The Who What Wear Podcast: Go Sports! Athlete Stylists Brittany Hampton and Manny Jay on Dressing WNBA It Girls, and Why It's More Than Picking Out Clothes

0:10Welcome to the Who What Wear podcast, your direct line to the designers, stylists, beauty experts, editors, and tastemakers who are shaping the ever-evolving world of fashion. I'm Who It Wears co-founder and chief content officer Hillary Kerr, and today I'm passing the mic to our senior fashion editor Eliza Huber. Eliza writes our incredible Go Sports features where she dives into the intersection of sports and fashion, and today she's sitting down with two of the top stylists working with athletes today, Brittany Hampton and Manny J. Britney has been styling in the sports arena for years, and her impressive client roster includes Sabrina Unescu, Cameron Brink, and Paige Beckers.

0:57She frequently collaborates with Nike, runs her own creative agency, and most recently became the Golden State Valkyries fashion strategist. Manny started his styling career learning from the best, including Patricia Field and Law Roach, before going off on his own to style musicians like Trippie Redd and Tink. Manny got into WNBA styling recently through his partnership with Skylar Diggins-Smith, and he also recently launched his own podcast, Styling My Way Through. There's so much to cover, from the true impact of tunnel fits to prepping for the WNBA All-Star Weekend. It's all coming up on Who What Wear.

1:45Manny and Brittany, welcome to the podcast. Hi. Thank you for having us. Of course. I'm a huge fan of both of you. But for those in our audience who aren't following your work quite as closely, Brittany is a creative director, designer, and stylist who's worked with stars across the sports world, including Sabrina Ionescu, Cameron Brink, Evan Mobley, Paige Beckers, and Nika Mule. Manny is newer to styling athletes, but certainly not to styling. He's worked with musicians like Mona Leo, Trippie Redd, and Tink, and most recently teamed up with two-time League Fitz MVP Skylar Diggins ahead of the 2025 WNBA season.

2:26So I want to start at the beginning. Manny, do you remember when you first realized that you wanted to be a stylist? And how did you go about pursuing it as a career and building your portfolio of clients? I think I kind of started when I first was shopping on my own. My parents gave me the free will to shop when I was like eight or nine, just like pick out whatever you want. We're just going to buy it. So that led to like me picking out my fits. And then my sister being like, well, I like what you're wearing. How about you pick out my fits? So I started doing that. That led to like my mom being like, well, you got to pick out my fits too.

2:58So that was something that I naturally was just doing all the time. Then I started going into like my friendships and then my friends would be like back to school shopping. Can you come with me to go back to school shopping? And I'd be like, sure. And I'd be picking out their fits. What ended up happening in my life was I ended up getting cancer right after I graduated when I was 19. At that time, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I knew I didn't want to go to college, but I was like, if I beat this or when I beat this, I want to pursue something that would be like ideally a dream. I ended up going into remission And then at 20, I was pretty much in the clear.

3:31I met some friends on MySpace at the time, Coco and Breezy. And we just became really good friends. And they were like, hey, you know, what you're doing with your friends and what you're doing back home, that's styling. You can get paid for that. That's a career. You should move to New York. I have friends that are making a lot of money doing this and are really fulfilled. And I was like, you know what? That sounds like my calling. I think I'm going to try to do that. And coming from a small town like Lancaster, Pennsylvania, that was a big deal. No one really left home. So me moving to New York and just kind of assisting wherever I could work.

4:01I was just there brick by brick. I was building something for myself and making connections. I was pretty much manifesting it. I was like, I'm a big time stylist, even though I didn't even know I was a stylist till the day I moved to New York. You know, I love that all it takes is sometimes just someone being like, this is what you're already doing. You're already doing this. And it just clicks into place. Yeah. I feel like that's how a lot of our starts happen because I can kind of say the same thing, honestly. It's like styling ended up being within family first and then friends. It's like you lean into what you know you're good at.

