We Finally Ask Breanna Stewart… Who Is Behind Ellie? | PLUS Balenciaga Has A New Creative Director

0:28This is The Run Through. I'm Chloe Mel. We have just loved all of the excitement around their games. Fran Leibovic sitting courtside, Ellie the Elephant, obviously, which Choma, get ready for a real deep dive on Ellie. This is the big reveal on Ellie's real identity. They spoke with Brianna Stewart or Stewie, as many call her. She is a forward on the team and one of the most accomplished women's basketball players in history. So it was a huge treat to hear from her. And they talked about everything from secret who is behind the famous Liberty team mascot, Ellie the Elephant. You'll have to listen to find out.

1:07Brianna's Met Gala look, what it's like to see the NBA get so much love right now. And Hannah and Leah interviewed Brianna after the team's big win at the home game opener. So that was marking the new season. Oh, I can't wait to hear it. But first, Choma, what is your big news of the week? I mean, Balenciaga. Did you see Pierpaolo Pietroli coming? No. What's funny is so Pierpaolo did a talk at Lightroom, which was obviously a big experiential exhibit in London, the Vogue runway exhibit. And we had dinner afterwards and he was in such a fabulous mood. And he mentioned that he had a job that had a lot of history.

1:52Interesting. And we all kind of suspected that it might be Fendi or we imagined an Italian label. I think Balenciaga was quite unexpected. But when it was announced, it just kind of made so much sense. Given his background in couture, the internet was just it just was met with such a warm response. Pier Paolo is so beloved. Laird Borelli-Person did an amazing piece the day that this news was announced on Pierre Paolo's Balenciaga-isms. And it's something that Laird is so exceptionally talented at, which is really finding these archive juxtapositions. And I thought it was such an incredible confirmation of why Pierre Paolo is the right person for this job because she compares all of these designs of his over the years that also speak to and have references in iconic Balenciaga silhouettes and designs and codes.

2:49So I am really excited to see what he does with the house. I feel like, as you said, people, there's such goodwill around him. And it'll be exciting. It'll certainly be a departure from Demna, I would imagine, in tone. He always managed to bring a sense of modernity to couture that felt really tangible. And as you said, especially the silhouettes, the sort of precise nature of his silhouettes, his use of solid colors and patterns. And I think it will be, I think it's going to be really strong and something that people are going to be very excited about and seeing it return. I think the couture schedule needs that injection of newness.

3:29So it's going to be a fun, yeah, it's such a great moment. Also, in the designer musical chairsness of it all, I do think it's interesting that Pierpaolo is going to Balenciaga because Demna is going to Gucci because Sabato de Sarno is out at Gucci, who used to be Pierpaolo's number two at Valentino. It's like Susie South Seashells at the seashore trying to say all that really fast. It's been interesting also with all of these designer shifts to see how brands are bridging the transition, especially at a place like Cannes where there's so much red carpet dressing on display. And a lot of the brands just don't have their new designers set up yet.

4:13So you are seeing a lot of Gucci designed by the Intim studio or Balenciaga is still very much a Demna aesthetic like the denim on denim that Isabelle Luper wore. And it's also become this real moment of debuting new designers' work with celebrity placement moments. Like Julianne Moore just debuted Louise Trotter's first Bottega Veneta red carpet outfit on Julianne Moore at Cannes, which was this sort of—how would you describe it, Choma? I would call it like a black column with an asymmetric strap at the top. I mean, Timmy did it twice, didn't he? He also did— Exactly. Givenchy's first menswear look, that butter yellow that he wore on his Oscar run, was a kind of sneak peek at Sarah Burton's collection before her runway.

5:06I know. Oscars was the big Givenchy reveal. It was Timmy in butter yellow and Elle Fanning in her amazing Givenchy confection. I think it's such a smart move because you get these announcements and it feels like you sit with the news for so long before an actual collection comes out. And we're all so thirsty for new things and for a little taste of what's to come. And obviously you can't give away too much as a designer, but you set the stage for what's coming. And you also set the stage of the people you're dressing, who's in your circle and who are the people you sort of care about, which I think is smart for Louise Trotter.

