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“I never really thought that I’d be in a position where people would be wondering what I was wearing,” says Wardell Stephen Curry II, or as fans of the Golden State Warriors, Team USA basketball, or his unmatched skills behind the three-point line call him, Steph. But they do—they care a lot. On LeagueFits, an Instagram account that regularly posts photos of stylish outfits worn by NBA players, over one million followers closely watch their favorite athletes’ style choices. “ID Cardigan?” one person commented on a photo from LeagueFits of Curry wearing a cream sweater with bejeweled buttons and two-tone army-green jeans. “Can anyone ID the pants?” asked another.

When Curry entered the National Basketball Association in 2009, what he and his fellow players wore to games wasn’t something they thought twice about. Fans weren’t thinking about it either. Fifteen years later, though, that’s no longer the case, and now, “tunnel fits,” or outfits worn by players in the tunnels that connect arena back entrances to locker rooms, are a business in and of themselves and a very public way for players to showcase who they are off the court. Because of that, athletes who maybe never considered fashion a priority early on in their careers now see the benefits of leaning into it and, as a result, developing their personal style. Curry is one such player.

On Steph Curry: Bottega Veneta jacket, tank, jeans, and shoes

On Steph Curry: Zegna shirt and bottoms

In the space between his gold medal win in Paris and the start of the 2024–25 NBA season, Curry—who, when compared to fellow pros like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, and Russell Westbrook, has never been known to show out style-wise on game day—debuted head-to-toe looks by Bottega Veneta, Versace, Zegna, and Ferragamo. “THE LOOOOOKS ARE LOOKING,” one commenter wrote on a photo of Curry’s laid-back Zegna look from the US Open that was posted by his stylist since 2023, Jason Bolden. (You might recognize Bolden from his work with Cynthia Erivo on the Wicked press tour and Nicole Kidman.) “Might be the best fit I’ve seen him in,” another person commented on a LeagueFits post showcasing Curry’s Bottega Veneta outfit from New York Fashion Week.

Suffice it to say, with the NBA season now underway, the four-time champion has never had so many eyes on his outfits. And already, he’s living up to the hype, continuing his streak of impressive and unexpected ensembles, now in tunnels across America (and eventually Canada). “Good fit,” LeagueFits captioned a pre-game photo of Curry from early November. “Someone tell Wardell to keep dressing like this.”

On Steph Curry: Ferragamo Nappa Bomber ($6200) and Jeans With Contrasting Stitching ($1090)

Nothing Curry does is by accident or chance. He’s meticulous in everything he pursues, and that includes fashion. The 36-year-old two-time MVP is well aware of the fact that what he and his fellow players wear matters. “These tunnel moments for us, we want to be super intentional,” says Bolden about Curry’s looks this season. People are watching—millions of people. “So when you see those images of him, and you see those ‘fits that everybody goes crazy over, it’s because there’s some intentionality [behind] them. It’s a feeling of, Wow, I really like this brand, Jason. We should really represent them,” the stylist continues. When people pick apart every outfit you wear like it’s game tape, an opportunity to highlight underrepresented designers and brands arises. At least, that’s how Curry and Bolden have chosen to approach some of their tunnel ‘fits in this era of heightened interest surrounding fashion in the NBA.

“I’ve tried to take advantage of all of the opportunities, have fun with it, and [most of all] be intentional,” says Curry of fashion. His main priority is to uplift Black and Brown designers who might otherwise not get the sort of exposure that comes with a player of Curry’s caliber and popularity wearing one of their designs in the tunnel. When a really big game comes around, the duo wants to be ready to give a platform to a smaller, on-the-rise designer of color. “That’s the thing that I’ve really taken even more into consideration [this season],” Bolden says. “Anybody can wear amazing looks, but what’s the intention behind them? There has to be something bigger than clothes, and that’s to celebrate these talented people who don’t get an opportunity to be plastered all over the place.”

