• by Tanya Gazdik , July 21, 2024

NFL Defensive Player of the year Nick Bosa, soccer icon Neymar Jr. and NBA All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander model for Skims

Both male and female sports stars are replacing actors and musicians as the new faces of major fashion and beauty brands. 

“In recent months, one of the biggest names in the WNBA, the Chicago Sky's Angel Reese, made an appearance on the carpet at the Met Gala and was modeled in a Good American campaign,” according to USA Today. “She has also collaborated with brands including Revolve and Fashion Nova.”

Many players are promoting themselves on and off the court and getting tapped for opportunities in a different arena.

“Sports stars are the new Hollywood stars,” said Jens Grede, a co-founder of Skims, a brand that reached a $4 billion valuation in four years in part by focusing campaigns on athletes,” according to The New York Times. “So far, the Skims stable has included the soccer star Neymar, the NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Olympic gold medal gymnast Sunisa Lee and a host of WNBA standouts, including Skylar Diggins-Smith and Cameron Brink."

Antoine Arnault, the head of the image and the environment for LVMH, said he believes athletes “are probably even more emotionally connected to everyone” than famous names from film or music.

“At this year’s Met Gala, Maria Sharapova, Dwyane Wade, Ben Simmons and Angel Reese walked the red carpet alongside the hosts Zendaya and Jennifer Lopez,” according to The New York Times. “This month, Sha’Carri Richardson is on the digital cover of Vogue, and Vogue World, held in Paris this year, featured Serena and Venus Williams, Joe Burrow and Victor Wembanyama in runway roles. Simone Biles has appeared twice on the cover of Vogue, and Serena Williams has done so three times.”

The WNBA is making ing the entry tunnel a fashion show in its own right.

“The runway begins as the women enter the ‘tunnel’— AKA the entrance to game day arenas — showing off their designer looks,” according to Newsweek. “Even legendary fashion magazine Vogue has dubbed the WNBA tunnels as new runways to watch.”

The 2024 Olympics in Paris promise to be a see and must-see event for athletes both during competitions and elsewhere. Can Designer Ashdeen Lilaowala booked his tickets to Paris a year ago to attend.

“In my head, sports and style have always been intertwined,” Lilaowala writes in The Voice of Fashion. “As a student at the National Institute of Design, I had a photograph pinned to my vision board of contemporary dancer, the late Astad Deboo, shot by Farrokh Chothia. Deboo was dressed in a blue leotard, surrounded by dancers in yellow dhotis. That to me, is the perfect blend of sport, movement and style.”