You've had a tremendous career that has been split in two multi-cultural cities. What would you say is the biggest difference, from a style point of view, between Toronto and Miami?
The obvious difference would be the weather. In Toronto you can wear a lot of sweaters, scarves, peacoats and thicker fabrics and it can be really fun to play with when the temperature gets down there. If you love layering your looks then Toronto will be a great place to throw some cool things together. In Miami, the more breathable fabrics are the norm. A lot of shorts so make sure you don’t skip leg day. Miami can also be a lot more colorful. Folks are always out enjoying the weather and ready to have a good time so you can go for a more colorful palette. So feel free to experiment.
Traveling from city to city throughout an 82 game regular season can be taxing, what was your preferred method of dress when traveling in season?
Honestly it was sweats. I was known for wearing suits and really dressing up and it gets tiring throughout the course of a whole season. Putting on all that stuff after playing a game and then getting on a flight was challenging. Being comfortable eventually became the preference when traveling so I got into that more later in my career.
How did you go about deciding what your game day fits?
I started working with stylists for the first time in 2010 and haven’t looked back since. My stylist and I, Kesha, would sit down and talk about the whole season look wise. What I felt like and how I wanted to express myself was always the biggest topics. She would then tell me the things that are in for the season and we’d build each look. It took a lot of work, but it’s worth it when I look back at all the fly pictures that are out thee of me walking in the arena!
Who's style do you appreciate most from the current crop of NBA stars?
There’s so many guys out there doing their thing now and I love it. With social media NBA guys are more visible than ever and what they wear plays a big part in that. My favorites are Kyle Kuzma, Kelly Oubre, Shai Gilgeous Alexander because they have their unique ways and they’re the new generation. I always love learning so seing what they wear is sort of a lesson for me to see what their generation is saying and what’s important to them.
In your opinion, which of your former teammates had the best overall style?
I’m going to have to go with the guys that everyone would assume, D Wade and Bron. Everyday was a fashion show. When we played games on the road I always looked forward to seeing what those guys were going to wear. They kept me dressing up and pushing myself to stay fly because I knew they were going to bring it every time. Thinking back on it the best part is that we all had our own lanes and style preferences and everyone stuck with consistently raising the bar.
How do you go about selecting your looks for the different fashion weeks you attend. Do you work with a stylist?
Yes, I still work with the same stylist from my playing days and we pretty much follow the same formula. Fashion week is always about having fun so we’re usually more experimental then and it’s a lot of fun. We’ll shop for things, share Pinterest boards and pictures that inspire us and have a conversation. After all of that Kesha does her thing by putting the looks together and we’ll edit looks until we’re both comfortable.
If you could design one piece of clothing that encompasses your personality most, what item would that be?
I’d probably do a t shirt. I actually design t shirts and send them to my friends. Everyone wears a t shirt and you can put things on them that inspire/move/express whatever it is that you feel.
