it brings new fans and methods of expression beyond just a jersey or a uniform. And I do agree with Friedman - the Olympics are truly going to be a flashpoint for sports and style and I cannot wait to see what happens.
Skims in Slam - The Beigification Continues
Whether or not you are a fan of Kim Kardashian - you may know she has a history of being involved with athletes (and the whole her father defending OJ Simpson thing) and seemingly is a big sports fan. Any watcher of her family’s reality show, The Kardashians - I’m not sure if this is a safe space to admit it but I do watch it (it’s like a vocal fry bubble bath for your brain, the kind of passive-watching perfect for doing dishes and folding laundry - or avoiding both)- knows that she is trying to be the boy mom of all boy moms, bringing her son and his friends to soccer (fine, football) matches all over Europe as well as courtside for NBA games. When Kim announced that Skims, her clothing line, was moving into menswear - I wondered aloud if she would work with athletes. Then the images finished loading and I saw the campaign was full of professional athletes, then the Skims and basketball partnership was announced, with Skims becoming the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball. I figured we’d be seeing some Skims banners, maybe some additional photoshoots and branded products but the latest brand placement seems a bit odd.
The March issue of Slam Magazine is dedicated to March Madness, the annual NCAA college basketball tournament and the cover athletes are all sponsored by Skims. “Generation Cool” features the six NCAA athletes in the Skims Men’s All-Star Campaign, in an advertorial, rather than say a straight interview series. In years previous, athletes may have been wearing Team Jordans or Adidas gear if their schools were sponsored by the former - this time they’re wearing matching olive green terry loungewear and cream Converse All-Stars. While it’s interesting to see the six athletes modelling in the issue in different, deep shades - the cover feels more cult than cool fashion gig. There’s something about the monotone colour, blank expressions and posture that feels more repercussive than celebratory - like “congratulations on being All-Stars, welcome to the cult of beige and olive green!”. Perhaps I’ve just grown tired of the constant earth-tone colour palettes and general bleak demeanours. It’s interesting to see how she’s taken an aesthetic pushed by Ye (then Kanye) within his collection lines - minimal, neutral, oversized, oft gender agnostic - co-opted it for her overarching branding aesthetic for her companies, like Skims. It should be noted that Ye borrowed from designers like Rick Owens, Helmut Lang and later inspired sweatsuit uniforms by brands like Fear of God and Aime Leon Dore. It’s become that minimal is the default marker of good taste and it’s crushingly predictable. Monochrome can be such a fun way of dressing but there is no extra interesting style for each athlete to show personality. While I understand wanting the six athletes to present a united front given they come from different teams, it ends up feeling as if a Sante Fe cult had a catalogue for their leisure wear. I don’t knock Slam for taking the advertising money, but it’s starting to feel like the cult of monochrome dressing is draining the personality out of style, and by extension sport in this cover - and it becomes like a giant Instagram #ad that Kim is so famous for, instead of a groundbreaking Slam cover that us millennials get up saving and collecting.
Sotheby’s is Cashing In On the NBA Game Worn Game
I missed the announcement in November, but for the 2023-2024 season (and an undisclosed number of seasons following) Sotheby’s is the “Official Game Worn Source" for the NBA”. The multi-year partnership includes the All-Star Game Auction which is live in New York on April 11th, as well as hosted online. The in-person auction includes forty-eight items like jerseys, shorts, name placards and a ball. While the online auction includes 178 pieces from the fesitivies in Indianapolis. Victor Wembanyama Game Worn ‘Skills Challenge’ City Edition Jersey already has the highest bid for the online auctions at $24,000 and is expected to go for between $50,000 and USD 70,000. For the live auction, the King, LeBron James’ Game Worn ‘NBA All-Star Game’ Jersey for his Record Breaking 20th All-Star Appearance - has already reached a bid of $60,000 and is expected to go for $200,000-$300,000. WOW.
PALACE x GAP is my favorite collaboration in 2024 so far
Spice up your life! And your ad campaign! Mel C. aka Sporty Spice is in the new Palace x GAP sportswear commercial in a perfect combo of both retro sport styling and cheeky irreverence the London-based skate brand is known for. It’s the first time Palace is making kidswear, and it’s far cooler and more authentic to both parties than any of the stuff that Ye was doing with the brand. One of the biggest complaints from fashion fans has been that GAP needs to get back to its roots of creating great basics - a perfect shirt, khaki, jeans, etc. This collection seems to make sense for that evolution of GAP, instead of trying to be super cutting-edge. I’m also glad they made both kids’ and adults’ pieces because I could use a new oxford shirt that feels less starchy, and more relaxed like this one and it may or may not be in my cart right now (thank goodness for Amex points for gift cards, too).
Extra Credit
In unfortunately obvious news, this Bloomberg piece explores how Loro Piana, the Italian luxury fashion, textile and interior design house - that sells pieces like a $9375 cardigan made from wild Vicuna wool - pays workers in the Andes a pittance, partially thanks to a government deal. My youngest brother often asks me if I’d make anything from Vicuna, given its extremely soft, luxurious reputation - but I’ve always said it’s out of my budget and realm and this piece breaks down why. Alec Leach has a great response in his excellent newsletter that’s well worth your subscription.
Nike Gets Spacey with Wemby Teaser
Just as the great North American solar eclipse was underway, Nike unveiled the teaser logo for their biggest athlete signing in years, Victor Wembanyama. No signature apparel or shoes have been announced but the swoosh seems to be leaning into his “The Extraterrestrial” nickname, the actual track of the eclipse which went through Texas and an overall ominous vibe. Could we see some X-Files influence in his new campaign? As a diehard X-phile and Nike nerd - I’m sure the truth is out there and coming soon. Twitter also seems to be titillated. Watch the video below that debuted on the Nike basketball account this afternoon.
Finally, last night’s women’s basketball championship game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the South Carolina Gamecocks broke multiple records. The finale was the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record since 1992. It drew an average of 18.7 million viewers with a peak of 24 million viewers and it was the most watched basketball game - pro, college, women’s or men’s since 2019. It was an incredible end to the Gamecocks undefeated season which also led to this perfect piece of copywriting.
Well played. That’s all for now, I’ll be back later this week and as always, if you need any help and have a shopping SOS request - feel free to comment, DM or email me.
Stay safe and stay true,
Megan