5:45I love that she picked Julianne Moore. She's such a fabulous, fabulous actress who has a history of being deeply connected to designers like Tom Ford and really caring about what she wears and being very intentional about her fashion choices. So I think it's great that she went with, you know, and she's a little bit older, which I think is great. She's not sort of a young engineer, which I think speaks volumes. Oh, my God. Choma, your girl, I'll always think of Brianna as your girl. All right. She is my girl. Yeah. Your girl has had some major Cannes red carpet moments. A$AP Rocky is there promoting.

6:22He's in Spike Lee's movie, right? Yeah, he's in Spike. Him, Spike. I loved. Christian wrote a piece about Spike Lee, Denzel and A$AP being like the most delightful trio at Cannes. And I'm just loving their vibe and their energy. I love seeing that trio. And obviously my girl in Aliyah. Two bump bearing Aliyahs in a row. Too bump-bearing Elias. Yeah, she and Rocky had this really cute moment on the red carpet in the rain with an umbrella. And our social team made me laugh because their caption was, Alexa, play umbrella. And it was just like a video of them giggling under their umbrella. They do seem to just have the best time wherever they go.

7:03They go out. It's not just like a photo call for them. It's an actual moment. And I think that's sometimes the red carpet can seem like it's a bit of a chore for some celebrities, but you actually get the sense that they enjoy it and they love a moment to show up and sort of show out, which I enjoy. I am also very focused on the men of Cannes. I feel like it was a real Cannes hunks season. Pedro Pascal and his muscle tee. Alexander Skarsgård with Harry Lambert, who's styling him, has just completely winged into kooky and kinky. He fully wore thigh-high patent leather fetish boots. Wow. I mean, his outfits are delightful and completely unexpected.

7:52So that's been really fun. Hannah did a fun piece on him. Lauren Sanchez's Paris Bachelorette party was a big moment on social media this weekend. Yeah, tell me about it. What was the response? Because this, I haven't been following so closely from across the pond, but I know that anything that she does has big effect. Big effect. There were 11 women, three of whom were Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, also Eva Longoria. She loves a white dress, right? She loves a white dress. I do love that picture of them in bed or with their towels wrapped around their head. It's such an Instagram cliche.

8:32I know. It's such a bachelorette party. Yeah, she's a real girl's girl. And so that felt very much like this kind of thing. There are two resort shows, two main resort shows coming up. There's Vuitton this week in Avignon and Dior in Rome. I love seeing location shows. I feel like it's a much more interesting sort of full narrative. that you get for a show. And this one is at the Palais du Pape in Avignon. The Pope's Palace? The Pope's Palace. So Vuitton has a history of doing runway shows in locations that no one else has ever been able to do a runway show. This is a UNESCO, another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

9:13I think they've done several in unexpected places. And it just looks incredible. Fantastic. I'm sure the show's going to be fab. Another big story that's been making a lot of noise in the background and at least coming up a lot in my social feed is the PDD trial. And it has opened for the past, I guess it's been like almost two weeks now. It opened with Cassie on the stand and she's heavily pregnant. And I think I've had so much admiration for her, for a woman who's had to relive the sort of horrifying details of these acts of domestic abuse and sexual violence. And I just feel a lot of admiration and respect for her.

9:58I think she's managed to do it in a way that feels really appropriate and has done it with such grace and shown such inner strength. I mean, the details that have come out of it are so horrific and devastating. Obviously, this trial is ongoing. I'll certainly be watching and following along because I do feel like the repercussions of it are going to be huge. And I think for people who have experienced anything like this, I just can't imagine what it must be like to be seeing it unfold. I really am very in awe of the women who have been testifying and I hope that they are taking care of themselves.

10:43The Run-Through will be back with Brianna Stewart.

10:58Hi, I'm Rebecca Ford, Senior Awards Correspondent at Vanity Fair and co-host of Little Gold Men. Oscar season is upon us. Little Gold Men takes you behind the scenes of the race for the biggest prize in Hollywood. There's a hundred wrestlers in the room, but only one can be Oscar nominated. Whether you're a movie lover or an industry buff, Little Gold Men from Vanity Fair has everything you need to know about this year's Oscar race. Follow and listen to Little Gold Men wherever you get your podcasts.

