Last week’s WNBA Draft brought global exposure to the professional league’s top players with a record-breaking 2.45 million viewers.
Breakout stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Nika Mühl, Kamilla Cardoso and Paige Bueckers have been praised for their red carpet choices as much as their agility on the field. Several of the designers who dress them have seen a smaller increase in their own business. While Clark, who caught Indiana Fever, promoted Prada by wearing a suit that covered the middle part of the European brand, Reese, Chicago Sky’s best employee, increased brand awareness for the rising Bronx and Banco by choosing a sparkling suit. Mühl and Cardoso chose lesser-known names for the hooded dress. Harlem-based Domo Wilkins dressed Mühl in a short black bolero, long skirt and Bueckers’ custom Louis Vuitton suit. Cardoso also started with an overlooked talent: Lexington, S.C.-based Minh Le.
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Unnamed in the post-draft media blitz, Wilkins and Le’s lives are the status quo for now, proving once again that superficial fame doesn’t necessarily equate with automatic financial gains. She currently moonlights four days a week renovating a laundromat in Harlem, where she continues to offer locals her top skills at a more affordable price.
More than anything else, the interest in the WNBA Draft signals a “major shift for the industry” and a new event to focus on, said Natalie De’Banco, founder of Bronx and Banco. “Last year was all about Beyoncé, the Oscars, and fashion influencers,” she said. “I am very inspired by athletes, especially female athletes. Of course, we all follow men’s sports. However, 18.9 million people watched the women’s NCAA basketball final match and 14.8 million people watched the men’s match. Millions of people watched the WNBA Draft. “It’s exciting that so many people support strong women and want to see what they wear,” she said.
She said seeing how Reese, a “stunning” athlete and recent college graduate, “looked so good” inspired De’Banco and other women. He was a little surprised that Reese was getting so much coverage for the dressing, especially in fashion stores, and said: “This wasn’t about PR. “It was more about supporting Angela in her career.”
It’s too early to tell whether the media attention will translate into investor opportunities, new retail accounts or an increase in online sales. But De’Banco said the sketch shows how things are changing in the industry and that its customers have interests beyond fashion. “He wants to be strong, sporty and healthy. I love how everything is connected now. Three or four years ago, sports and fashion were very far apart.”
When she saw Reese at the Bronx and Banco, she said: “Angel looked beautiful in the dress and is not your typical model. She is an amazing athlete who just graduated from college. To me, health is wealth.” Founded in Sydney 16 years ago, the company is now run from a New York showroom near Khaite and Prada in SoHo.
Despite the intense media attention given to elite competitors and elite designers, Le’s name was not mentioned in any WNBA Draft articles. The 51-year-old self-taught designer told his only story in America in an interview Wednesday morning. Born in Vietnam, he moved to Boston with his father and sister in 1994 and became a US citizen in 2000. His father was imprisoned for serving on behalf of American forces during the Vietnam War after the fall of Saigon in 1975. , said he now has Alzheimer’s type symptoms. “My mother still lives in Vietnam. We’ve never had a relationship. He abandoned me when I was a child.”
Before starting her own company, Le lived in Connecticut for ten years, where she opened and operated three nail salons. Another was added in South Carolina. He then retreated to Lexington, South Carolina, whose warm climate reminded him of Vietnam and was ideal for his two children’s competitive swimming activities. This place had a back room where she could sew; his favorite way to relax. After selling her nail salons, the designer opened the 831 Minhle store because there was a gap in society for handcrafting and tailoring. “Everyone sends this kind of work out of the country. “I wanted to share my skills and show people that I think locally and make real women feel really good about themselves,” she said.
“People in my hometown aren’t going to have $2,000 for a designer suit,” he said, adding that they are provided with the same services. He sells about 20 suits to locals each month for $750 to $850 each.
Three years ago, he made custom suits for then-University of South Carolina basketball player A’ja Wilson, a 5-foot-11 forward with whom he continues to work. Le designed a suit and formal dress for Wilson to wear to Time’s 100 Most Influential People event in New York this week. “This is the American dream. I came here with nothing. I worked really hard and made my dream come true,” she said. “I taught myself how to sew and speak English. People can have dreams and work hard to achieve those dreams.”
Le’s grasp on fit is so keen that he often designs for other players he’s never seen in person, including NBA players like the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo. Of course, customers routinely send measurements, “but they’re never accurate,” he continued. “I go online and find some videos of them playing games and examine their bodies. Then I will measure them,” she said. “Athletes’ bodies are different. They are taller. Their shoulders are wider. Their muscles are strong because they work hard. I need to emphasize how to make them look feminine.
Le is also adept at creating elements for Cardoso’s 6-foot-7, 7-inch frame, whose pant legs extend 53 inches. The designer said that although he used to dress high-profile actors, he was known locally but is no longer known. Since there were no investors, he could not afford advertising and other ventures. “I love my job, but I don’t know how to market myself. I have PR [person] It’s in New York, but somehow it’s not working very well yet. It’s really hard to get featured in fashion magazines because it’s so competitive,” Le said. “I want people to know that even a small town small business owner like me can do a top job. Every person deserves to look their best and feel like a celebrity.
Harlem-based Wilkins had a pre-draft fashion emergency and had to rush to Pacific Trimming to replace a button that accidentally flew off Bueckers’ Louis Vuitton suit. She launched Faded NYC, a unisex line, 12 years ago and has designed exclusive pieces throughout that time.
Most clients and stylists connect with Wilkins through Instagram; as did musician Erykah Badu, who recently reached out directly to him with a video. Regardless, he said the recent media attention has meant “a bunch of likes on Instagram, comments and maybe a few more opportunities from other followers.” “It’s hard because some designers don’t get the recognition they deserve. Another problem is that sometimes stylists like to go for more shine. Honestly, they just choose the outfit. “If it doesn’t fit, they can’t fix it, we fix it.”
Measurements can also be misleading. Wilkins said that after a celebrity requested measurements, someone else was assigned to take the measurements, even though she was the one who designed the outfit. “Strange and strange. “I don’t know what their agenda is.”
For Wilkins, a New York City Institute of Art graduate, Faded NYC’s business is “a little slow” right now. Wilkins makes up for this with a significant amount of custom orders and does renovations at United Laundré, a local laundromat, four times a week.
Wilkins said that although she was paid within days for her WNBA Draft work for stylist Brittany Hampton, slow payment for VIP designs is a recurring problem for some stylists, and payment can take weeks or months.
“It depends on the stylists or maybe their budget. I am currently still waiting to be paid for work I did in February. I feel like it should happen the next day or when work is done. I shouldn’t wait weeks because the stylist is constantly working with the artist. Why do I have to wait?”
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