4:33Like designing was so easy for me because my grandmother was a designer, but then becoming a stylist was like, how do I challenge myself? And then how do I do it for people that I know and love and people that I don't necessarily know? And how do we define who they are as characters in this world. So yeah. Yeah. I'm so curious, like you started out designing Brittany. When did that switch happen that you were like, okay, we're going to change this up. So I've been designing since I was a kid. Like my chores as kids weren't regular chores. Like I didn't get to wash dishes. I didn't pull out the vacuum cleaner.

5:09Like my grandmother was always like pick needles out of carpet. So when it came down to like me being above age, my grandmother always taught me that if I sketch something, I had to physically sew it, which stopped me from sketching because eventually I was like, I don't want to sketch anymore then. But I found myself in high school still sketching where, you know, you might be not paying attention in class and just doodling away. And there were girls that were in my class that were like, hey, could you design my prom dress? That was a time when like Heatherette and Betsy Johnson were like the go-tos.

5:40And so MySpace, clearly we're showing our age, Manny. Millennials, we're millennials here. So MySpace at the time was really big on finding the new up and coming artists. And I had that platform to kind of showcase that I was a designer and made a couple girls prom dresses. And it kind of went viral. Like I was making dresses for girls in Houston and in LA and just hand doing it and then mailing it out. I had a brand called Dolls Couture. It's so funny. I had a girl walk up to me one night and was like, you made my dress. And I was like, that's insane. And so going from that into styling, moving to LA, I was working for fashion shows, runway shows, and LA was the closest for me.

6:26So it was always easy to be like a backstage dresser and then end up leading into styling. I feel like everyone who got into social media early is so successful now. It's like, that was the ultimate. You hear that about YouTube a lot. If you leaned into YouTube in the beginning. You were it. You're it, yeah. Okay, so Manny, you mostly styled musicians up until you met Skylar. Yes. Was that intentional? And now that you've broken into the WNBA, do you see yourself leaning more into sports in the future? I'm kind of a believer of manifesting. At one point, my manifestations were like, oh, I want to work with like Disney kids and up and coming talent.

7:03And then I was like, oh, I want to do actresses. And then I started getting actresses manifesting that type of work. Then it was musicians, which I really enjoy because I get to be a little bit more creative. So that has been like the lane that I've been in for the last few years, heavy. But just last year, I started saying to myself, I want to start doing tunnel walks at the top of the year. And by the end of the year, that's when I had met Skylar. So yeah, I kind of manifested that too. I love it. I think that there's so much opportunity within the sports styling world. And I've come to realize that a lot of brands love athletes as well.

7:35So that has been fun working with different brands that want to support. I can see myself doing a lot more sports styling too. And there's different sports. I feel like the best thing that I've even recognized is it's like I started in the WNBA. But then I was like, wait a second, there's tennis and I have Sloan Stevens and there's Jess Sims who does Peloton. Like there's so many different athletes that you're kind of just like, oh, wow, this is insane. How do you approach them all differently when it's different sports? Do you have to research a ton into the sport or like how does that work? It is actually funny.

8:07I tell people all the time. I'm like, don't ask me stats. I don't know stats. I like barely even have time to really catch a game. But to be honest with you, mainly it's because of body types. Like we constantly go into different silhouettes. And as stylists, we have to start draping pieces on our clients. I think for us, it was like, okay, how do I fit my mold into every different sport and every different athlete, but be able to really identify who they are and then be able to like bring them the things that they need to be their person. I mean, one of my favorite things about sports and fashion is the history.

8:38And like, there's so many cool athletes through history that just have really rolled up to their sport and the coolest looks, whether that's on the court or off it. And seeing the old school tunnel walks too, like they were insane. And like seeing Jordan, seeing like Allen Iverson, just like Dennis Rodman really pull up. It's like, oh my gosh, like they were fashion gods. I love it. Here we are repeating history, but fashion always repeats itself. So it works out. Completely. Brittany, you've been a staple in the sports world for a while now in different leagues and different levels, but it seems like women's basketball and the W now specifically are your biggest styling markets.

9:15What to you makes this space so fulfilling and these women so fun to work with? Yeah, so it's actually funny. It's a unique story. I think that we see youth differently, right? I think it's because we've been in their shoes. To be able to identify with who they are and help mold them into who they're about to become, especially stepping into their power, I think that's been my main stance. I think getting Paige was one thing and then being with her through her career when she tore ACL and she became the comeback kid. And like you put your faith in these kids. That really helps kind of define who they are and then who you are to them as their mentor.