11:40Okay, well first, is it Brianna or Brianna? Thank you for asking that. I've been trying to set this record straight for a while. It's Brianna. Brianna. Yeah. Okay. Amazing. Or Stewie. Or Stewie. Stewie's easy. Right. Can't mess that up. When did you get the nickname Stewie? I got the nickname Stewie when I was probably 16 or 17. I was at a junior national USA thing and Stephanie Dolson, who became my teammate at UConn, started calling me Stewie because my last name is Stewart. And then it just, it just went like, if anyone in the basketball world calls me Brianna or Bri, I'm like, who are you?

12:24We must not be on the same page here. Okay. Nice. Okay. Well, you guys are fresh off of your first game of the season. in. You beat the Aces 92 to 78. Wow. You scored a very impressive 25 points. But tell us about the game because there was a banner raising. You guys got your fab rings, kind of like a celebration of your championship. What was that like? Yeah. What an incredible day on Saturday. I think that it was something that we were both, we were all looking forward to just getting back out in front of the fans, like being at Barclays Center. And one of the hardest things about opening night and ring night is like flipping the switch because you warm up, you do all the things and then you take 30 minutes and they're like, here, grab your rings.

13:08Like let's take pictures. Let's watch the banner. And then we'll go and play the game. But the rings are beautiful. Like I wore it, I wore it to the Yankees game last night when I threw out the first pitch and it was like literally filling up my half of my finger. Um, but it has diamonds all over, which we love. yes um but the top it comes off so like it twists and comes off and there's earrings inside and then um it has like the series record of everybody we played and it says we all we got we all we need inside which is cool that is so sick that's amazing did you ever have those rings when you were a kid that like the top open up and it was lip gloss because that feels like the infinite better version oh my gosh this is the adult version this is the way better version And afterwards, my daughter, I found her after the game.

14:02She had her own ring, too. A ring pop. A blue one. Of course. All over her face. So it was perfect for the pictures when they brought the banner back down with the family. Her face is blue. But that just makes it a way better memory. How old is she? She's three. Three. That's so sweet. Wait, I want to hear more about throwing out the first pitch of the Yankees game. How was that? Did you have anxiety? Obviously, you're playing in front of thousands of people all the time. But like, I feel like that's not my sport, right? I know, it's not your sport. And you see those. Sometimes you see very, very athletic people and the ball goes like one foot in front of them.

14:35Yeah, no. Or it goes completely off. Thankfully that didn't happen. That would be me. I was very excited to throw the first pitch at the Yankees game. I think that everyone was asking me, like, did I warm up? Like, was I ready? And I was like, I don't know. I'm just going with the flow. Like, I can throw a baseball. but there is like a different kind of pressure because you don't want to throw it in the dirt you don't want to bounce it you don't want to be the person that goes like to the left so I had a few practice throws in and then I threw it from the mound because I didn't want to go in front I wanted I want to be like a pitcher so I think like you know maybe I got a shot at like one of those like 15 year,$700 million contracts.

15:23There we go. Contracts are nuts. We have to talk about your tunnel look from the home opener. You wore a custom Romeo Hunt denim suit. It was a very cool like indigo double-breasted situation. You know, obviously the on-court style is pretty limited and it feels like the tunnel is really a place for you to express yourself. I'm curious like what you want to be saying with your, your tunnel fits. Yeah. I think especially like what I want to be saying this year with my tunnel fits is like well put together, you know, like it makes sense. It, it just goes good. Not too crazy or flashy or eye popping, but you're going to look at me and be like, yeah, she knows what she's doing.

16:11Like she can put it together a little bit. And I liked what I wore for the home opener. I felt like it was fitting because it was a day game. You know, like that also makes sense. It's like, all right, what time is the game? Like this isn't a night outfit. But is that still considered like a Canadian tuxedo? You know what I mean? Because it's denim on denim. Like everyone's telling me that. I say yes. A Canadian tuxedo can be whatever you want it to be in terms of formality, I think. Yeah. It doesn't have to be casual. Yeah, for sure. That was a very chic one. Also, oh, sorry. I was just going to tell the fans at home about Brianna's outfit right now.

16:49She is very put together in a periwinkle Marnie suit. Half put together right now, but I'll put it all together. Periwinkle Marnie suit. The glam is glammy. The glam is glammy. The waves. They're beachy. Thank you. Thank you. The lashes. Honestly, this Marnie suit is like one of my favorites because it's like, it's a suit material, but it's like stretchy. So just comfortable. Yeah. Just nice. And I like, it's like if it was Easter right now, I would be like, perfect. Right. So, okay, one of your new teammates this year, Natasha Cloud. Yes. She said that she tried to recruit you to Washington and you declined.

