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The Russell Westbrook XO Barneys collection, which is a collaboration with the likes of Jordan Brand, Want Les Essentiels de la Vie, and Globe-Trotter luggage, arrived in stores at the end of July, but Westbrook, the man, finally toasted his first line last night with champagne and the tiniest cheeseburgers ever made. He didn't actually have time to eat said tiny cheeseburgers on account of the famous, but everyone around him managed alright.
The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard, whose success on the court is rivaled in renown by his reputation as "the Kate Moss of the NBA," paired leopard print high-tops with his Marcelo Burlon leather tee ($1,795). His father wore the Elephant-Back tee ($125), which is all business in the front, party in the back. Russell even had a second in all the madness to thank his friend and colleague Mr. Kevin Durant for making a purchase.
Everyone seemed appropriately Westbrook-ified, except the athlete's mother, Shannon Horton, who was left without any of her son's wares to model, a problem Westbrook hopes to remedy in the future. "I gotta learn a lot more, obviously, with men's and women's," he said when asked if he'd ever consider designing for women. "But hopefully down the line I'm able to because my mom asked me the same thing. I think I have to."
In fact, it's women's style that could be his true inspiration. He told Racked, "Honestly, to tell you the truth, I really don't pay much attention to other [NBA] athletes' style. I only really pay attention to women's fashion. Like when I'm at Fashion Week or awards shows, I always see what the women are wearing much more than the men."
So rest easy all ye NBA-turned-fashion fans or vice versa, you can expect the style star to be sitting runway-side this September: "Yes, I'll be at New York Fashion Week. I have to look at my schedule, but I'll definitely be there."
· Russell Westbrook Designed Chameleon Man Tights For Barneys [Racked]
· Inside the Symbiotic Relationship Between Fashion and the NBA [Racked]