The Met Gala and fashion weeks around the globe have found an unlikely challenger in the most unlikely of arenas: NBA tunnels. Tucked underneath the stands of mega stadiums, walk-through tunnels have become the premier location for athletes to show off their fashion sense.
These looks typically range from upscale athleisure to full-on runway garments. The fits are so good that some people keep up with games just to see what avant-garde looks their favorite player will come down the tunnel in.
Over a million people tune in to NBA games on a nightly basis, and even more watch recaps and clips on social media, making game day tunnels not just a great place for players to show off their drip but also one of the premier platforms for emerging designers to gain invaluable recognition.
But don’t just take our word for it: Warriors’ point guard and tunnel-style-savant Stephen Curry agrees. “Being in a position where we can amplify Black and brown designers in the fashion world and increase awareness towards their brands and their stories can make a huge difference,” Curry told EBONY.
In partnership with Rakuten, Stephen Curry is turning his tunnel walks into IRL showcases for different looks from designers, put together by celebrity stylist Jason Bolden.
This is Curry’s second year partnering with Rakuten, a shopping platform that offers cash back on purchases. Billionaire Boys Club, AWET and Saif Ud Deen are just a few of the Black-owned brands to be spotlighted through the collaboration. Best of all, Curry’s looks will be available to shop on the Rakuten app and website.
But for Curry, it goes beyond just the highlighted brands. “It’s not just for these brands, but also to inspire others on the same walk, to keep doing what they’re doing and keep believing in themselves,” he said.
Black designers make up only 7.3% of apparel and fashion designers and account for just 4% of members of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA). “The fashion industry is tough to crack through, especially for those from Black and brown communities, [where] opportunity is hard to come by,” Curry said.
His heightened visibility as an athletic behemoth and the collective interest in the styling decisions of athletes have aptly set the stage to shift this paradigm. “Tunnel walks have been a huge part of the NBA experience for a while, and so now to leverage that and spotlight these designers, it’s a great way to put those brands on a stage,” he said.
16 seasons in the NBA is no small feat; after all, the average career span is around five years. But at 36, Curry is still making once-in-a-lifetime plays look easy. And much like his game, Curry’s style has evolved quite a bit over the decade and a half that he’s been making sports history—largely for the better.
“For my first ever NBA game award, I remember I wore this fit that looked like I was on the set of Peaky Blinders,” said Curry, able to laugh at some of his past style transgressions. Cillian Murphy-related fits aside, though, comfort is now at the forefront of Curry’s current style profile.
“Now I want to wear stuff that’s classic, casual and comfortable because I’m always on the move. I just try to find fits that fit my vibe. And I do take some chances from time to time, and I’ve had some misses but that’s all a part of the experience,”
His stylist, Jason Bolden, whose work spans from Dwyane Wade to Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo, is integral in keeping Curry’s style fresh but authentic to the timeless tenor around which Curry bases his style.
“When we do our fittings and stuff, it’s fun just to look at a rack and say, ‘OK, what looks like me?’ Jason will push me in certain directions, and I’ll take some chances, but I just try to come in with an open mind,” Curry explained. This trust in Bolden’s eye and vision has allowed Curry to reach new heights with his off-the-court fashion. He’s also learning a lot.
“There is a chemistry we have, where if I’m sourcing, or Jason is sourcing clothes, or doing the whole thing, like, there’s a certain spectrum of how you can layer different stuff. That’s what I’m learning.” Curry said this has expanded how he views the bounds of casual dressing. “You can rock a sweatsuit. You can put a different accessory with it, or jacket over it, and change the whole vibe or elevate the look.”
Still, ease and effortlessness remain a top priority. “I’m not wearing anything that’s like on the runway or anything, so I don’t have to worry about being able to walk around comfortably and feel good in it,” he pointed out.
He also notes that where he performs influences his tunnel style. “Each city has a look or a vibe, and you want to kind of match the energy. Outside of that, I try to have a little bit of versatility. Having the same look all the time gets boring. So, I just try to take all that into account when putting the full plan together for the season. Feel good, play good is real,” Curry added.
And while there’s certainly a heavy streetwear vibe to his current steez, he doesn’t feel the need to box himself in with strict style descriptors. “It’s a version of [streetstyle], but it’s classic, casual, and it’s a little bit more modern,” said Curry, who adds that Bolden describes his style as “smart,” a term he is admittedly still processing. “I don’t necessarily know what that means. Maybe that just means appropriate and true to myself.”
Making style decisions that feel reflective of where he is both personally and professionally is crucial to Curry, especially in an era where over-the-top fashion moments reign supreme. “I want to make sure it’s not something that people look at like, ‘Why are you wearing that?’ But it doesn’t mean you have to be boring. It just means true to you,” he said.
With four NBA championships, two NBA MVP awards, and most recently snagging his first Olympic gold medal, Curry is undoubtedly one of the best to ever touch a basketball. But his influence doesn’t end at the backcourt. From sponsoring Howard University’s inaugural golf team to his work as an executive producer for the acclaimed Emanuel film, Curry’s range is out of this world.
As displayed by his affinity for spotlighting smaller designers, Curry doesn’t like to get too caught up in the hoopla of trendy designers or big names, either. “It’s not about clout chasing. It’s more just about finding stuff that fits your vibe and your look and letting the clothes do the talking.”
Just like with basketball, though, sometimes he misses, like the time he wore a particular Samuel L. Jackson-coded look whilst in Portland. “I had this leather jacket, trench coat that looked like Shaft, and I had some black and green rain boots and some three-panel denim, silk and something else, I don’t even know what, pants on. It’s like if I wore one of those pieces on their own, with more subdued accessories or even if I separated all three of those pieces, just wore them on their own, It might have worked, but I put them all together and just it was all over the place,” said Curry.
“I knew it. As soon as I got off the bus, I was like, this ain’t gonna work,” Curry remembered. But thankfully, with Bolden on his side and a host of dripped-out and passionate indie designers at the ready, all-star-level fits are inevitable. “They know they’re talented. They know their time to scale is coming and the appreciation for what this means is definitely deeply felt, and for me, that means the world.”
