Met Gala Is Filled With Pro Athletes; Dressing Them Is A Unique Challenge

When Brittney Griner became the first WNBA player to attend the Met Gala in 2023, just months after being released from a Russian prison in a high-profile prisoner swap, she looked effortlessly cool and chic in a custom-made Calvin Klein suit. (More Sports News)

Behind the look was celebrity stylist Courtney Mays, who has dressed some of sports' biggest stars for more than a decade. Putting together a glamorous gala look for any celebrity is a tall task, but, when working with the unique proportions of professional athletes 바카라� Griner is 6'9" 바카라� the job becomes much more complicated.

Couple that with working under the constraints put forth by Vogue editor Anna Wintour: The Met Gala chair provides a list of designers she envisions the guest in 바카라� then it바카라�s up to the stylist to put together a look within those parameters.

바카라�It was a learning experience for me,바카라� Mays said. 바카라�I had a voice in that world, in a way, but also when Anna says: 바카라�I want you to wear this,바카라� you kind of have to go along with it.바카라�

Mays said they chose Calvin Klein to celebrate an American designer and tap into the patriotism of Griner바카라�s emotional return.

바카라�And also, somebody that was a little bit minimalist and could really execute something that wasn바카라�t necessarily about the clothes, but really about the homecoming and her journey and the union between she and her wife,바카라� Mays said. They opted for a champagne-colored look for Griner and a white, corseted dress for her wife Cherelle, 바카라�sort of like a fresh start, a new lease kind of metaphor.바카라�

Mays and the team pulled the look together in three weeks, flying to Phoenix once a week for 바카라�long and intense바카라� fittings with several tailors. Then Mays tapped Los Angeles shoemaker George Esquivel, who had previously made shoes for NBA stars Kevin Love and DeAndre Jordan, to craft a custom men's size 18 pair for Griner.

Mays바카라� personal experience as a 6-foot-tall woman has helped her relate to the dressing struggles of many of the athletes she works with.

바카라�I am a plus-size woman, and so fashion for me has always been sort of bittersweet, but also an opportunity for me to be creative in how I found pieces to wear,바카라� she said. 바카라�And so, the fact that I바카라�ve been able to work in the sports world, which means I have clients that are 6'9," ... women that wear size men바카라�s 12 and 13 shoe, I have to really think outside the box.바카라�

Athletes at the Met

Over the last few years, more and more athletes have received coveted invites to the annual fundraiser. This year, sports are at the forefront of the gala with Formula One star Lewis Hamilton as a co-chair, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as an honorary chair and several other athletes on the host committee.

Hamilton was asked Thursday what he바카라�d be wearing to the gala.

바카라�I don바카라�t even know,바카라� he said. 바카라�Not putting much thought to it.바카라�

But he gushed about his work with Wintour.

바카라�It바카라�s amazing working with Anna and her team,바카라� he said. 바카라�It바카라�s been a privilege to be able to continue to do stuff with fashion. It바카라�s fun. But Anna바카라�s been really understanding. I haven바카라�t had a lot of time to deal with it a huge amount 바카라� but the work has been in drips over the past like two years already with us, so, yeah, excited for people to see it.바카라�

Wintour told 바카라�Good Morning America바카라� on Friday that she 바카라�still doesn바카라�t know what Lewis is wearing바카라� but trusts him.

Monday's Met Gala kicks off this year's Metropolitan Museum of Art spring costume exhibit, 바카라�Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,바카라� and the accompanying dress code is 바카라�Tailored For You.바카라� Mays has long pushed for increased representation of athletes, especially those who are Black, in luxury fashion spaces.

바카라�I바카라�m hoping that this sort of turns a leaf in the way that fashion respects the Black community, but also just underrepresented people, because you바카라�re going to see so many people at the Met that are going to champion Black designers,바카라� she said. 바카라�I바카라�m hoping that you see people that you haven바카라�t seen before. I바카라�m hoping that it sort of opens up the conversation so that we바카라�re not having to fight so hard to get approval from the luxury space, that we바카라�re supposed to be here.바카라�

Tunnel fits and basketball style

Though styling Griner was her first experience with the Met Gala, Mays바카라� work has long been a mainstay of professional basketball바카라�s unofficial runway known as tunnel fits.

NBA players started the trend, arriving at the arena dressed to the nines and being photographed walking through the tunnel to the locker room. In recent years, WNBA stars have followed suit, with their style getting much more attention.

Mays, who has styled Love, Jordan and 20-year NBA veteran Chris Paul, also has a heavy imprint on WNBA style. She's dressed the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart, the Connecticut Sun's Tina Charles and retired star Sue Bird.

바카라�What she does best is she makes it so that I feel my best in the clothes that I바카라�m wearing,바카라� Stewart said. 바카라�And really, that바카라�s the biggest thing behind it. Because when you see all these tunnel fits and people walking, you want them to portray who they are and feel their best.바카라�

Mays sees her work with WNBA players as a perfect way to showcase her passion for championing diversity and inclusion.

바카라�As the media starts to lock into tunnel fits and what the girls are wearing, I hope we get to see more of a wider lens cast on some of the style sensibility,바카라� she said. 바카라�We locked really heavily into women that men think are attractive, if I바카라�m just being honest, and I hope that we바카라�re able to see some of the women that are masculine-presenting, some of the women that are dressing more gender-fluid. There바카라�s such a vast, wide spectrum of different styles, and I think that바카라�s what바카라�s so cool about the tunnel fits, is that you see such a diversity and style sensibility.바카라�

The 6-foot-4 Charles has worked with Mays since she was taken with the first overall pick in the 2010 draft. Dressing while she was growing up was sometimes tricky but collaborating with Mays has simplified things. She leans toward expertly tailored suits that highlight her height and athletic build.

바카라�She바카라�s the one who gave me my confidence in my appearance, and so it바카라�s been a great partnership,바카라� Charles said. 바카라�It just goes a long way off the court when I바카라�m not with her and just how I feel.바카라�

Mays is participating in the Met Gala again this year, and says to expect 바카라�a visual attempt to show that diversity in style when you see women in sports.바카라�

바카라�My ethos has always been how can we converge sport and style in a way that바카라�s authentic and in a way that feels diverse,바카라� she said. 바카라�And what was really interesting to me is, with the Met바카라�s chairpeople, to see two athletes a part of the conversation 바카라� I think that opens the door for other athletes to participate.바카라