Despite the acceleration of “tunnel fits” in the past few years, the relationship between basketball and men’s fashion has been cemented for decades. As conceptions of menswear have become increasingly loosened, the NBA pre-game tunnel has become a pseudo-runway for athletes, who take advantage of the photo-heavy chance to showcase their personal style. More than that, this near-daily ritual for pro-hoopers is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on a myriad of emerging designers, getting their looks in front of millions of fans. 

With this ethos in mind, Stephen Curry has paired with Rakuten, the leading shopping destination for Cash Back and rewards, to amplify the voices of Black and Brown designers. Building on the partnership that began last year, the game’s greatest shooter joins friend and stylist and founding advisor of the Black in Fashion Council Jason Bolden to amplify emerging brands using basketball’s informal runway as a venue. Following each tunnel walk, these designers’ looks will be available to ship and earn cash back from Rakuten through their retail partners including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Mr Porter with a curated shoppable hub on Rakuten.

VMAN sat down to chat with Steph about his practice of celebrating Black and Brown designers, how his personal style has evolved over the years and the impact that a good fit can have on one’s performance out on the hardwood.

VMAN: Throughout your career, how do you go about showing support for Black and Brown designers?

Stephen Curry: Most recently, just wearing them and making sure people know what you’re wearing, it’s not really about anything more than that. Leveraging my platform has been a cool opportunity. Basketball has opened up so many doors in all different types of areas, but in this space, leveraging the tunnel walks that we have, where we have 82 games and 82 nights, where we’re walking in and there are cameras in the back. I don’t want to be loud just for the sake of being loud, but you can have some self-expression there and try different looks, fits, and brands. Leveraging this partnership with Rakuten, my platform, and their marketplace to drive awareness and business towards these amazing brands and these truly talented Black and Brown designers has been awesome. I’m excited to just get to drive awareness towards an industry and designers within this industry that deserve that awareness.

VMAN: Who have been some of your favorite designers that you’ve been able to learn about throughout this program?

SC: It’s hard to pick a favorite. I’ve worked with Advisry,  Des Pierrot—last year, Head of State, Pierre Blanc, a brand called Savant Studios. I wore multiple looks last year. Des Pierrot was always my favorite, just because of his story. He has a Haitian background, and nobody in his family ever went into the fashion industry. When he talked about why he went into designing, it was because he just had such a belief in himself, despite even the pressure that his family put on him because they didn’t know anything about the industry. He took a chance on himself and it’s paying off. And so I love that, that origin story, and it also speaks to his design language and how he brings his culture to the brand. 

VMAN: Tunnel fits have become such a big thing in the past five years especially. But in the past 15 years of your career, how do you feel that your personal style has changed?

SC: I think I always have a very casual, classic kind of look. I’m on the move all the time, so I want to make sure it’s comfortable and wearable. I always talk about the first fit that I wore to an NBA game my rookie year. I looked like I was off the set of Peaky Blinders. Obviously, style has changed since then. Even trying to wear suits that I had back in the late 2000s or early 2010 and got enough fabric to make two suits out of the ones I used to wear, the fits have gotten a little slimmer, and a little bit more fitted. More versatile, layered looks that you can rock, no matter if it’s going out to the golf course, or going to dinner. It’s been fun taking some chances on some more fashion-forward, more trendy type stuff that I wouldn’t necessarily have worn 10 years ago. I went to New York this past summer for a week of media and tours and stuff. My Golf Tour, we had an event there, and I worked with Jason Bolden, the stylist who’s working on this project with me, and all the fits were elevated, but casual. I feel like that’s the lane that I’m in right now, and really enjoying it. 

VMAN: How do you feel about what has happened with tunnel fits in the past few years? How do you think it’s impacted the culture around basketball and the relationship between basketball and fashion?

SC: It’s adding to the conversation of where sports, music, art, and fashion all collide to create conversations that drive culture forward. It’s another opportunity where guys get to express themselves in all different types of ways. They get to kind of cement moments, whether it’s a big game, a Christmas day game, or the playoffs, or whether it’s a normal Tuesday, it’s just that moment.  Whether you see it on social media, or it’s the little cutaway on TV that’s the preview for the game. It’s just a moment that brings energy and it’s a conversational piece. Some people want the conversation around them to be a shock factor, and some want to be a little bit more understated, like me, and that whole spectrum is cool to kind of watch. Now you have the young guys coming into the league who are getting a head start to enter into that environment. And they “understand the assignment”, as they say. They know that all eyes are on them, and they have an opportunity to showcase who they are and their personality, and there’s no wrong way to do it.

VMAN: Do you remember what you wore for the Paris finals game this year? Do you think it had an impact on your game? 

SC: It wasn’t necessarily the fit, but it was a statement that I had on the fit because I was already kind of manifesting the outcome. There’s always thought put into what you’re going to wear, whether you’re going to go for it or not, or whether you’re going to be super casual. There’s always thought put into it. Look good. Feel good. Play good.

VMAN: Do you think your tunnel fit has an impact on your performance?

SC: 100%. Usually, that means everything else is in order when it comes to your preparation. If you rush to get dressed, that means something already went wrong in your game day routine before that. If I have my fit picked, then everything else seems to kind of fall in order. You’re kind of centered in the moment. You’re very present and aware, because what you have on matters. Whether it’s a big game, playoff game, championship game, whatever it is. It just allows you to be where you would be, where your feet are, and what you wear as a way to kind of submit to that moment.