by With a record 2.45 million viewers, last week’s WNBA Draft brought global recognition to the professional league’s top players.
Breakout stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Nika Mühl, Kamilla Cardoso and Paige Bueckers were just as toasted for their red carpet choices as their on-court prowess. Some of the designers who wore them had less of a boom in their respective businesses. While the Indiana Fever, Clark was bound to attract a lot of publicity for Prada wearing a midriff-baring suit from the European house, and the Chicago Sky’s top recruit, Reese, caused brand awareness for the Bronx and Banco on the rise by making a sparkling choice. hooded dress, Mühl and Cardoso chose lesser known names. The Harlem-based Domo Wilkins suited Mühl to Buekers in a black criss-cross bolero and long skirt and a tailored Louis Vuitton suit. Cardoso also went with an under-the-radar talent: the Lexington, SC-based Minh Le.
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Not being name-checked in the post-draft media blitz, Wilkins and Le’s lives are status quo for the time being, proving once again that tangential fame doesn’t necessarily equate to automatic financial gains. He still moonlights four days a week making changes at the Harlem laundromat and continues to offer his top-shelf skills to locals at a more affordable price.
Bronx and Banco founder Natalie De’Banco said the interest in the WNBA Draft represented “such a shift for the industry” and a fresh event to focus on. “Last year was all about Beyoncé, the Oscars and fashion influencers,” she said. “I’m really inspired by athletes, especially female athletes. We all follow men’s sports, of course. But 18.9 million people watched the women’s NCAA basketball final compared to 14.8 million for the men. And millions watched the WNBA Draft. It’s inspiring that so many people supported strong women and wanted to see what they were up to,” she said.
It was inspiring to De’Banco and other women to see how Reese, a “stunning” athlete and recent college grad, looks “so beautiful” to De’Banco and other women. Surprised by the amount of coverage Reese generated especially from fashion outlets, she said, “It wasn’t about PR. It was more about supporting Angela in her career.”
It is too early to tell whether the media attention will lead to opportunities for investors, new retail accounts or an increase in online sales. But De’Banco said the draft reflected how things are changing in the industry, and how her customers have interests outside of the route. “She wants to be strong, sporty and healthy. I just love that it’s all connecting now. Three or four years ago sports and fashion were so far apart.”
Looking at Reese in Bronx and Banco, she said, “Angel looked so beautiful in the dress, and she’s not a typical fashion model. She is an amazing athlete, who just graduated from college. To me, health is wealth.” Started in Sydney 16 years ago, the company is now run from a New York showroom near Khaite and Prada in SoHo.
Despite the media coverage of the top contenders and draft picks, Le’s name was not mentioned in any WNBA Draft articles. During an interview on Wednesday morning, the 51-year-old self-taught designer described his story only in America. Born in Vietnam, she moved with her father and sister to Boston in 1994 and became a US citizen in 2000. Her father was imprisoned after the fall of Saigon in 1975 for serving for American forces during the Vietnam War. , now has symptoms of Alzheimer’s type, she said. “My mother still lives in Vietnam. We never had a relationship. She left me, when I was a child.”
Before starting her own company, Le lived in Connecticut for ten years, where she opened and ran three nail salons. Another was added in South Carolina. She returned to Lexington, SC in a balmy climate that reminded her of Vietnam and was ideal for her two children’s competitive swimming pursuits. That place had a back room where she could sew – her favorite form of relaxation. After selling the nail salons, the designer opened her shop 831 Minhle as there was a vacancy for needlework and tailoring in the community. “Everyone is sending that kind of work out of the country. I wanted to share my skills and let people know that I think locally and feel like a real woman because of them,” she said.
Admitting that people “here in my hometown don’t have $2,000 for a custom couture suit,” she said they are given the same services. Every month she sells around 20 suits to locals for $750 to $850 each.
Three years ago she made her first custom suit for University of South Carolina basketball player A’ja Wilson, the 6’4” forward with whom she continues to work. Le do Wilson has designed a suit and formal dress to wear at this week’s Time 100 Most Influential People events in New York. “This is the American dream. I came here with nothing. I worked very hard and I had my dream,” she said. “I taught myself how to sew and speak English. People can have a dream and work hard to get there.”
Le’s understanding of fitness is so acute that she often does it for other players she has never seen in person including NBA stars like Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat. Of course, clients send measurements regularly, “but they’re never right,” said Le, who continues. “I go online and find some videos of them playing and study their bodies. Then I will come up with the measurements from there,” she said. “Athletes’ bodies are different. They are tall. Their shoulders are wider. They are solid muscles from working out a lot. I have to emphasize how to make them look feminine.”
Le is also adept at creating items for Cardoso’s 6-foot, 7-inch frame, whose pant legs stretch 53 inches. Despite dressing high-profile players, the designer said she is well-known locally but no longer. With no investors, she could not afford advertising and other promotions. “I love my work, but I don’t know how to market myself. I have a PR [person] in New York but somehow it still doesn’t work well. It’s really hard to get into fashion magazines, because it’s so competitive,” said Le. “I want people to know that even a small business owner in a small town like me can do the best work. Everyone deserves to look their best and feel like a celebrity.”
The Harlem-based Wilkins had a pre-draft fashion emergency, and had to run out to Pacific Trimming to replace a button that had accidentally been left on Buekers’ Louis Vuitton ensemble. He launched Faded NYC, a unisex line 12 years ago and has been designing custom pieces during that time.
Most clients and stylists connect with Wilkins through Instagram, as recently happened with musician Erykah Badu, who reaches out directly to him with a video. Overall, though, the media attention of late has been “boy likes on Instagram, comments and maybe a few more opportunities from other followers,” he said. “It’s difficult because some designers don’t get the recognition they deserve. Another issue is that sometimes stylists like to take more of the shine. Honestly, they just choose the outfit. If it doesn’t fit they can’t fix it – we fix it.”
Measurements can also be difficult. After asking a celebrity for measurements, Wilkins said it was up to someone else to take them, despite being the person who designed the outfit. “It’s weird and awkward. I don’t know what their agenda is.”
Faded NYC business is “kind of slow” right now for Wilkins, a graduate of the Art Institute of the City of New York, who makes up for it with a good number of custom orders and alterations at United Laundré, a local laundromat, four times a week.
While he was paid for the WNBA Draft work he did for stylist Brittany Hampton within days, slow payment for VIP designs is a recurring issue with some stylists, who can take weeks or months to pay, Wilkins said.
“It depends on the stylist or maybe their budget. I am currently still waiting to be paid for a job I did in February. I think it should be the next day or when the job is done. I shouldn’t have to wait for weeks, because the stylist is always working with the artist. Why do I have to wait?”
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