Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Indochino and More – WWD

Luxury brands have taken over the NBA Draft.

The 2022 NBA Draft kicked off on Thursday at Barclays Center in New York City with the Orlando Magic selecting Duke’s Paolo Banchero at number one. And though the first pick set the tone for an historic night in basketball, the outfits did just the same for menswear.

This year, Neiman Marcus, Indochino and image director Kesha McLeod outfitted most of the draftees in suits, diamond accessories and timepieces. Leading up to the event, NBA sponsor Hennessy teamed with Louis Vuitton fine jewelry designer Lorenz Bäumer on a magnum decanter carafe for the league’s 75th anniversary, and gifted a one-of-a-kind version to DJ Khaled. Also Philips held an activation and Moose Knuckles hosted a dinner celebrating the draftees before their big day.

Draftees went bold and bright this year, starting with Banchero, who wore a purple double-breasted Dolce & Gabbana suit with rhinestones, diamond “P5” chain and Richard Mille watch. He said in an interview that he wore purple to honor his parents who went to University of Washington.

Image director McLeod dressed Benn Mathurin, Jalen Williams, Kendall Brown and EJ Liddell in brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Hublot, among others. The draftees arrived with Rimowa suitcases and received gift boxes with product from brands such as H&M, MCM, Moose Knuckles, Billionaire Boys Club, Filson, Spalding, Stance, Monfrere, Avirex, Raftis by Ari, Thursday Boot, Top Tier, ATM, Blue Scarpa, Falconeri, James Cosmetics and Venn Skincare.

McLeod dressed Mathurin in a red floral Dolce & Gabbana suit, Hublot watch and jewelry provided by Eric Mavani, known as Eric Da Jeweler; Williams in Gucci, Hublot and jewelry from Eric Da Jewelry, and Kendall Brown in Gucci shoes with a Kilburne and Finch suit. His watch was supplied by Jason of Beverly Hills.

Indochino styled six draftees for the evening, including Keegan Murray, Mark Williams, Nikola Jovic, Ousmane Dieng, Jeremy Sochan and Blake Wesley. Murray wore a herringbone charcoal suit, Williams repped his alma mater Duke in a bold bird’s-eye deep blue suit, Jovic sported a glen check midnight blue suit, Dieng who was drafted by the New York Knicks and immediately traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder wore a solid red suit, Sochan went bright in a bird’s-eye lilac and Wesley was drafted in a classic black suit.

These six draftees join a long list of players to have been styled by Indochino including Chris Paul, brand ambassador RJ Barrett and his Knicks teammates Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley, and new NBA Champions Jordan Poole and James Wiseman of the Golden State Warriors.

“It’s a privilege to be able to dress these players and expand Indochino’s presence,” said Indochino chief executive officer Drew Green. “To be able to dress several of this year’s NBA Draft picks is a privilege for our brand and offers us the opportunity to inspire avid basketball fans to create their own custom apparel.”

Neiman Marcus, as part of their Concrete Runway campaign, dressed number-two pick Chet Holmgren and AJ Griffin for their Draft Day, Draft Night and signing-day looks. Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills style adviser Roman Tioseco dressed Holmgren in a full Ermenegildo Zegna outfit and Griffin in a Giorgio Armani dinner jacket and Emporio Armani tuxedo pants, Tom Ford tuxedo shirt, Eton velvet bow tie and Christian Louboutin velvet loafers.

“This is our second year styling players for the draft,” said Bruce Pask, men’s fashion director of Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. “We believe many of our customers look to athletes for style inspiration, and they trust Neiman Marcus as the preeminent destination for luxury menswear.”

Pask added that the draft is significant for marking the beginning of the athletes’ professional careers and their personal brands. “College athletes have [an over] 400 percent higher engagement rate versus the average industry influencer benchmark,” he said. “We connect with new customers in a meaningful way while also joining a culturally relevant conversation. As part of Neiman Marcus’ debut ‘Concrete Runway’ campaign, we hope this will be a platform to explore athlete partnerships beyond the draft in the future.”

“It was great getting to team with Neiman Marcus for my draft night look,” Holmgren said. “They had an incredible selection of options, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we came up with and how it was made-to-measure in the style I really like. I’ll be working hard all season long to give my best on the court, and off the court, as far as style goes, I feel like I’m off to a good start.”

Standouts from the night include Tari Eason’s emerald green dinner jacket and diamond accessories, Dyson Daniels sported a silver suit, Jalen Duren and Johnny Davis wore burgundy ensembles, Jabari Smith lined his suit jacket with his memories playing at Auburn University and Shaedon Sharpe wore a jacket with his logo as an allover pattern.