Styling Royalty Has Entered the WNBA Tunnel

"She told me it was her mission to make me the best dressed in the WNBA, and I really resonated with that because she's a competitor like I am," says Kelsey Plum—three-time WNBA All-Star, two-time WNBA champion, and two-time Olympic gold medalist—about celebrity stylist Karla Welch. "She wants to win, so I think that she and I are a great match."

Plum recently switched teams from the Las Vegas Aces, where she won back-to-back championship titles, to the Los Angeles Sparks, and she joined forces with Welch just in time for the start of the 2025 WNBA season. News broke of their partnership at the Sparks' season opener against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco when Plum stepped foot in the tunnel wearing Phoebe Philo, a brand that, to my knowledge, has never been worn by any member of the WNBA ever. Specifically, she wore the Train Top with $900 satin track shorts, pairing the set with Gia Borghini knee-high boots and Oliver Peoples eyewear. The look set a high bar. Two days later, Plum raised it at her home opener in Los Angeles, taking inspiration from 13-time NBA champion Phil Jackson (he won twice as a player and 11 times as a coach—first with the Chicago Bulls during the Michael Jordan years and later with the Los Angeles Lakers when Kobe Bryant and Shaq played for the team) and donning a sand-colored Saint Laurent suit, shirt, and tie with burgundy heels and a padded Le 5 à 7 shoulder bag.

When Welch posted the two looks on Instagram, she captioned it, "We're in the tunnel," and her followers were quick to show their widespread approval. "This is my fav crossover episode," wrote Nicolette Mason, a Brooklyn-based creative, brand strategist, and huge WNBA fan. "No effing way," said fashion historian Kim Russell aka @thekimbino.

According to the stylist—whose past and current client list reads like this: Justin and Hailey Bieber, Sarah Paulson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Anna Sawai—she'd had her mind set on signing a WNBA player since last year. "I knew so many of them and was such a fan of the game," she tells me. "Plus, I saw the impact the NBA and the men were having on fashion and thought it was time for the women's game to do the same." During the 2024 Paris Olympics, she took note of Plum. "I was blown away by Kelsey, so it felt like serendipity to get the call from her," she says. "It was an instant yes."

The timing was equally kismet, particularly with Plum's trade to the Sparks. "With me switching teams this year to L.A., we talked about upgrading my approach, not just in high fashion specifically but also classic looks with classic brands," Plum says. She's always had fun with fashion, never shying away from an out-there tunnel 'fit, and big-deal brand names are hardly new to her. For last year's WNBA All-Star orange carpet, the 30-year-old guard wore a crochet Marni miniskirt set. In January, when her jersey was retired at the University of Washington, Plum switched from an Off-White printed suit to a pared-back, oversize one by Dries Van Noten. That being said, she wanted to enter into this new chapter with a different look. "We both wanted to focus on dressing not just in sporty street style but also in an elegant, high-fashion style," she says.

"Best dressed energy" is how Welch described their goal for the 2025 season. While the season isn't even halfway over, the duo is already well on their way to succeeding in that mission. The Schiaparelli Canadian tuxedo Plum wore for her much-anticipated return to Las Vegas alone is enough to win her LeagueFits' coveted MVP award. (Allegedly, another full Schiaparelli look is still to come.)

It isn't all about the looks, though. For Plum, working with Welch has been a learning experience. "She's an OG in the game," she says. "There's a reason she is who she is." It's no easy feat dressing athletes who travel multiple times a week. Time for fittings is hard to come by, and the logistics involved are complicated at best. It takes a specific type of person to manage it, especially when they have a slew of other high-profile clients who are all attending film festivals, fashion weeks, press tours, and award shows. "Logistics [are] the side to styling that no one sees," Welch says. "We fit a lot of looks and then slot them in—I have an amazing team that makes sure everything is seamless and easy." According to Plum, in her first fitting with Welch, they got through 15 looks in less than an hour. "She had a very specific vision for me," she says. "She knew exactly what she wanted to put me in and how we wanted to dabble in different areas."

The best styling relationships are mutually beneficial, with both participants working off each other. For Welch, working with Plum and entering the WNBA tunnel was, in part, a way to push herself. It's a new styling genre to master. She's worked with athletes in the past (for a long time, Welch styled soccer legend Megan Rapinoe), but the WNBA tunnel is a whole different beast—one that, like the league as a whole, is extending its reach and influence every season. At the same time, Welch brings a sense of legitimacy to the space that will surely have implications for years to come. She offers her Rolodex, for one. Plum wearing Phoebe Philo, Saint Laurent, and Schiaparelli pregame is a big deal, and it's a choice that will undoubtedly encourage more fashion houses that have been hesitant to loan to professional women's basketball players to follow suit with other high-profile players.

"If brands aren't dressing [female] athletes, they aren't keyed in to the biggest opportunities in the world right now, and it's only in its infancy," says Welch. "I love the challenge. Let us show you what we can do!"

Fashion is already an integral part of the growth the WNBA is experiencing. For example, Coach and Off-White have become official sponsors of the league and individual franchises, respectively. Prada is slowly building a stronghold in the tunnel by dressing Caitlin Clark, and Tibi and Kallmeyer show up regularly, both on players and coaches. (Shout-out to Sandy Brondello.) A member of fashion royalty like Welch brings a different kind of motion, and now that she's inside, she's not going anywhere. When I ask her about her plans for the world of women's sports moving forward, she's clear about her intentions: "Call me, ladies."