9:56And they like to call me their auntie. And I love that. I love that. And so the same thing came about with all the other Yukon girlies that I got to support. I've got Cam now and then the Asias and the Kelsey Plums and, you know, the DTs of the world. I've gotten to work with literally any and everyone. I take their perspectives as very unique, but then I try to redefine the younger girls and the rookies and really just be able to help them and lead them into their way. I feel like you need the same thing you're doing for the Valkyries at UConn. You're like made UConn into a fashion destination.

10:30I have. That's so dope. I love it. The WNBA has grown so much in the last few years, and you've seen it through the whole timeline. How have you seen the relationship between fashion, the league, and its stars change and adapt with that growth? I think that it's all about impact, right? I think that because we've worked with celebrities at all capacities, we've worked with artists, we've worked with actors, musicians, we see a different star power that these women carry, that they are now stepping into a different portion of marketing that allows them to do what they are finally allowed to do.

11:08For example, they're just now flying private via Delta and the WNBA. They weren't before. They were flying commercial and people didn't know that they were sharing rooms, doing the things that the NBA doesn't necessarily allow their players to do, right? So they're starting to get that momentum and starting to get the same things that the other players are getting. It's for us to try to figure out what those marketing avenues are, what brands are going to be approachable, and how they can help and continue to put value into these players. Well said. Manny, you mentioned this, like how many more brands you're seeing that are really into dressing athletes for the W?

11:46Brands are reaching out to you. Brands are reaching out to your clients. How have you seen that grow? And if there are any brands that you've found that are just so invested in the sport and these women? I came into the styling world of sports with a client that already had a name for herself. I found it that brands, they were like, okay, yes, yes. But I can't speak for other people and how brands have treated them. I'd be more interested in you, Brittany. How have you over the years grown into like building those relationships with those brands? It's funny because you do have the key girls. Like you have Skylar and you have Rekia.

12:20And I just started working with Rekia too on like another project that we have. And to be honest with you, it is different. Like there are brands that are still out there saying no. It's not necessarily that they don't want to support. It's they may not have the size ranges. We're dealing with girls that are far over six foot, far over. They may not have a size 13, size 14 shoe. But when it comes down to the brands that are willing to support, there's a range of them. There's emerging designers who want that opportunity to showcase what they have, which we love going for because honestly, they support us too in all of our fields.

12:54But then you look at the bigger ones too. like Coach, for example, who obviously teamed up with the WNBA. And who would have thought that like a luxury company who's defined as leather goods would be able to support in that capacity. But it all makes sense, right? Because they also define each and every single girl. So it brings back that nostalgic type of feel of who that younger rookie is. And then it brings it into like the WNBA. But then you also have ones like Stuart Weitzman, who is very much that higher end luxury brand shoe wear that wants to be able to revolve and forward, of course, all over the globe.

13:30So they want to be able to support in any capacity. So it's been nice. I loved coach at the draft. I feel like every single girl had a different look that felt really fitting to their personal style, which can be tricky. You know, like with one brand, it can end up all the people look the same, but it was so individualistic. I loved the tiny details in everyone's look. It was just great to see. Yeah, they worked really closely with us with Paige and she was in the championship that entire week. And so it was like putting her in front of all of that and then getting swatches to her for the first time.

14:03She was like, what should I do? And I was like, I want you to pick. I'm also that auntie that I'm like, you need to pick. I want you to think about what makes you look great. So do you feel like you're like that with all of your clients? Because I feel like some W players that I talked to are like, I don't want to really think about it. getting dressed for the tunnel can stress me out, actually. My stylist is there to make my life easier, you know, like, or do you want your clients to really have a hands-on approach and make decisions like that? How do you deal with that, Rani? I'm lucky because Skylar, like, is really easy.

