Not far from where Dior held its pre-fall show at the Brooklyn Museum, crowds of fans lined the street outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music early Monday afternoon hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite basketball players. It was a scene more vibrant than ever before outside of the 2024 WNBA Draft, as the momentum behind women’s basketball — both collegiate and professional — has reached an all-time high.
The big star of the evening was of course Iowa player Caitlin Clark, who would later become the number one pick of the Indiana Fever, and who also wore Prada from head to toe. But the orange carpet was ripe for young fashion stars: Cameron Brink opted for a black and white Balmain dress, Angel Reese wowed in a Bronx and Banco hooded dress, Paige Bueckers wore all-white Louis Vuitton and Nika Mühl went for a black Rotate -skirt. business suit.
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After being called up, the players made their way up through various media stops within BAM – most of them having traded their stage-ready heels for flats. Clark was still in her Prada but had opted for Ugg clogs, while Rickea Jackson had changed into a pair of Dior slides.
“I feel like Indianapolis is such a good place for myself,” Clark said of her new home. “It’s a basketball state – they love basketball through and through, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, but I also think the Fever are a top-tier organization that’s really trying to get back to their championship ways, and they’re going to invest. So for me, I can’t imagine a more perfect place to start my career. And obviously I have a lot of fans in the Midwest. I couldn’t write it any better.”
The Iowa native is familiar with her new hometown of Indianapolis.
“This may sound crazy, but I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and [Indianapolis] feels like a bigger Des Moines. It’s a big city, but it’s not overwhelming and that’s perfect for me. That’s exactly how I envisioned my life,” Clark said.
Her Prada outfit for the evening marked the first time the Italian brand dressed a player for the WNBA or NBA draft. Clark says she’s a fan of the brand, though her off-court style tends to be a little more relaxed.
“I usually wear sweatpants and sweatshirts all the time. I’m busy, I play basketball. But otherwise I feel like I’m very simple. I like simple things,” Clark said. “I feel like I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone a little bit 1713300568. I mean, I’ll definitely be showing up in a Nike Tech fleece here and there.”
Aaliyah Edwards, who was drafted to the Washington Mystics, was excited to live in a big city after her time at UConn.
“A new city, a new environment,” Edwards said. “Back to the city atmosphere, I miss that.”
For this evening, the Canadian had opted for a white dress with a turtleneck and cut-out fringes.
“It was a process, but you know, we put it on and we ate with it,” she said. “I wanted more elegance, but I wanted to be stylish, with a bit of pop. That’s me – I’m pretty laid back, but when I need to get out, I show up.
She combined this evening with a basketball clutch from Judith Leiber.
“Ever since I was a kid, I had a basketball in my hand and it got me where I am today. So why not bring that to the W?”
Brink, the Stanford player selected with the second overall pick by the Los Angeles Sparks, said the night was “very emotional, honestly.” She worked with a stylist to pick out her Balmain dress for the evening – “it’s borrowed, I can’t get it too dirty!” she clarified.
“I would say my style off the field is somewhere between masculine and feminine,” Brink said. “A lot of days when I want to feel more comfortable are cargo clothes, a T-shirt and New Balances 550s, and there are a lot of other days when I want to wear a dress and heels.”
Kamilla Cardoso had just been a little busy winning the NCAA Championship to think too much about the draft.
“And after we won, I was like, ‘Oh my God, the draft is next [week]. “I don’t have an outfit,” she said. “I made some calls. I was like, ‘I just want a suit, let’s go with red, it’s my favorite color.’
Jackson, who joins Brink in Los Angeles, said the city is a perfect fit for her.
“When I first visited LA, I said, ‘LA is like its own little world.’ The atmosphere, the people, it’s just so different. To be honest, it’s kind of just me: I’m a homebody, but I’m dramatic, I’m everything glitz and glamour. So I guess it’s the best of both worlds,” Jackson said. “The shopping there is great. The food is great. The traffic, not so much. That’s the only thing about LA”
Jackson was the only player to switch outfits throughout the night, opting for a red look on the red carpet and then a silver, sparkly suit once inside.
“I was torn between the two fits, and I thought, ‘Why not wear both?’ It’s my draft night, I’m not getting another one, let’s do it,” she said.
Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon would be moving to Dallas to join the Wings, where she had never been before.
“I’m excited to go to Dallas and see how they do things there, and get the opportunity to learn from these girls, and obviously they have great coaches,” Sheldon said. “I’m super excited to build those relationships.”
While some of the other players were working with stylists, Sheldon had gone shopping for the big night with her mother and aunt.
“Without them I would have been a disaster,” she said. “They helped with my shoes, my bag and the dress.”
Like most players, Sheldon said she usually dresses casually because of her job, but when she gets the chance, she likes to play with fashion.
“Whenever I get to dress up, I love to dress up, but I just can’t do it that often,” she said.
With their new platform in the WNBA and the first step in their professional careers — not to mention the growing interest in women’s sports from the fashion and beauty worlds — Monday night was likely the first of many fashion moments to come.
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