17:25And now she's here. And, you know, in talking after the game, she described you as being really versatile and really unselfish. Can you talk a bit about how those qualities kind of are part of your game? Yeah. I mean, first of all, love that Tasha's here in New York. And I think that all of the fans are going to continue to love her. She had an amazing season opener, Liberty debut game. And I think the versatility that I want to bring to my team is the ability to do more than one thing. And that's on and off the court, like being able to juggle a lot at once. and just bring greatness behind it.

18:11And Tasha's also doing this thing right now. And every single day she's like on her Instagram, she's like, what bag am I bringing in? So she's showing off all my different bags. So I feel like I have some surprises for her later in the season with the tunnel fits. Can you give us any hints? No. No hints. Oh, my God. We'll just have to stay tuned. I've used this like Dior Tote. It's like a, I got it from when Dior had the Brooklyn. The show at the Brooklyn Museum. Yeah, the show at the Brooklyn Museum. Love that little tote. And I had a Puma bag today somewhere. A Goyar bag one day. She's just, we're just mixing it up.

18:58Nice. Well, when Leah and I came to a game last season, it was quite a starry event. And I mean, even on Saturday's game alone, it was like Spike Lee, Robin Roberts, Sophia Bush, Jason Sudeikis, all sitting courtside. Have you ever gotten starstruck by anyone sitting in the front row? Yeah. So every day, every game day when I'm going to the gym, I listen to Meek Mill. And one of the games in the playoffs, Meek came to the game and we lost. Oh, no. So I didn't go say hi because I was like, we lost. I'm mad, like whatever. I regret my decision. Okay. He needs to come back. I guess I was going to say, Meek, Mel.

19:41I'm sure he's an avid center of the run through, so he'll hear this. Please come back this season for sure. Okay, so as a sports fan, it's been so cool to see Unrivaled, which you founded with your former UConn teammate, Nafisa Collier. For people who are unfamiliar, tell us about Unrivaled, like what it is, what inspired you guys to launch the league, and what the first season was like. Yeah. So for people that are unfamiliar, Nafisa, Fee, and I launched Unrivaled, co-founders of Unrivaled, and it's where we're bringing the best of the best to Miami, top 36 players, to come to play three-on-three and to kind of work on your game, to hone in your skills, and be in one market, a different market than any WNBA market and be home.

20:34I think that one of the biggest struggles is as a professional player, usually you play WNBA, you go overseas, you're just on this constant hamster wheel of what needs to be done. We wanted to change that. We wanted to be able to build our brand and be more marketable and have people and fans know where we are. That's what we did. And I'm really proud of the success that we've had in year one, just from even like the fan perspective, like a lot of fans coming from New York coming down to watch and really all over to watch our favorite players. There's such a like liveliness to a Liberty game. I think for people who haven't experienced it is such an event beyond the game itself.

21:19There's the Lil Torches who we're obsessed with. There's the Timeless Torches. And I mean, of course, there's Ellie the Elephant. Yeah. How could we not bring up Ellie? This Saturday, at the opener, Ellie performed to Nicki Minaj. And, you know. I didn't get to see it. I was busy. We were, you know, it really, it came up in today's meeting. It did. It did. It traveled far and wide. So I have to know why you think Ellie has become such an integral part of the franchise. I think Ellie's been such an important part of the franchise because, like you said, you know, people come to Liberty Games and it really is an experience.

22:07Like you're watching basketball, but you're watching so much more. You have like the little torches, the timeless torches, you have Ellie and then everything in between. It's a show from top to bottom. And I think having Ellie just is another way for fans to kind of embrace and interact what Liberty means and what New York basketball means. And she's out there, like, stunting her stuff every time. Like, listen, she's quite fast. She's going after it. Always on. I love it when Ellie and I coordinate fits in tunnel walks and stuff like that. Do you coordinate? Do you text before? Do you have a group chat?

