NEW YORK – Tuesday marks Game 2 of the WNBA Finals series, with the Las Vegas Aces battling it out against the Connecticut Sun for the coveted championship title. As the door closes on another season, players showing pre-game shows in their WNBA tunnel entrances will come to an end. However, perennial discussion about fashion failure to take advantage of women’s sneaker style continues.
For this New York Fashion Week, which runs until Wednesday, mother-daughter label Dur Doux set out to change that. Designers Cynthia and Najla Burt facilitated a unique partnership with the league for its spring-summer 2023 collection, titled Paradis Palmiers. After doing it Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debuted in MayWNBA star DiDi Richards walked the Dur Doux show on Monday, supported by New York Liberty teammate Michaela Onyenwere and Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown in the front row.
Created in 2012 while Najla Burt attended Parsons School of Design, Dur Doux marries bold avant-garde fashion with elegant and luxurious sensibilities. The brand, whose name means “strong yet soft” in French, fuses wearability and whimsy throughout its designs.
Dur Doux made its debut last year at New York Fashion Week’s spring-summer 2022 season. In February of this year, the label’s fall-winter 2022 collection was presented at the Black in Fashion Council salons. According to Najla Burt, that’s when Dur Doux’s relationship with the WNBA began.
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“The WNBA reached out and said, ‘We love your brand. We’ve read about your story and we’d just love to participate,'” she said.
“Initially, it was just so that two stars could participate in the show. Then this season we said, ‘How would you all feel if one of the players walked on the show?’
Fan favorite Richards was one of the first names that came to mind for Burt and her mother. At the New York Liberty guard’s NYFW debut, she took to the runway in a vibrant tangerine orange maxi dress with a daring side slit, paired with gold hoops and shell hoop earrings.. For Burts, color is integral to their label.
“Part of our brand DNA is being from Florida, being in that beautiful tropical Caribbean-type environment,” said the younger Burt. “[This season’s collection] was inspired by the Florida palm tree, the state emblem. I just remember growing up and seeing that palm tree everywhere we went.”
Oscillating between neutral, earthy colors and vibrant tones, Dur Doux’s 30-look collection consisted of sensual silhouettes, free-flowing skirts, dresses, tunics and feather embellishments. An homage to Burt’s Tallahassee upbringing, Dur Doux aimed to encapsulate a holiday feel with Paradis Palmiers.
Burt, whose sister played basketball growing up and father earned an athletic scholarship, said she and her mother were excited to be working with Richards and hopes this is the start of a long relationship with the WNBA.
From struggling to find pants for tall girls in the center to becoming one of the league’s style icons, Richards said walking in New York Fashion Week has been a dream come true. Some of her style inspirations are singer Rihanna, artist Teyana Taylor and other women who “push the issue”. The 23-year-old WNBA star wants this moment to be a catalyst for more designers to bolster the league’s fashion capacity.
“It’s definitely a missed opportunity for a lot of people who aren’t coming into the WNBA. We’re all kind of fashionistas, whether it’s wearing sweats or we’re the girly girls who like to wear dresses and skirts,” said Richards. “It’s exciting to see the different ways ‘The W’ amplifies fashion, but I’m proud that I’m able to be that person for little girls like me.”
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She continued: “I went through this phase where I only wore sweats. My style is baggy skirts, tight tops and I think what made me that way is because nothing would fit me tight. If it would fit my height, it wouldn’t fit my width. If it would fit my width, then it wouldn’t fit my height. Now, I think it’s much, much better – or I’ve just found the right places.”
These days, Richards frequents clothing stores such as PrettyLittleThing for her extensive long line, as well as Nasty Gal and others. After learning she would be walking in the show, she first dove into researching what modeling and New York Fashion Week in general entails.. When her friends Onyenwere and Brown heard the news, it made sense to them why Richards was sought out for this opportunity.
“It wasn’t a shock because if you know DiDi, that’s something she would want to do. She was a Sports Illustrated model just a few months ago. This is within her realm, and I’m really proud of her. Now that I’ve seen exactly what [Dur Doux is] able to produce, that’s exactly where she needs to be,” said Onyenwere.
And Richards isn’t the only WNBA star to make a professional foray into fashion. On the same evening as the Dur Doux show, Dallas Wings forward Isabelle Harrison walk for Kim Shui. South Carolina Gamecocks student Destanni Henderson has also made waves with her WNBA draft suit and clothing label HP.
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Brown said it’s time for brands to invest in the untapped potential of the WNBA, from fashion to beauty and lifestyle.
“There are a lot of women in this league who just look put together all the time, whether they have shaved heads, dreads, braids, weaves, wigs,” Brown said.
“We have everything in the league and we all manage to keep it looking really good while we’re training every day. I think, why is it not being used? People are playing with full faces of makeup. We have eyelashes, the girls have done their hair and we don’t look crazy on the pitch.”
Along with Brown and Onyenwere, Richards said she hopes the WNBA continues to grow in the right direction and brands can bridge the gap between fashion and the league at large. Such collaborations can be the first step.