On Steph Curry: Savant Studios jacket and pants

But Bolden and Curry aren’t on this mission alone. Curry’s interest in buoying Black and Brown designers in the tunnel started back in 2022, when he partnered with Sherri McMullen, the owner of the Oakland boutique McMullen, and his former stylist, Sheraine Robinson, to highlight designers at several games during Black History Month. At the end of the regular season, he posted some of his favorite looks with the caption, “An honor to showcase just a few crazy talented Black fashion designers in the world this past month. Love to June79, Romeo Hunte, Richfresh, Telfar, and of course, Sherri McMullen of McMullen, for keeping me fresh during Feb. #BHMFits doesn’t stop here… keep going!” To game one of the NBA Finals later that season, he wore a custom suit by Patrick Henry of Richfresh that the league posted on its Instagram account. Right now, that account has 89 million followers. Nearly five million of them saw the video, according to The New York Times.

The following season, when Bolden and Curry began their professional relationship, they took the latter’s initiative a step further, partnering with Rakuten to amplify Black and Brown designers from the Black in Fashion Council in the tunnel. This year, when Curry’s style is at its most noticed, his ability to bolster up-and-coming designers is greater than ever before, which is why he’s once again expanding his relationship with Rakuten, the leading shopping destination for cash back and rewards. Throughout the 2024–25 season, Curry will continue donning ensembles made by Black and Brown designers like Billionaire Boys Club, Áwet, and Saif Ud Deen at select high-publicity games. To make it easy for fans to support these brands, following his tunnel walks, the outfits Curry wears will immediately be made available to shop and earn cash back on from Rakuten, with participating retailers including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Mr. Porter.

On Steph Curry: Des Pierrot jacket and pants

“I’m excited about some looks that are coming up,” Bolden says. “There’s this play on utilitarian that we’re leaning into a lot—the Stephen Curry uniform.” Because it’s so utility-focused, he emphasizes that it’s also relatable and approachable for shoppers who might not be ready to wear something really loud and showy like some of Curry’s fellow NBA players prefer to wear on game days. “I think that anybody can see [these outfits] and they can break them apart,” Bolden says. They can take that “Stephen Curry uniform” and make it theirs.

“One style [I remember] is the Des Pierrot look from our last run,” Curry recalls of the denim jacket and white gauze trousers ensemble he wore in December of 2023. “He still stands out to me as a guy who had an amazing story but also had a signature design language that I really gravitated toward.” Hopefully, he says, the 2024–25 season can bring more moments like that. “The looks will speak volumes,” Curry says. “Then [people will] ask what the brand was, and obviously we’re going to tell them, and then they can shop it.” It might only take 10 seconds for Curry to walk through the tunnel and past the photographers who capture each player’s stylish moment. But for brands, especially ones waiting for their big breaks, those few seconds are all it takes. Curry and Bolden are on a mission to maximize those opportunities as often as possible.

To do so authentically, Curry explains that he has to feel comfortable and connected to what he’s wearing. “I’m great when I get to look at a rack and say, ‘Oh, I like the way that looks and the way that feels,’ or ‘I’m not so sure about that,’ and try something [else] on,” Curry says. “And that whole process has been really fun to be a part of because I need to be pushed in certain directions to know how I can stretch my range and versatility with the ‘fits I put on but [also know that Bolden’s] got to take notes from me on where I feel comfortable and what I [will actually] want to wear.”

Though he’s interested in fashion—an interest that appears to be growing each season—fans shouldn’t expect Curry to suddenly start showing up to games in one extravagant ensemble after another. “I don’t ever want to look like there’s an element of trying too hard just for the sake of being loud,” he says. If he feels like the outfit fits the moment and him, it’ll come across better to fans, appearing authentic instead of contrived. “I like to tell everybody that Steph was quiet luxury before Succession,” says Bolden. “All our emerging designers that we always wear, there’s so much luxury there, but he’s not trying to force-feed you anything.” For the duo, the goal is to show that more designers than just the ones everybody knows about and wears, especially in the league, exist. Their work is beautiful, creative, and able to make an already confident competitor like Curry feel even more ready for tip-off.

“What [athletes] wear speaks volumes—[it says] a little bit about how they feel,” Curry says. When a player walks down the tunnel wearing something they’ve been looking forward to putting on, they walk a little differently, he explains: “He’s got his chest out a little—he’s got a different swag about him.” Fans might never get to speak to their idols on the court. However, they can study what jacket or cool pair of jeans made them excited to get dressed that day. With every outfit he wears in the tunnel, Curry is giving a bit of himself to his fans, offering them a glimpse into how he’s feeling, where his tastes lie, and what he prioritizes in terms of brands and designers. Hopefully, in turn, his priorities will become theirs, too.