PHILADELPHIA — As fashionistas watched celebrities pay homage to the late Karl Lagerfeld at Monday night’s Met Gala, Philadelphia 76er James Harden surprised basketball fans, arriving at the first playoff game against the Celtics in a furry, blue sweat suit.
Turns out the two-piece outfit wasn’t designed on Sesame Street, but in Milan. The color-block zip-up — reminiscent of the ’90s Eight Ball jacket — and matching furry, wide-legged pants — were made by the Italian design house Marni, according to a Sixers spokesperson. The suit is one-of-a-kind. (How could there be another one?)
Harden’s fashion choices are sometimes strange. But the shooting guard’s style is a playful breath of fresh air, and his gravitation toward bright colors mirrors his bright personality. His choice of silhouettes — especially the wide legs — makes me think he’s a risk taker. (Did you see the way he miraculously lifted the team to a 115-to-119 victory over the Celtics?)
And Harden’s full beard is not just a shout-out to his Philly fans — both hipsters and homeboys — who love him, but also suggests an artistic and warm vibe that’s becoming more popular in male-dominated sports, thanks to athletes like Dwyane Wade, who, along with his wife, Gabrielle Union, were sleek and debonair in Prada at the Met Gala.
A bit about Marni: The Milan-based fashion house, founded in 1994, was once strictly a furrier. Over the years, however, the house has become known for its daring use of bold color in men’s and women’s silhouettes, prioritizing fun over the expected. Creative director Francesco Risso was a designer at Prada before coming to Marni in 2016.
Under Risso, Marni has become a vibrant streetwear line with recent collabs that include Uniqlo and Carhartt. Marni presented its Spring 2023 collection under the Manhattan Bridge during New York Fashion week in September, marking the first time the fashion house ventured outside of Milan for a collection. The list of celebrity Marni fans is as long as it is eclectic and include Meryl Streep, Billie Eilish, and Regé-Jean Page. Last week Tracee Ellis-Ross posed for the ‘gram in a boxy, banana yellow pantsuit.
I’d wear that.
So while all of haute Hollywood was turning heads at the Met Gala, Harden was making history — on and off the court.
Philly for the play-off win — and a fashion slam dunk.
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