- The University of Notre Dame and the University of South Carolina will meet in Paris for the first NCAA basketball game.
- Under Armor teamed up with luxury designer Richfresh to create custom suits for both teams.
The NCAA Tournament is about to begin in France.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and South Carolina Gamecocks will meet in the inaugural Oui Play Classic on Monday at 1 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local time). The showdown between the nation’s top 10 women’s college basketball programs will be the first time an NCAA basketball tournament will be held in Paris.
In keeping with the culture of the world’s fashion capital, both teams – both sponsored by Under Armour – were decked out in lavish apparel ahead of the highly anticipated game.
Under Armor has teamed up with Richfresh, a high-end designer seemingly beloved by celebrities like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Deion Sanders and Kevin Hart, to create pieces for players and coaches on both sides of Monday’s game. Customized packages. The resulting eye-popping pieces embody “the perfect fusion of sport, style and luxury,” Richfresh founder Fresh told Insider exclusively.
“It’s going to be the epitome of luxury, and I think that’s what female athletes need,” Fresh said. “A lot of times, a lot of the energy is directed primarily toward male athletes, but I think this is a great opportunity for us to not only empower future generations of female athletes but to really celebrate our current female athletes.”
“They are at the top of their game so they should be dressed in their best clothes,” he added.
From a personal perspective, it “makes sense” for Fresh to take on this project
Fresh believes the story of her rise in fashion has “a lot of similarities” to the story of women in athletics.
After years of struggling to establish herself in the industry while facing severe personal and financial instability, Fresh found herself living in a homeless shelter in 2018. There, he had an epiphany and decided to leave the asylum with $300 to his name.
He soon began working toward his dream, and that same year, he wrote in an article for Mr. Feelgood that he went on to earn $1 million.
Women’s college basketball — and women’s sports more broadly — has experienced a similar meteoric rise recently. Increased ratings, media coverage and funding have helped bring the women’s game into the mainstream.
“You can’t help but see the advancement of women in sports,” Fresh said. “Every sport — whether it’s football, basketball, tennis — women are really changing the game.”
But for Fresh and the female athletes—both, as the designers consider it, “independent” and “self-made” entities—it took years of determination and the decision “that they wanted to really make it, even if Not necessarily taken seriously” breakthrough.
“I didn’t want to be in someone else’s space; I created a space that was mine and I get to pick and choose who comes here,” Fresh told Insider. “I think they’re doing the same thing; they’re playing the game the way they play the game, and they’re not trying to play the game by other people’s standards. This is their ballpark.”
“So I think I’m doing the same thing in the way I approach fashion, in expressing my vision of luxury through my brand Richfresh and through this collaboration,” he added.
Fresh strives to “understand who will wear” his pieces before designing them
A key component of Fresh’s design process is understanding who exactly he is designing for, so as not to “make clothes just for the sake of making clothes.” He spent time talking to coaches and players at Notre Dame and South Carolina to determine “what superpowers they have.”
“Fresh really wanted us players and coaches to be a part of his creative process,” Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo told Insider. “I think it’s really cool because he doesn’t just make clothes for us and say, ‘Okay, go wear them.'” Fresh blends our personalities and games to make sure we feel what he created for us s things. “
After speaking with the muse herself, Fresh began researching each school’s style, color palette and personality. Ultimately, he combines his “personal philosophy” with “what Under Armor stands for” and “what the team stands for” to create a final product that makes the wearer feel “like a winner, like a champion, like luxury.” ,He said. .
“These young ladies are warriors,” Fresh said. “That’s what they go out to do, is fight. So I wanted to make sure I made something that looked like something a warrior should wear. They look like superheroes.”
“When you put it on, you look great,” he added. “When you look good, you play good. When you play good, you’re probably going to win. So I really hope they’re going to feel great. The confidence level is going to be through the roof. It feels so great. Good. Looks really good.”
“Everyone lost it” when seeing the outfits, with players from both sides hoping to get a confidence boost from the new look
Ahead of Monday’s blockbuster game, Fresh flew to Paris to show off his finished product to the Gamecocks and Fighting Irish. Both teams — players and coaches — are excited to see their new leads.
“There was a lot of commotion; the room was kind of shaking,” Fresh said. “You got to experience it here. It was consistent at the same time and everyone lost it, so it was awesome.”
“But they should do it because we lose it when we see it and we know it represents them well,” he added.
Players from both teams agreed, with Notre Dame sophomore KK Bransford and South Carolina sophomore Raven Johnson saying that when “you look good, you play good.”
Bransford added: “Being able to express our charisma on the pitch definitely shines through in my opinion.”
Johnson also noted that the collaboration will likely help “elevate” women’s college basketball’s profile among the general public, especially considering “guys like Steph Curry and LeBron James are wearing this style.” .
“Women’s basketball is going to continue to rise because of things like this,” she added.
The broader impact of Fresh and Under Armor’s efforts and the entire Oui Play Classic is not lost on Fighting Irish senior forward Nat Marshall:
“This event is a landmark moment, not just for women’s basketball, but for women’s sports as a whole,” Marshall told Insider. “By partnering with Richfresh, we put women first and put our To be elevated to the biggest stage means a lot to all of us.”