14:34As long as it's fly, she's good. So how I make it a little bit more collaborative with her is because I don't do in-person fittings. I usually just ship her stuff. I already have a photo of the look. I go on Pinterest, cut it out, put it on a board for her, and I'll give her like three shoe options, three bag options. And I'm like, girl, you can't go wrong. Cause I like either shoe with this look or either bag with this look. So that kind of feels a little collaborative to me. Cause sometimes I'm surprised. I'm like, Oh, she shows that shoe with that bag. Okay, cool. I love that. And honestly, it's the same way.

15:03Like, don't get me wrong. There are some that are like, I really want to get dressed like the Nika's of the world. I tell people all the time, Nika is that it girl. She will send me seven pages of a mood board. These are the seven looks that I'm going for. These are the glasses that I want with it. And it really is that collaborative effort. I showcase different brands to her that maybe she may not necessarily know, but she's really intrigued by them and she wants to get to know them. And then you have the ones like Sabrina and Paige who are just like, sometimes I just want to get my head into the game.

15:32And I'm like, you know what? You do that. Let's bring up that Nike little spot. And let's make sure it's a good fit. Right, right, right, right. Period. I've been loving all of Sabrina's Bottega bags. Same. I tell her all the time, I'm like, girl, just let me borrow something. That white Andiamo is like so good. She's killing it. One of her favorite colors this season is that butter yellow that everyone's obsessed with. I can't wait. That version of the Andiamo and the butter yellow is the dreamiest bag. Love it. Manny, I want to talk about Skylar. Like, how did you two meet? And her being such a veteran presence in the tunnel, what is it like working with someone who has such an established understanding of their personal style?

16:16So my agent, she set it up so that I could style Skylar for the F1 event last year towards, it was like probably September. And I already knew about Skylar. I'm not big on sports, but Skylar was a name that millennials knew. She was like the first baddie. So I had been doing my research. I was like, okay, so she's really respected in the tunnel. I only had to style her for one look for the F1 event. I know the one. Yeah, the black, all black. But I bought about six or eight racks of clothes just because I was like, you know what? I want to show her clothes that she might not wear tonight, but she might want to wear in the future.

16:50More options. I don't got to sweat it. I'm like, OK, something's got to work. She went through all the racks. She came in. Her energy was good and cool. And she was just excited to try on clothes. And she was just loving everything. She was like, yo, I got to wear this for a tunnel. Let's do this tonight. But I would love to see you for the unrivaled tunnel season, which was the first season I worked with her. Yeah, the rest was kind of history. I already knew, like, just by doing my research, her style, how she loves suiting sets and things of that nature. My vision coming in was just like, yo, let's make you more runway.

17:18Let's get you into more, like, brands and stuff. I want to see you at the Met Gala. I want to see you doing campaigns. Because I think that, you know, with her history of fashion, she's going to be more visible. And let's get more editorial stuff going. Let's try to, like, turn up the notch, you know? I loved all the Ferrari looks during Unrivaled. And then that off-white look in the W. Thank you. Yeah. Oh, good. obsessed. Yeah, that also showcases our role in this too, right? It's like we're not just bringing them clothes. We're not shoppers. We're actual like image curators. You want them to get that outreach from the brands and from the editorials to really push.

17:53It's like these girls are who they need to be. I'm like, Skylar, you're exactly who you think you are, girl. So let's go. And she's playing like a beast. Yeah, exactly. She's one of my favorite players to watch on court because her personality shows so much she's so fun to watch and then to know that she's a mom off i'm like oh my gosh like how she does it man i'm like how do you train play mom travel model model okay well we talked about the mac gala but i have to ask britney a few members of the 2024 championship winning new york liberty including your client sabrina attended fashion's biggest night and were creative directed by Courtney Mays, another amazing sports stylist.

18:38What was that process like to work with Courtney and to work with Sabrina for that night? It was great beyond words, honestly, like such a collaborative moment. She got asked by the New York Liberty to obviously dress them. And so for Courtney, it was how do we do this? How do we partner with this? Working with Sergio was just a blast. Like Sergio, Sergio, everyone knows he's a personality within himself. And to know that he played the part as if he was only dressing the four of them whenever we were together. And then the Met came out and you were like, how many people did he dress? It was almost 10.

