Cameron Brink’s stunning appearance at the 2024 WNBA Draft left many speechless. Thanks to her mother Michelle Bain Brink, who is always one step ahead when it comes to showing up in style, Cameron achieved a great feat.

The sleek hair, paired with a dress that looked like Balmain only created it for her, garnered a lot of attention throughout the globe. However, it also started a debate about luxury brands dressing up women athletes. Something that Prada achieved through Caitlin Clark.

Sharing her thoughts on this, mama Brink shared an article by Vogue Business on her Instagram Stories. It addressed why brands should follow Prada’s WNBA play. The write-up featured Mary Gonsalves Kinney, stylist for Cameron Brink.

Surprisingly, all the former looks for the athlete were never backed by brands. The first-ever look Kinney created for the Stanford alumna featured Saint Laurent. However, instead of YSL participating in the charade, Brink invested her own money.

Nevertheless, that was the first domino in the long run that dropped exactly where Kinney needed it to. Consequently, the CEO and founder of MGK style said, “It really, really, really helped. They knew who she was, they saw how she wore the dress, they saw the attention she received and a light bulb went off. That was part of the strategy on my end.”

Previously, the stylists and the players tried to bring more eyes as they built their respective reputations. Now, these brands are all willing to be in the game for the same effect.

Prada took the first step of the transition

While the big brands have been dressing up athletes for every event, they have usually stepped away from the WNBA draft. However, Prada did not shy away when it came to bringing out the best in the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer and 2024 WNBA draft’s unrivaled first pick Caitlin Clark. This also signaled that this very draft was a turning point for the WNBA’s fashion game and the start of a new era.

Youssouf Fofana, Maison Château Rouge designer, also added his point. He said, “I think it’s time we recentre women in the conversation around pioneers in style, culture and how that influences sport — especially a sport like basketball where culture defines everything.”

Now that the entire world is focusing more on women’s basketball than men’s, fashion brands are stepping up to get endorsement deals in place. According to Sarah Shapiro, it is the brands who are pulling the strings to get a look of head-to-toe Prada for an athlete earning less than $100,000 a year.

Hence, the two can have a symbiotic relationship, helping each other grow. Especially, if just one look can generate $581,000 in media impact value (MIV), according to Launchmetrics.