Today is the official tip-off for the 2025 WNBA season. The league’s rapidly growing fan base will spend the next several months cheering on their favorite teams and following the moves of their most beloved players, on and off the court.
The WNBA has officially become a thing. Last year, viewer ratings for the league averaged 1.19 million, marking a 170% increase from 2023. Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark was named Rookie of the Year by both the WNBA and Time magazine. The Chicago Sky’s star forward Angel Reese became a social media sensation and attended the Met Gala. These women are not only incredibly talented basketball players—they’re becoming cultural icons. That’s why Coach, the behemoth American fashion label, wanted to get involved with them, and now, the brand and the league are making their partnership official.
In celebration of the start of the WNBA season, Coach has released its first official campaign with several players, including Paige Bueckers (Dallas Wings), Hailey Van Lith (Chicago Sky), Kiki Iriafen (Washington Mystics), Sonia Citron (Washington Mystics), and Aneesha Morrow (Connecticut Sun). In April, Coach announced a long-term partnership with the league, focused, for now, on the label’s bag collections. Coach’s creative director, Stuart Vevers, explained that it was an opportunity for Coach to not only dress the players for pre- and post-games and events, but to align itself with them creatively.
Vevers sees a throughline between the ethos and aesthetics of Coach and the WNBA stars, explaining that “there’s something quite grounded about what they wear and, for lack of a better word, sporty. That ties back to what we do as an American [fashion] house.” He added, “But it’s also a balance—some of these players really want to dress up and express themselves individually, and we’ve really leaned into that individuality.”
This kind of partnership, while common in the NBA, has been a long time coming for the women’s side of the sport. Fashion plays a huge role in men’s basketball, with players dressing in full swag on game days, many decked out in luxury logos thanks to lucrative brand contracts on top of their already massive salaries. (While NBA players’ salaries average around $9 million, the WNBA’s average is still closer to $120,000.) The WNBA, which was founded in 1996, only started gaining attention from the fashion world last year when the league began to overtake the zeitgeist. So Coach’s meaningful, multi-year partnership with the league feels significant, and will hopefully encourage more support from other designers, brands, and conglomerates.
Even if others don’t follow in Coach’s footsteps, there’s no denying the fashion influence these women have on a new generation of WNBA fans. And it’s not because they’re dripping in labels; it’s because they embrace their personal style. “That’s a really exciting part of this,” Vevers said. “We’re getting to know the individual athletes and really helping them to express themselves through fashion.”
While he noted that there aren’t any plans yet for the WNBA partnership to translate to a Coach runway collection collaboration, the possibilities for this team-up are endless. “It feels right and authentic,” Vevers added. “One of the reasons I think this collaboration is so interesting is that it feels part of a forward-looking connection to culture.” Bueckers agrees, noting that the “WNBA thrives at the intersection of sport and culture with talented and outstanding women who find power in self-expression and creativity.”
That self-expressiveness was seen weeks ago at the WNBA Draft, where top players came decked out in tailored suits, beaded dresses, and cool accessories (Coach bags very much included). Some of the looks were buttoned up, while others felt more vibe-y—asymmetrical cropped blazers, deconstructed baggy shorts worn with ruffled socks and creepers, and leather bustier dresses among them. These players understand the current power of a tunnel fit, too. “The tunnel has basically become our runway,” Citron said.
Morrow elaborated, “For me, what you wear walking into a game is more than just clothes. It’s a chance to show who you are.” She added, “As athletes, we use fashion to express our personality, where we’re from, what we care about. In the WNBA, we mix comfort with statement pieces—big silhouettes, bold colors, sneakers or heels—whatever feels like you.”
Fashion means something in this league, and the connection between a player and her wardrobe isn’t a superficial thing. As Van Lith said, “What you wear and your personal style are deeply connected to your mindset—how you approach the game, how you feel, and how you show up on the court.”
In other words, confidence is key, and these women are inspiring others to embrace themselves and their personal style in the same way, especially little girls. Vevers mentioned that he’s excited to take his 4-year-old daughter Vivian to a game soon. “I think it would definitely be very inspiring. It would be great to give her some exposure to this world.”
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