22:52I think we need to create a group chat, honestly. Well, we coordinated last year with a jersey, Jets jersey. Oh, my God. Well, I have to ask, and we're all dying to know if you know who is under Ellie's elephant head. Do you know Ellie? For those who are not aware, and this was recently made aware to me by one Leah Faye Cooper, it is a big secret. That is a big secret. A mascot is not to be revealed. We're sworn to secrecy over here. But you know. Not a shoulder shrug. Wow. Brianna, please. Wow. If you sign to the New York Liberty, you might be able to find out. But some of our new players still don't know, too.

23:38Really? So you have to be like a multi or you have to have a ring to know. Literally. Yeah. Well, I better start working on it. Put a ring on it and you'll be able to get, you'll be able to have more. Oh my gosh. I'll definitely take that ring. Okay. You, you grew up in Syracuse, right? And then you had an illustrious career at UConn, won four national championships there. You've played in the U.S. You've played internationally. You've gone to the Olympics. Yeah. is there like a time in your career that you would love to revisit or there I'm sure there have been many highlights but what are some that really stick out to you um I think the most recent ones are the ones that stick out the most to me um because like if I look at this past summer it was 2024 Olympics going to Paris winning gold medal like having my kids be there with me was something that was really special.

24:34It was my third gold medal, but... Oh, my gosh. That's crazy. Wow. Okay. But just being able to kind of have them experience what I'm experiencing. You know, the first one, in 2016, I was a rookie. So my head was spinning, and I was like, I'm here. This team is amazing. Like, let me see what I can learn. And then the second one was during COVID. So nobody could come. And then having Paris, being able to bring my family was really cool. And then I've won championships in Seattle. And playing with Sue Bird is like one of my favorite things. And I wish she was still playing. But, you know, she's doing pretty good for herself, like off the court as well.

25:18She is. She's also on a podcast. Great company. She is. Yeah, she's funny. but winning in New York like this past season that feeling that energy that buzz doing something that hasn't been done before is at all time you know that has a place of its own but not only winning but the celebrations afterwards it was just like non-stop I was here the night you guys won the night we won but what about the parade fantastic night the parade was crazy the parade I will say that we were in the office we were in the office and people started, our coworkers are coming in and they're like, you guys, they're setting up for the parade.

26:00Everyone was very excited about it. So, well, yeah, tell us about the parade. What was it like? Well, so you never know with parades because you're getting ready. You meet here at Barclays and you get on the bus. You got to go over to Manhattan and you find your float. So I had a Puma float, which I love. Shout out to Puma. And I had my family on there and lots of champagne and stuff. But you still don't know. You're waiting to turn the corner to see, are there going to be fans here? Right. You know what I mean? Suspense is building. I'm just going to be waving to three taxi cabs. We started and you just hear this roar.

26:42The amount of fans that were there and from block to block to block. It was long. It was really special. And I think one of the best parts about it were it wasn't just people like right place, right time. They had the jerseys and the shirts and the ellies and all the things and the signs. Like they were ready to go. So that was a lot of fun. And then I think it was the same day we had a final celebration here at Barclays, at Club Barclays. people literally just came to party with us. Like there was nothing, like a little performance from like Fat Joe and stuff, but like party. Like we were just, it was like literally Club Barclays.

27:26Nice. Bottle service. Oh my God. We love that. And then tell us, what was it like watching, you were in Tampa for the women's national championship and watched your alma mater win. What was that like watching UConn win this past season? Honestly, great. So UConn, they hadn't won since I left. So that was like a pressure. You know, like I didn't want that on me anymore. But I was really confident in Paige and her knowing, you know, it's her senior year. She wants to go out on top. And she just kind of took matters into her own hands for that one. And really happy to celebrate with them, cheer them on and like just congratulate them all for winning because it's hard, you know, Like sometimes when you win a lot, people take it for granted.

28:17And especially at UConn, like there's a dynasty there, whether you want to admit it or not. Like the amount of national championships is like no other. So for them to kind of get back into their groove and get back on top is great to see. Yes. For the less familiar, the Paige she was speaking of is Paige Beckers, who also went to UConn, just won the national championship and was the first pick in the WNBA draft. She's now playing for the Dallas Wings. Now she's a frenemy. Now she's a frenemy. Yeah, are you excited for your game against Dallas? Yeah, I mean, I don't know when we play Dallas. I think it's in August.

28:57Like, not for a while. Yeah. I'm more on a week-by-week schedule. So I know this week we travel to Chicago and Indy. And then we come back.