19:08It was insane. You got to imagine one is so hard. So hard. It's crazy. And he came in and he brought them gifts on the day of, made sure that they all looked the part. Like, it was such an experience for Sabrina because that was her first Met. And honestly, I wouldn't change anything for the world. She looked great. Body looked tea. Period. Yeah. So good. Speaking of carpets, you effortlessly pulled off an outfit change for Paige at the draft, working with both coach and Louis Vuitton for her big night. It was always, I feel like going to be hard to outdo her all white LV look from the year before, but you guys made it look easy.

19:48Can you walk us through the inspiration behind those two looks and also kind of that LV look the first one the white one like how did that come together so for nika's draft year which was 2024 a year obviously page wanted to go as her guest right and so we knew we didn't want to do an overkill obviously social media made it way bigger than it was she looked fab yeah and yes we had a photo shoot in the bathtub period as one does we say it all the time that was her lebron draft day moment like that was her i'm the comeback kid and you guys are gonna have something to watch this year. And that's what we wanted to shine through.

20:23So when I saw that all white suit at LV, I was like, that's it. And I sent it to her and she was like, bro. And that's like her favorite word. And I always tell people, I'm like, I wish the internet could see that first picture ever because she was at practice. And so she tried it on, on the court, Manny, all white, all white on the court, sent me a photo, wasn't tailored, dragged it on the floor. I said, it'll work. Just put it back in the bag. And she was like, I love it. You're like, I'm putting a lock on these from now on. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. But you know, I think that moment helped capitalize what we were able to get in terms of all brands, right.

21:04Leading up into her last college season. And then obviously leading up to her own draft moment, coach was obviously someone we knew was going to be partnered with the WNBA. So we wanted to be that standout moment for her going up as number one draft pick. Her red carpet moment, we knew we were going to have to talk to every single publication and do all the interviews. We wanted that rock and roll girl moment. She really stepped out like a badass. You know, she was decked out in cascading rhinestones on the actual garment, which was fly. She wore a three-piece suit, which a lot of people didn't know because it was oversized.

21:37But it really like spoke to who she was. Then we worked with Kay Jewels and they did a bunch of all black jewelry that really like kind of defined who she was in a masculine perspective. She didn't want the dainty jewelry. We brought in that black jewelry that usually men wear to the draft. And so we brought that in. She did black nails. And then the LV look that we transitioned to her going on stage was a big request that came through. We constantly talk about how brands say yes and no to different pool requests. And so when I went out to LV the first time, they said, we'll offer women's. I said, not what we're looking for.

22:16We're talking about Paige Becker's here. You can't give her crop tops and bralettes and corsets and gowns. She's not going to wear that. So I went back out for a second request and it was ignored. I went back out for a third request. They said, we'll see what we can do. I said, I'm going to Pharrell. Period. Our relationships are our relationships, right? Thankfully we have them. And so I didn't push, But I started to be like, it's the week of draft. I know I need it. I know that's all that she wanted. So I was like, I'm going to put the request out. And he said, absolutely. That's dope. I loved the full circle of it that she wore LV again to actually be drafted on the stage with everyone that she loves there watching and having watched her career come to be.

23:00It was just like, it was very emotional in that room when her name was called. Yeah, it definitely was. And when she puts it on and it fits like a glove, I'm like, oh, she's my model. Yeah. I love it. Well, you and Paige have such a special connection. It almost reminds me of the Law Roach Zendaya. We get that a lot. Yeah. You started to work together so young and built something as a unit. Why do you think you work so well together? I worked at Nickelodeon for a long time and worked with Ariana. Jeanette McCurdy actually handed Ariana over to Law. Like I called him personally myself and was like, I think you should take this one.

23:33But I think that it's a unique touch that we have to have to be able to work with children. and young upcoming stars, you see it in their eyes and you kind of just don't give up. And so for me, I assisted Law when Law was dressing today in our early days. And to be able to see the guerrilla style format that he had going into things and the belief that he had for her and everything that he instilled into her was just something that I felt like I always needed in a client. And so with Paige and I, we constantly lean on one another. So I think that that's kind of the relationship that you have to build.