the F*CK dress CODE

ART DIRECTOR RHEMY CRAWFORD

PHOTOGRAPHED BY AVERY JANTZER

DESIGNER ALLY WOODRING

WRITTEN BY SYDNEY SEYMOUR

MODELS FRANKIE CORTES & LIAM MEARS

As the most stylish league in America, the National Basketball Association (NBA) ushered in an era of self-expression while embracing streetwear mixed with athleisure. NBA superstars sit in the front row of fashion shows, design clothing lines, and have their own brand associations. They use pregame, postgame, and sideline photo opportunities to express themselves and the latest trends. Despite a racist dress code enforced in 2005, the league created its own complex and sleek streetwear style. The league’s current recognizable faces like Russell Westbrook, Jordan Clarkson, PJ Tucker, James Harden, Wand others are at the forefront of marrying fashion and the NBA.

The worlds of high fashion and basketball intersect between the parking lot and the locker room: the tunnel. The tunnel walk evolved into the NBA athletes’ concrete fashion runway for pregame outfits. Players flaunt their makeshift red carpet in brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, Prada, and Tom Ford. Paparazzi flash pictures to post on social media accounts like Instagram’s @ LeagueFits with 885,000 followers and @NBAFashionFits with 199,000 followers. These accounts archive what players wear to events to showcase their style. The tunnel is the space where basketball players are style icons, and accounts like @ LeagueFits offer a platform for lesserknown NBA players to explore fashion.

The best-dressed in the NBA remain consistent, experiment, and have advanced, boundary-pushing taste. NBA tunnel fashion is defined by the players who consistently take risks: cut-and-sew pieces, matching sets, crochet tops, flashy sneakers, designer headwear, vintage tees, bold printed pants, and varsity letterman jackets. Christos New York luxe sweatpants, Balenciaga hoodies, and Off-White garb are some of the most popular pieces in the NBA, with every player expressing their own style. Westbrook, the godfather of @LeagueFits and leader of the NBA fashion wave, wears barechested looks, crazy color combinations, funky silhouettes, and monochrome ensembles. Jordan Clarkson, king of the NBA tunnel, is known for Thom Browne skirts, baggy and grunge-inspired Louis Vuitton looks, as well as funky, expressive outfits. A sneakerhead with a refined sense of style, PJ Tucker owns a 5,000pair collection of shoes and walks the tunnel in overalls, velvet suits, balaclavas, double-breasted blazers, bucket hats, and turtlenecks. More staple brands in the tunnel are Alexander Wang, Fear of God, Westbrook’s Honor The Gift, True Religion, Supreme, Nick Young’s line, and Moncler. An essential part of NBA fashion is the goal to be as fashionable as possible while still being comfortable.

Decades ago, NBA players were forced to wear “business casual” to all of their events, but now they can express themselves while being comfortable in luxurious athletic streetwear.

On Oct. 17, 2005, commissioner David Stern enforced a dress code targeting Allen Iverson’s popular hiphop style at the time: baggy clothes, cornrows, diamond earrings, durags, and chains. The dress code declared no chains, pendants, or medallions were to be worn over clothes. Players could not wear headphones, sunglasses, or headgear of any kind. Jerseys needed to be approved, and players also couldn’t wear sleeveless shirts, shorts, or t-shirts. Rather, players were to wear “business casual” attire to all league events from press conferences to charity events.

Many thought the dress code was a result of the infamous brawl in November of 2004, Malice at the Palace, in which the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers engaged in a 10-minutelong fight involving fans. To cover up the fight-fights, assault charges, and bad publicity, the league needed to change its image. However, critics of the policy were certain it was an attack on Black fashion, hip-hop culture, and the trend of self-expression popularized by Iverson. The public viewed the policy as the NBA’s attempt to dissociate from “Blackness” and Black male bodies in a league of mostly Black players. People believed Stern created this dress code to profit from and reinforce white supremacy as Black players were forced to change their appearance to appeal to white consumers.

Initially, most Black NBA players opposed the policy, with Iverson, Stephen Jackson, Paul Pierce, Dwayne Wade, and LeBron James voicing their concerns through the media. In a TV interview in 2005, Iverson said, “They’re targeting my generation — the hip-hop generation.”

According to the Associated Press, before a 2005 preseason game, Jason Richardson said, “One thing to me that was kind of racist was you can’t wear chains outside your clothing. I don’t understand what that has to do with being business approachable. You wear a suit, you still could be a crook. Just because you dress a certain way doesn’t mean you’re that way. Hey, a guy could come in with baggy jeans, a durag, and have a Ph.D. and a person who comes in with a suit could be a three-time felon.” Some Black players wore chains for religious meanings and personal messages, yet the dress code directly targeted this aspect of Black culture. Some players express their identity through fashion, and the dress code hindered their ability to express themselves.

At first, the dress code was formatted to make the league more marketable and appropriate for the white audience. For Black players, however, the dress code ultimately paved the way for them to bend the rules, establish a new style, and set in place a leaguewide evolution of creativity, individuality, and self-expression. Black athletes rebuilt the league’s brand by gradually breaking the mold and incorporating their own culture and fashion sense into their outfits. Although the NBA never formally abandoned the dress code, the organization relaxed its rules when Westbrook was the first to experiment with fashion in the tunnel. The Wade, James, Young, and Harden eras followed, and the NBA became a platform for fashion. A platform that is no longer dissociating itself from Blackness, but embracing and expressing it.